elle kemp riegler
1 week

I know, I know, this is a Cheese Lady newsletter.
But look at her!!!
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OK
Some of the Friends of the Market rallied this weekend
to get a really good start on the market cleanup.
Thank you one and all!!!
There are some ongoing projects so if you
couldn't be there and are interested
there certainly is a spot for you.
Look for more on this next week or let me know
where your interests lie.
We still would like to have a Friends booth on Saturdays,
anyone up to organizing it?
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And before I get to some cheese . . .
I have an apartment for rent.
Now taking applications.
Upstairs, 1 person, 1 bedroom,
Lake view, sort of.  Very quiet.
No smoking.  No pets.
All utilities except phone.
$400.
Wireless cable available.
231-744-8652
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CHEESE
OK
Remember the Market opens this week Saturday.
I will be there!!!

Now, CHEESE.

A customer called me to order cheese for a Burgundy wine tasting.
Being The Cheese Lady and not the wine lady
I spent much time on line learning which cheeses
would be best with burgundy wines.

One of the obvious ones, and one requested.

Epoisses
Affine au Marc de Bourgogne,
this cheese is a Frenchman's delight. It has a powerful flavour with a pungent smell.
 Banned on the Paris Metro, this version is sold in sealed packs. (Approx 250 grm)

Epoisses(ay-PWAHSS)
A favorite of fans of strong-smelling cheese, the classic cow's milk cheese
Epoisses originates from Burgundy and has been made in the small town of Epoisses since the late 1700s.
In order to develop the characteristic dark orange rind, Epoisses is washed
with brine for several weeks then finished with wine or brandy.

I have to tell you, this pungent cheese is not one of my favorites.
But, that said, it is the favorite of a lot of people.
It is from the family of wash-rind cheeses.
I call them "stinky foot" cheeses.
These cheeses are earthy and, generally speaking, they taste
much better than they smell.
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Compté
A firm and mild cheese made from cow's milk, somewhat similar to cheddar in texture.
 It is light yellow in appearance if produced from summer milk and ivory
 if produced from winter milk.
It must be aged a minimum of four months before being sold,
at which time it has a light and creamy texture with a slightly nutty taste,
with a faintly sweet undertone.
 It can be matured up to 18 months (or even two years),
during which time the taste becomes more pronounced
and the texture becomes firmer and slightly crumbly.

As for all AOC cheeses, production is limited to a specific area,
which for compté roughly corresponds to the Jura mountains in the France-Compté region
(the administrative centre for compté is in the town of Poligny in the Jura department).
There are also a number of rules regarding how it is produced, including:

Only milk from cows of the Montbéliard breed can be used for making Comté.
 
There must be one acre of natural pasture per cow to graze on.
 
Soil fertilization is limited so as to preserve the richness of the natural flora.
 
Cattle feed must be natural and totally free from fermented products (no ensilage).
 
Milk straight from the cow must be collected daily and transformed within 24 hours,
without additives, preservatives or colouring agents.
 
For transforming the milk into curds,
the cheese maker must only use natural fermenting agents.

Kathleen