Hello All,
Here is a fluffy little blog leftover from late summer. It's full of pictures from our ACS trip. Honestly feel free to hold it until whenever, including next year's ACS. Sorry on the lateness here. Next two (smoked Gouda & Vermont) should be more timely. Just wanted something out there before american cheese month ended and our Vermont cheeses are going to be late, like thanksgiving late. Tell me if this one needs anything
--Rich
Summer Vacation in American Cheese:
Include Picture America's Dairyland (pick your favorite)
Often, when I'm at the counter, customers will ask us what's needed to be a cheese monger and what kind of schooling we go through. Inevitably my answer comes down to "basically you need to be willing to eat a ridiculous amount of cheese." With this particular specialty in mind, Di Brunos dispatched me and and some of my fellow mongers to the 30th anniversary meeting of the American Cheese Society in Madison, WI. The American Cheese Society is a conglomeration of cheesemongers, cheese makers, distributors, chefs and all other stripes of cheese nerd from all over north America. We meet to learn from each other, share resources and most of all, eat a lot of cheese. Seriously, a lot.
The first night in we were lucky enough to be invited to a pig roast at Uplands Cheese, maker's of the multiple ACS award winning Pleasant Ridge Reserve and the deliciously rich Rush Creek Reserve. Uplands is about an hour's drive from Madison in the driftless region of the state. This region is so named because it's the one part of the state that wasn't flattened by glaciers. The driftless area is full of beautiful hills and valleys, making it perfect for the production of alpine style cheeses like the ones made at Uplands. In addition to enjoying fantastic hospitality/pork, we witnessed a historic moment in cheese history as the farm's founders, Mike & Caroll Gingrich announced their intention to pass ownership of the farm to cheesemaker Andy Hatch and his wife Caitlin
Pictures with intended caption:
Uplands Cows photo(pick your favorite)
These are some very lucky cows
PR Ridge Packroom photo
These are some lucky boxes
Pleasant Ridge Bandstand photo
Part 2
As the conference progressed we spent time learning about cheeses near (up the road in Wisconsin) and far (southern Mexico.) We tried brand new american cheeses that we had for the very first time and were inspired by the explosion of creativity in American cheese making, we had everything from cider washed sheep's raclette to goat/buffalo blends from California alongside American classics like Cabot clothbound cheddar. Philly's own Madame Fromage (include internal link to her posts) was there touring for our
Di Brunos House of Cheese. (link to book page)
Last up for the ACS is the festival of cheese. That means 1,794 cheeses from 4 countries and 257 producers, all laid out for the sampling. If you find yourself in this situation, the trick is to pace yourself and not waste room with crackers or bread. Behind the counter I'm always quick to advise a crusty baguette but in the case I had to save precious real estate for the stuff that counts.
Oh and we ate a spread of farmstead butter that morning
Include your favorite butter picture
and you can't leave Wisconsin without eating a ton of curds
and your favorite of the two curd pictures
lots
Picture of Jack
of
Picture of Tarentaise
cheese
Picture of winnimere
ACS Grand Champion Winnimere. Available in early 2014 at all Di Brunos Locations.
Hello All,
Here is a fluffy little blog leftover from late summer. It's full of pictures from our ACS trip. Honestly feel free to hold it until whenever, including next year's ACS. Sorry on the lateness here. Next two (smoked Gouda & Vermont) should be more timely. Just wanted something out there before american cheese month ended and our Vermont cheeses are going to be late, like thanksgiving late. Tell me if this one needs anything
--Rich
Summer Vacation in American Cheese:
Include Picture America's Dairyland (pick your favorite)
Often, when I'm at the counter, customers will ask us what's needed to be a cheese monger and what kind of schooling we go through. Inevitably my answer comes down to "basically you need to be willing to eat a ridiculous amount of cheese." With this particular specialty in mind, Di Brunos dispatched me and and some of my fellow mongers to the 30th anniversary meeting of the American Cheese Society in Madison, WI. The American Cheese Society is a conglomeration of cheesemongers, cheese makers, distributors, chefs and all other stripes of cheese nerd from all over north America. We meet to learn from each other, share resources and most of all, eat a lot of cheese. Seriously, a lot.
The first night in we were lucky enough to be invited to a pig roast at Uplands Cheese, maker's of the multiple ACS award winning Pleasant Ridge Reserve and the deliciously rich Rush Creek Reserve. Uplands is about an hour's drive from Madison in the driftless region of the state. This region is so named because it's the one part of the state that wasn't flattened by glaciers. The driftless area is full of beautiful hills and valleys, making it perfect for the production of alpine style cheeses like the ones made at Uplands. In addition to enjoying fantastic hospitality/pork, we witnessed a historic moment in cheese history as the farm's founders, Mike & Caroll Gingrich announced their intention to pass ownership of the farm to cheesemaker Andy Hatch and his wife Caitlin
Pictures with intended caption:
Uplands Cows photo(pick your favorite)
These are some very lucky cows
PR Ridge Packroom photo
These are some lucky boxes
Pleasant Ridge Bandstand photo
Part 2
As the conference progressed we spent time learning about cheeses near (up the road in Wisconsin) and far (southern Mexico.) We tried brand new american cheeses that we had for the very first time and were inspired by the explosion of creativity in American cheese making, we had everything from cider washed sheep's raclette to goat/buffalo blends from California alongside American classics like Cabot clothbound cheddar. Philly's own Madame Fromage (include internal link to her posts) was there touring for our Di Brunos House of Cheese. (link to book page)
Last up for the ACS is the festival of cheese. That means 1,794 cheeses from 4 countries and 257 producers, all laid out for the sampling. If you find yourself in this situation, the trick is to pace yourself and not waste room with crackers or bread. Behind the counter I'm always quick to advise a crusty baguette but in the case I had to save precious real estate for the stuff that counts.
Oh and we ate a spread of farmstead butter that morning
Include your favorite butter picture
and you can't leave Wisconsin without eating a ton of curds
and your favorite of the two curd pictures
lots
Picture of Jack
of
Picture of Tarentaise
cheese
Picture of winnimere
ACS Grand Champion Winnimere. Available in early 2014 at all Di Brunos Locations.
