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September 23, 2013September 23, 2013

Raves From The Caves: September 23, 2013

By:Tess McNamara

The crew in the caves have been working hard over the last few weeks to get our favorite fall friend, Little Big Apple back on the counter. Read on to check out how it, and a few more varieties are maturing in the caves!

Little Big Apple: So what if we start our morning with a nip of apple brandy and a Champlain Valley Triple Crème? Don’t judge. As of late we’re pumping out, Little Big Apple, a fall special that begins with a triple crème from Vermont, that we then wrap tenderly in brandy soaked apple leaves plucked from the trees in Warwick, NY. Many thanks to a team of leaf picking warriors from Murray’s that devoted an entire Saturday to the cause. Get ready for this little bundle of butter and citrusy booze to knock you into fall.

Abbaye de Belloc: Another Basque sheep’s milk cheese that lurks in the shadows of its counterparts in the Alpine cave, but we’re here to tell you it might be a little smaller in format, and look different with its rattlesnake skin grey/yellow/brown combination rind, but it’s really top notch in flavor. Make a cut to discover a rich, creamy, grassy, butter laden paste. The caramelized finish will keep you coming back for more.

Isle of Mull: The finish line is in sight for this drum of clothbound cheddar from Scotland. Get it before it doesn’t show up on our counters again for some time. If you’re a fan of horseradish and bitter dandelion greens together with sour cream pockets, this is your animal.

Torus: Softer and more doughy than usual, Torus is a little bit more delicate in texture but consistently bright, tangy, and yeasty in flavor. Our favorite lemony ring, if you will. Add some honey, or feel free to spread this temperamental donut on crostini with a savory counterpart to see what the runny creamline will do.

August 27, 2013August 27, 2013

Raves From the Caves: August 27, 2013

By:Tess McNamara

Ahh the Murray’s cheese caves! The best place in New York City for cheese to take some time to age and really up the funk. We consider the caves a sort of day spa for cheese. They get the care they need to be all that they can be! “Raves from the caves” is a new, weekly post that will feature what is ripe and ready on the cheese counter, and what good stuff is in the pipeline.

C-Local: We’re working our way through a fresh batch with a bright, tacky rind and young, but daring cream line. The aroma is dank and the flavor full. Expect more grilled lamb and savory notes to trump those bushels mixed berries. At least for now.

Greensward: The batch released last week is still exquisite and a new tower of nearly 300 has been through its first wash. The rind on the oldest batch is darker orange with pockets of woodsy brown near the spruce bark; the paste luscious and creamy, tasting like herb butter, roasted veggies, and the wind swirling through a forest canyon.

Hudson Flower: Hudson Flower for everyone! As the fall breezes creep in, everyone should be psyched to bring home a delicious round of fall foliage in the form of orange and yellow mold adorning most rinds of Hudson Flower. Cold storage with sliding metal doors continues to hold the cream line in check. Count on gamey, earthy notes teamed with buttery, tangy pockets.

Torus: Our little doughman is firmer and more dapper this week, having benefitted from a slightly altered aging cycle. We plated torus and let the batch experience the tender awakening of the drying room, followed by an indulgent slumber in the bloomy rind cave, and finally some tough, better-shape-up love from the mini-cold storage unit. The creamline is thin, yet decadent and even, and the paste yeasty, zippy, and bright. At room temperature the geotrichum rind – now sturdy and taunt – will relax into a velvety coat.

Chevrot: This pocket sized brainy drum is with us in abundant quantities, ready to surprise goat cheese lovers all over with its lemony, cakey, zippy profile. Consider mini Chevrot a filler for the office donut run. Why grab one when you can take a dozen to the office and smother them in honey and jam?

Roquefort: Oh Roquefort, oh Roquefort, oh how I love your deep blue pockets and your gritty butter laden paste. Come home with me and make my nostrils flare and the back of my throat tingle. You are classically radiant.

August 22, 2013

Our Favorite Things: 10 Nom Nom Sandwiches for Back to School

By:Robin Minkoff

Autumn is nearly upon us, and in New York City that means we’re thisclose to the end of: the Bloomberg Era, the bare midriff trend, and easy weekend parking. But! We’re getting ready for school: picking up new shoes, notebooks, and a lunchbox. Here’s a guide to yummy sandwiches you can put together in a snap!

Taleggio with Fig Jam and Proscuitto
Irish Cheddar with Big Spoon Peanut Butter and sliced green apple
Big Spoon Peanut Almond Butter with Linden Tremblay Honey
Aged English Cheddar with Granbiscotto Cooked Prosciutto and Sonoma Brinery Bread & Butter Pickles
Big Spoon Peanut Butter with Harvest Song Sour Cherry Jam
VBC Peppered Goat Chevre with Genoa Salami and greens
VBC Plain Goat Chevre with Mortadella and McClure’s Garlic Dill Chips (put ’em right there in the sandwich!)
Mountain Gorgonzola with Due Vittore Balsamic Vinegar and Proscuitto
Appenzeller with Ham and Sonoma Brinery Spicy Bread & Butter Pickles
Mountain Gorgonzola with Linden Tremblay Honey

Don’t forget the condiments! Check out Sir Kensington Mayonnaise and Beaufor Mustard.

August 5, 2013August 5, 2013

Summer at the Cellars at Jasper Hill

By: Summer Babiarz

While driving a van of Murray’s folks to Jasper Hill Cellars in Greensboro, Vermont I am keenly aware of how “New York ” we all sound as we gush over the vibrant green mountains. One thing is for sure, we all agree that THIS is where cheese should be made. As we drive by a little boy walking down a country road carrying a fishing pole, we begin to suspect that Vermont is staging postcard moments. This theory gets legs a half hour later when a baby black bear scampers across the road. It is finally confirmed as we pass a happy herd of cows chomping greedily on a field of wildflowers. However, our favorite sighting by far is the red barn with a mural of Bayley Hazen Blue cheese posing as the moon as we roll into the gravel driveway of Jasper Hill Farms.

Not everyone gets to tour the caves at Jasper Hill, which are not open to the public. As Vince Razionale meets us warmly and asks us to sani-suit up, we chat about how lucky we are to have been given an opportunity to see some of our absolute favorites in their aging environment. Jasper Hill has a stellar reputation for craftsmanship and artistry and picking a favorite is like picking your favorite song.

The first stop was the Bloomy cave. These stone caves are magnificently beautiful and have round ceilings to prevent raining. We see newly-formed Moses Sleeper and the dramatic transformation it makes into a cloud-like pillow in only six days. New Harbison wheels are deep cream colored and do not yet have their distinctive white speckled mold growing over its boiled Spruce-bark spine.

The Alpha Tolman cave was next. Wheels of this Scharfe-Max-inspired-cheese are in neat rows up to the cave’s ceiling. Vince explains that Bloomy cheeses are a quick study due to their short life-cycle. In contrast, firm and larger format cheeses like Alpha Tolman could take years to develop fully. He cores Alpha Tolman wheels, and we all taste this cheese at different ages. Vince confesses that selling “age” is a little gimmicky and that he prefers to focus on the flavor profile.

The Cabot Clothbound Cheddar cave is so bountiful that the ammonia released during the aging process dries out your eyes as you enter. Vince explains the three benefits of lard coating these cheddars before they are bound in cloth:

1. It helps the cloth adhere to the wheel of cheese

2. It helps to develop the correct amount of mold growth

3. It helps to regulate the correct density and water weight.

The last stop is the Natural Rind cave where Bayley Hazen Blue is maturing before and after being pierced. It is especially cool to see these blues before their blue veining has developed. However, my favorite part about this cave was seeing that each rack is resting on a bed of small wet stones which helps to keep high humidity and cool temperature.

As we make our way back down to the city, freshly cut grass gives way to concrete. The rolling thunder clouds are into roaring subway cars, and the sound of crickets are silenced by honking horns on the dreaded BQE. That being said, whenever the city gets me cranky I need only nibble one of the treasures from the Cellars at Jasper Hill to remember a perfect July day in cheesenerd paradise.

July 25, 2013July 25, 2013

Counter Intelligence: Spreading the Good Word on Curd in Vermont

This past weekend some of the Murray’s staff was lucky enough to escape New York City for the fresh, magical air of Vermont, a gorgeous state with its vast green rolling hills, scattered with cow paddocks.

For the last 5 years, The Vermont Cheesemakers Festival has celebrated all things fromage. Cheese producers from all over the state gather to display a plethora of Vermont-made specialty food products. Not only did we get to catch up with some of our cheesemaking friends, but we also got to enjoy idyllic scenery. Right outside of Burlington, the festival takes place on Shelburne Farm, situated directly on Lake Champlain

When we weren’t busy rolling around in the field, munching on Vermont’s best, or petting the sweetest calf in the world (Skittles), we got to talk curd. Murray’s staffer, and all-around queso expert and connoisseur, Elizabeth Chubbuck, led the “Counter Intelligence” seminar. Elizabeth showcased a couple of cheeses sourced from Vermont that we later age in the Murray’s caves.

Elizabeth Chubbuck leading the “Counter Intelligence” seminar

You see, Murrays has a very special relationship with this state. Through our Cave Master Reserve program we have been able to source cheeses from Vermont, take them into our caves and age them. This process adds our own Murray’s terrioir to the cheeses.

As Elizabeth explained, this relationship with Vermont cheesemakers is good for both maker and seller. A great case is Vermont Butter & Cheese Company’s Torus. VBC makes this cheese exclusively for Murray’s, and sends it to us very young. When developing this cheese, we decided to go with the doughnut shape, allowing for more rind and varied texture in each bite. VBC produces the cheese, we provide the affinage – producing a product that is exclusive to our cheese counters. By collaborating with different on cheeses, it allows producers to get a little extra attention from Murray’s. We are proud of our Cave Master selection, and participating partners have the advantage of the “Murray’s Showcase”.

Shopping for cheese was another topic that Elizabeth discussed. One of the goals of Murray’s as a company is to demystify the cheese case. She provided tricks of the trade, and explained the difference between taste and flavor. We strongly encourage those who don’t have much experience in buying cheese to step up to the counter and give it a shot. Cheesemongers are thrilled to do this – helping a customer discover a new cheese by taking them through a taste journey is what inspires us.

After spending the weekend with fellow cheese nerds, beautiful cheeses, and breathtaking scenery, it was hard to say goodbye to Vermont.

The Vermont Cheesemakers Festival takes place every year in July, right outside of Burlington. Next year if you need a good reason to visit Vermont, want to eat some cheese and listen to a talented Murray’s cheese-whiz discuss the nuances of the cheese counter, the festival might just be exactly what you’re looking for. Until next year, Vermont will remain in my mind as a magical, distant memory.

(Want to take a class led by Elizabeth? She is teaching “Feel the Funk” 8/19/2013 at Murrays!)