Cheese Archives | Page 4 of 14 | Murray's Cheese Blog

December 21, 2016November 29, 2017

Make Whey For… Stichelton!

The holidays are about bringing people together. We love to gather around with our friends and family, enjoying each other’s company. Of course, adding good food into the mix is always an added bonus. This year, we are taking a leaf out of the Brit’s book and breaking out our favorite Stilton and a bit of port. But, of course, it wouldn’t be Murray’s if we didn’t put a little twist on it – it’s time to meet Stichelton!

Stilton’s greatest competition, Stichelton is the raw milk recipe of England’s most well-known blue cheese. Each wheel is made by hand, and is a spicy-sweet homage to its older brother. In fact, Stichelton is what Stilton once was – it uses Stilton’s original, raw-milk recipe, which was switched over to the pasteurized version in 1996t. Stichelton, because of its raw milk, could not be called ‘Stilton’ because of the protected designation of origin or PDO, which specified what cheeses could or couldn’t be called Stilton. But Stichelton, because of its raw milk, has a piquancy that the normal Stilton simply cannot rival. Whether it is the soft creaminess that coats the palate, or the lingering caramel sweetness that hides beneath the bite of blue, Stichelton will blow the Stilton you know out of the water.

So why Stichelton and Port? In yesteryear, this was a classic dish enjoyed during the holidays – to serve a wheel (or sometimes half a wheel) of Stilton infused with port wine. This dessert wine has always paired best with Stilton and other tangy blue cheeses, but it’s taken to a whole new level with Stichelton. It is truly a way to bring people together and will be talked about for years to come.

Here’s how to do it:

Pick up a wheel of Stichelton – or half a wheel, depending on how many people you’re planning on hosting. If you go for the full wheel, you’re going to have to remove the top (try and keep it as flat as possible, so you don’t have an uneven surface).
Start scooping around the edge of the cheese with a spoon, creating a sort of moat with the edge of the rind and the center of the cheese remaining. Stick that cheese you scooped out to the side – you can nibble on it as you go.
Through the middle of the wheel, prick the cheese from top to bottom with a thick skewer, creating a hole where you can start pouring that Port into. Put several more holes through the moat you’ve scooped.
Now, grab a funnel, because it’s time to pour that Port! Pour slowly, letting the liquid flow into and irrigate the blue cheese veins.
When the holes have all been filled, and if you kept the top of your cheese flat, you can pour the Port directly on top too. Fair warning: since the cheese is a bit porous, the port will start seeping out eventually – all you have to do is make sure that you serve this bad boy in a deep bowl, then wrap it in plastic wrap until it’s ready to serve. Depending on how strong you want that port to soak, you can do it anywhere from a few hours before, or two weeks before you serve that wheel.

When it’s time to roll out the Stichelton, serving it with pears and walnuts is the tradition. But feel free to try something new and exciting – maybe spread the Port-Stichelton over one of Jan’s Farmhouse Cranberry & Pistachio Crisps. Want a little bit of extra sweetness? Top each bite with a dab of Black Cherry Confit. Let everyone dig into the wheel with their own spoons, serving as they like. It’ll be both a delicious centerpiece and quite the talking point for the holidays.

December 14, 2016November 29, 2017

Make Whey For… Winnimere!

As the snow starts falling up here in the Northeast, we’re reminded of our favorite things about this time of the year – decorating for the holidays, warm drinks by the fire, and of course, Winnimere.

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We wouldn’t be cheese experts if we didn’t greet each new season with the greatest excitement for the seasonal cheeses that it brings. Each change in the season means a new cheese heading our whey, something unique and delicious in its own right. Winter brings us the oozing, wonderfully spoonable cheeses inspired by Swiss classics. Look at Rush Creek, Vacherin Mont d’Or, and our lovely little ‘Winni’. Inspired by Forsterkase, a washed rind, raw cow’s milk cheese that is wrapped in spruce, these cheeses are known for their pleasantly creamy texture, perfect for spreading onto warm bread or just digging into with little pretext.

In the past, Winnimere’s distinctly pink and white dappled rind came from a wash of all sorts of brews and concoctions. But nowadays, the good folks at Jasper Hill Farm have been developing a simple salt-water brine that highlights the indigenous microflora of their raw milk. It is simplicity at its finest – focusing on the delicate flavors of the raw milk and allowing it to develop into something pungent, meaty, and woodsy.

Imagine a bonfire in the woods of Vermont, in the middle of winter. Not smokey, but something woodsy lingers on the palate, spreading across the tongue with a hidden meatiness beneath. Named for the corner of Caspian Lake where the Kehler Brothers’ grandfather would go ice-fishing, it is a true taste of terroir, or taste of place. Add the fact that this cheese only appears during the winter months, and you’ll understand that you’re diving into a cheese that is truly special.

Here’s all you need to enjoy it – with a knife, peel away the top rind. If you’re enjoying with friends, take the whole top off and dig in with a spoon. You could portion it out, of course, by only slicing off a little bit of the top rind. But really, why would you? Dig in!

December 13, 2016November 29, 2017

Bonjour, Flavor!

Sometimes, what you need is an escape. Especially around the holidays. But if you can’t escape, what’s the next best thing? An experience that transports you. That’s why the gift of Murray’s is your best bet this holiday season – it can whisk you away to a land of flavor and delight. This time, we take you to France with the French Connection!

Come a-whey with us – to strolls along the Seine River, leading to an afternoon lunch at a cafe not far from the Eiffel Tower. Or to cool mountain air from high up in the French Alps, watching cows and sheep graze. It all is embodied in the cheeses highlighted in the French Connection – a tour across the land of France. This might just inspire some people to actually visit France themselves. It’s such an amazing place with so many different things to see and meals to try. Perhaps some people could look into the Jettly Air Charter Service to book a flight on a private jet over to France to see these attractions themselves. If not, people can just enjoy our tour of France!

First is the traditional French Alpine cheese – Comte comes from France’s Jura region, capturing the essence of raw, mountain pasture-fed cow milk with a hint of sweet milk, stone fruit, and brown butter. The rich chunk of Ossau Iraty comes from the Pyrenees – it’s a grassy-sweet sheep’s milk cheese highlighted by toasted wheat and hazelnut flavors. The Prince of French Blues, Bleu d’Auvergne comes from the same region as Roquefort, and is mellower and meatier than its spicy sheep relative. And that unassuming, miniature white wheel? That’s Chabichou – a wrinkly aged goat cheese chock full of lemon zest and minerality, the perfect tangy little bite.

But it wouldn’t be enough simply to feature cheese – The French Connection also highlights France’s answer to salumi with Saucisson Sec. Porky, with a hint of garlic, it is best served whole, while you or your guests slice medium-thick bites. With the Comte, it is divine, especially paired with the mix of French Olives that accompany it. Or top the Ossau Iraty and Bleu d’Auvergne with the Black Cherry Confit – the mix of flavors will surprise and delight.

We want to make gift-giving easy for you. Whether buying for the cheese novice or the hardcore cheese fanatic, we have something for everyone!

December 6, 2016November 29, 2017

Have a Have-It-All Holiday with La Dolce Vita

You’re still looking for a gift for the holidays, huh? Don’t worry, we’ve got your back. Giving the gift of cheese is pretty much the in thing this year, and we’ve got a gift for pretty much everyone. It takes a single gift to transport your loved ones across oceans with some of the world’s greatest cheese. First stop? Italy.

It’s no secret that Italians do the whole eating thing right. Especially when it comes to cheese and meat. In this collection, we’ve hit up all the classic cheeses you think of when Italy is brought up – nutty Fontina, sheepy Pecorino, and spicy Gorgonzola, of course. Fontina Fontal is the epitome of the Italian table cheese, perfect for snacking with its supple paste and sweet, nutty flavor. You’ve most likely had Pecorino before – this Italian classic takes many shapes and forms, but the one we love most is hearty, crumbly, and full-flavored. The Gorgonzola is Mountain Gorgonzola, which is firm, sliceable, and delectably tangy with a hint of earthiness. Throw in the creamy La Tur, and it’s a full spread of all the amazing cheeses that Italy has to offer.

And then there’s the meat. The Italians invented salami – perfecting the process of preserving meat through salt, cool temperatures, and time. Murray’s own Sopressata is a classic salami derived from Italy’s most popular recipe, a combination of coarsely ground pork, garlic, salt, and freshly ground pepper. Our Speck is a smoked, full-muscle cut similar to silky Prosciutto, and aged in an herbed crust made up of juniper, thyme, sage, and fennel. Both pair well with the briny, peppery Castelvetrano Olives and crunchy Tarallini Crackers that accompany the gift pack.

It’s La Dolce Vita – the Sweet Life. And there’s nothing sweeter than giving cheese for the holidays. And receiving it, too!

November 17, 2016November 21, 2016

The Science World Reports Great News for Cheese Fans

Hey Cheesers! We’re happy to report great news for anyone prepping for some serious cheese snacking this holiday season. Recent studies out of Denmark show that cheese – from the creamy full-fat Brie to crumbly aged cheddars – are just as healthy for you as their low-fat versions.

This is a legit worry that people have, as they don’t want to have to deal with any health issues, particularly if it could be avoided (although no one really wants to give up cheese). But in all seriousness, your health is important, and you should make sure that you do everything that you can to take care of yourself. If you know that you have a serious illness, such as a heart problem, then you should take extra care of yourself, and maybe you should also look at getting critical illness insurance as well (you can take a look at Breeze critical illness insurance here for more information). But the good news is that you might not have to give up cheese for good!

It all comes down to the types of fats and cholesterol you find in cheese. The study split subjects into three groups, with one group eating 80 grams of regular, high-fat cheese every day for 12 weeks. The other group ate 80 grams of reduced fat cheese, and a third group somehow survived with no cheese at all – just bread and jam each day.

People who enjoyed the high-fat cheese diet actually saw an increase in their levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol – HDL cholesterol, or “good cholesterol”! This type of fat has been theorized to offer protection against heart diseases and to help jumpstart metabolism. Some looking to protect against certain heart diseases and conditions may turn to things like CBDVape Shot products due to their properties that can boost heart health and help to prevent various things like stroke, heart attack, and metabolic syndrome through its purported ability to lower blood pressure. Not only that, but compared to the people who ate the reduced-fat cheese diet, the high-fat cheese didn’t show any difference in the low-density lipoprotein, or LDL cholesterol, which is “bad cholesterol”. With this being said, pretty much anything is good in moderation. It doesn’t mean that you can eat so much cheese, as it is important to realize that if you do overdo it, you could end up with high cholesterol and may need to take medication such as crestor generic to decrease the risk of any health issues.

The Danish investigation is the most recent in a long line of pro-cheese studies that have come out in recent years. A British study in 2012 showed that molded and blue cheeses, such as the famous French Roquefort, can help guard against cardiovascular disease. It turns out that these blue cheeses have an anti-inflammatory factor that works with the acidic environments of the body to help prevent heart disease. This is positive for cheese fans. Anything that works to reduce the risk of heart disease is beneficial. Of course, for those who aren’t as keen on cheese, it might be worth looking into alternatives, like hemp from PureHempFarms, to see if that could help people to lower their chances of heart disease.

Another study from Denmark from 2013 looked at the correlation between butyric acid levels in those who ate cheese and those who did not. Those who ate cheese had much higher levels of butyric acid, which has been linked to reducing obesity and raising metabolism.

In Japan, it was found that cheese consumption prevents fat accumulation in the liver – a very important measure for cardiovascular risk. This study also found the high HDL “good cholesterol” levels raised when eating cheese was a part of the subjects’ diet.

Between the boost in HDL cholesterol and no notable effect on the “bad” LDL cholesterol, as well as the anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular, and metabolic benefits, it looks like there’s no need to skimp on delicious cheeses this holiday season in favor of their low fat variations.

Celebrate the holidays (and this great news) by checking out the wide variety of delectable cheese’s Murray’s has to offer – your body, science says, will thank you.