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October 24, 2017November 29, 2017

Cider and Cheese, Please!

You’ve known since childhood that “an Apple a day keeps the doctor away…” but now that you’re all grown up, you may have also discovered that when pressed for juice and allowed to ferment and age, apples can become just what the doctor ordered! We’re talking, of course, about cider, that underappreciated cousin of beer and wine that shows up in force at bars and bottle shops this time of year, announcing to all that Autumn is here.

At its simplest, cider is nothing more than the juice of pressed apples, fermented by the yeasts native to apple skins. It has a long history in the United States, going back to the first English colonies, and was more commonly consumed than beer in the years before the German and Irish immigrant populations and their beer brewing traditions became fully incorporated into the American melting pot. Nearly wiped out entirely by Prohibition, cidermaking has seen a renaissance in the last 40 years in parallel with craft brewing, winemaking, and artisan cheesemaking.

While we might associate ciders most often with the autumn colors of New York and New England, they are produced throughout the year and around the world, from the warm and wet English West Country; to the rolling fields of Normandy and Brittany; to the rustic, rugged mountains of the Basque Country. These regional ferments evolved in response to the same geographic, economic, and cultural constraints as the cheeses consumed in their vicinities, and as such make brilliant terroir pairings.

We’re delighted to share a flight of cheese and cider pairings from three esteemed cider and cheese producing regions, so that you can break free of the repressive stranglehold Pumpkin Spice has taken upon our society, and celebrate fall with the simple bliss of a classic harvest beverage.

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Cidre Bouché 2016 Unfiltered Hard Apple Cider

Domaine Dupont (Pays D’Auge, Normandy, France)

From a region of apple growers influenced by their winemaking countrymen to the South comes this crisp, elegant, pleasantly sweet unfiltered Apple Cider; a perfect complement to its Norman counterpart, Camembert.

Deep amber-bronze color and a clean nose with subtle citrus and berry notes
A creamy mouthfeel, with rich, velvety effervescence like cream soda
Its flavor profile is a rounded, focused sweetness reminiscent of red grapes. It makes its presence known right away, and then recedes, making room for powerful brine and cooked broccoli flavors of farmstead Camembert

Pairings: Murray’s Camembert; Murray’s Brie Fermier; Jasper Hill Moses Sleeper

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Shacksbury Dry Hard Apple Cider

Shacksbury Cider (Vergennes, Vermont)

This light, tart, rustic cider is a cocktail of 10 distinct heirloom apple varieties grown in Vermont and England, fermented in part by yeasts native to the apples themselves. Aged over six months, its sweetness is present but dialed back, laying the stage for firm, lactic, tangy cheddar to work its magic.

A pale yellow color, with yeast and funky barnyard aromas
A light, smooth, clean mouthfeel, punctuated by large bubbles
Dry, as its name suggests, with a prickly tartness, it is a wonderful complement to the tangy fruit and sweet cream notes in its Vermont counterpart, Cabot Clothbound Cheddar

Pairings: Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, Murray’s High Plains Cheddar, Murray’s Cavemaster Reserve Stockinghall Cheddar

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Byhur “24” Sidra Apardunia

Astarbe Sagardotegia (Astigarraga, Basque Country, Spain)

An intensely dry bubbly with a hint of bitterness, produced from two proprietary apple varieties on a 450 year old estate in the heart of Basque cider country. Pairs wonderfully with Ossau-Iraty, or as a substitute for Champagne alongside a decadent a triple crème.

Dark, yellow-orange color and clean, tart, green apple aromas
Light and crisp on the tongue, highly effervescent, and as dry as they come
With a balanced flavor profile, long finish, and slight hint of bitterness, it showcases the complex sweet, savory, pecan, and lanolin of Ossau-Iraty and other rich Basque sheep’s milk cheeses.

Pairings: Ossau-Iraty, Pyrenees Brebis, Roncal, Nettle Meadow Sappy Ewe, Brebirousse D’Argental, Cremeaux de Borgogne

Written by: Tyler Frankenberg, Murray’s Cheese

February 22, 2017November 29, 2017

Notes from our Jasper Hill Cheese Camp Correspondent

Last week, we sent some of our mongers on a journey into chilly Greensboro, Vermont to attend Cheese Camp at Jasper Hill Farm. This long weekend intensive is an amazing opportunity for mongers to see the cheese making and aging process first hand from the knowledgeable staff at one of America’s most dynamic and successful cheese operations. Ian Pearson, Head Monger at Murray’s Cheese Bar, was part of the Murray’s group who attended Cheese Camp. He snapped some photos throughout the weekend and wrote about the experience.

Snowy and chilled on the outside, but filled with warming, delicious cheese on the inside. This is how I spent most of Cheese Camp at Jasper Hill Farm. There were a dozen of us, cheesemongers from all over, braving Vermont’s biggest snowstorm in years to learn what we could from this cutting-edge American creamery. The experience was admittedly nerdy, but the kind of nerdiness you should expect from your cheesemonger— a voracious appetite for not only the crème de la crème of cultured curd, but also the knowledge of how it’s made.

Needless to say, like the protein clumping in a cheese’s make, instant bonds were formed. Over morning cups of coffee and evening beers, as we shoveled each other’s cars out, before shuffling into Jasper Hill’s classroom, where conversations about cheese flowed over one another. They seemed to only ever abide when one of our instructors spoke.

Most mornings, Zoe Brickley, Jasper Hill’s Education Wizard (title mine), loaded us with awe-inspiring presentations— spanning everywhere from milk theory and herd management to successful pairing, with large doses of microbiology and good practices thrown in for measure. She readily answered our most obtuse questions: like how the enzymatic make-up of various types of rennet could potentially alter flavor (quite a bit) or where a specific species’ identifiable flavor comes from (it’s in the fat). I told you this got nerdy.

For the cheesemaking itself, we ambled on down to the Vermont Food Venture Center, where Matt Spiegler and his crew were whipping up a beautiful batch of Harbison. Unfortunately, cameras weren’t allowed here or in the caves for safety reasons, but believe you me, as vats of fresh-cut curd were poured into their molds and the whey expelled, there wasn’t a mouth in the room that wasn’t salivating. Matt thankfully recognized this and handed out milky-sweet bits for us to taste.

The caves, seven of them jutting into the namesake hill from the creamery’s central axis, are a place of cheese worship. Affineur Adam Smith ushered us through each one, where rows of Moses Sleeper are doted on and countless wheels of Cabot Clothbound Cheddar age into the best versions of themselves, as music is piped in from mobile soundsystems to encourage happy ripening. This is where I belong, I thought to myself, and I quietly cried a little with joy.

On our final day, after waving goodbye to the cows and whispering promises to one-day return, we made our way to Vermont Creamery. There, Sam Hooper, son of co-founder Allison, led us through the sprawling facilities that continue to grow since their inception in 1984, remaining true to the mission of providing gorgeous dairy products and supporting local family farms. We filled up on cultured buttered and chevre to sustain us through the journey home, with a deeper understanding and appreciation for the cheese and makers that continue to inspire us everyday.

To shop through our selection of Jasper Hill cheeses follow this link, and find all our favorite Vermont Creamery treats here! Also, stop by Murray’s Cheese Bar in the West Village sometime to experience Ian’s cheese plate mastery.

February 11, 2015November 29, 2017

5 Cheeses that Love Champagne

It’s that time of year again! Break out the bubbles, chocolate hearts, and turn up the romance.

Yes, it’s time to get the champagne glasses out and let the love flow. Even if someone feels like they haven’t found what they’re looking for from this guide, it could be as simple as doing a quick google search into something like The Bottle Club Champagne for more options. When it comes to champagne or alcohol in general, there is pretty much something out there for everyone.

Anyway, here are some of our favorite cheese and Champagne pairings you will totally fall in love with.

Love at Mast

We get very young wheels of Champlain Valley Triple Creme and add Mast Brother’s chocolate both inside and out before it grows its fluffy white rind. We’ve been developing and aging these guys for several years now (check out the video of how we make them here) and with the help of the Mast Brother’s, we’ve developed a cheese you can really toast to!

Cremont – Vermont Creamery

This tangy and sweet mixed-milk cheese is one of the most luscious little buttons out there. Made in Vermont by one of our all-time favorite cheesemakers, these wheels are crafted with love. While primarily made of goat’s milk, the addition of a touch of cream makes this cheese so creamy, the effervescence of Champagne is the perfect pairing.

Moses Sleeper – Jasper Hill

Yolky, slightly mushroomy and unbelievably spreadable, this Vermont Bloomy Rind is ready to be slathered all over some crusty bread, and begs to be enjoyed with something bubbly. If you’re not so big on Champagne, or just in the mood to change things up, hard cider is also a mind-blowing pairing.

Hudson Flower

This cheese starts its life as Kinderhook Creek, but when we are finished with it, the transformation is hard to miss. Rolled in local herbs and hops flowers, these sheep milk wheels are then aged in our Natural Rind cave for several weeks. The end result is a deeply herbaceous flavor bomb is elevated with a crisp, citrusy bubbly.

Humboldt Fog – Cyprus Grove

California sparkling wine has meet its match with this go-to Cali goat’s milk cheese. Humboldt Fog has become synonymous with artisan American cheesemaking, and is at the top of the list for cheese aficionados and novices alike! Uncork some bubbles to bring out this cheese’s minerality.