The Cheese Lady
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Letter #12
OPEN at the shop
197 W. Clay, Downtown Muskegon
Tues - Fri 10 - 6
Saturday 9 - 4
At the Muskegon Farmers' Market
Thursday and Saturday mornings
I know you are wondering about the new store but . . .
between the painting and the running around,
we are managing to get some family time in, too.
Both my sons have been around this summer.
There are some local weddings that they are involved with
so we've been lucky to be part of the travel track.
Todd, Sarah and Elle were here for a week
and Nate and Kelly have been back and forth, too.
____________________
The new shop is coming along.
We're thinking 4 weeks or so.
The floors are done.
The wiring is done.
The plumbing is mostly done.
The painting is mostly done.
The facade plan has changed because under the old siding
we found city brick, it has been sandblasted and repaired,
and tomorrow the wooden part of the facade begins it's renovation.
We are plugging away on the cleanup and the transfers
and are excited with how it is looking.
.
Standing at the back of the new store,
looking toward the windows.
________________________________
CHEESE
It's back!!!
Real Roquefort.
John and I were lucky enough to visit the Lacaune sheep barns
and the caves where Roquefort is aged in April of 2004.
The 7 companies that make Roquefort all work on the same street and eat in the same cafeteria.
The people were warm and welcoming.
It was a magical trip.
This account of Roquefort was written
by Jeff Babcock of European Imports, my supplier.
________________________
The real celebrities here are not the historic and prolific people
who have delighted in eating this cheese,
but the Lacaune sheep and the cryptic caverns
of Cambalou that have given us the magic that is Roquefort.
The wondrous ewes of south central France provide the richest full cream milk
for the production of Roquefort.
All Roquefort must be made exclusively with 100% ewe’s milk,
neither pasteurized nor homogenized, allowing every bit of quality
to pass into the cheese itself.
Either process would take something away from the historic presentation of this cheese.
It is to be noted that the land on which these animals are raised is in every way natural,
free of pesticides and environmental worries,
something the Appellation of Roquefort has gone to great lengths to ensure.
The animals graze on this lush countryside and wander the rolling green hills,
brought in morning and evening for milk collection.
The history of the cheese in this region of Aveyron and the town of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon
dates back in writing to Pliny the Elder in AD 79 and little has changed for the cheese since those days.
Modernization has allowed for larger scale production and easier collection of milk,
but protection for its authentic nature has continually been refined over the centuries.
The epicenter of this are the caverns of Cambalou,
the prehistoric limestone caves in which all true Roquefort must age;
wherein the special Penicillin Roquefort mold was discovered.
These caves, which were expanded into elaborate labyrinths in the 17th century,
provide the perfect aging facility for the cheese.
The temperature remains low and the humidity very high through “fleurines”,
natural fissures that rise some 300’ to the surface and act as a sophisticated ventilation system.
Young cheese, which has been colonized with mold,
is transported from the dairy to the caverns for its aging process to begin.
Life In Provence Roquefort is produced using the age-old method
of molding rye bread and seeding the cheese curd,
a process that has been given up by most.
Pierced with needles, the mystical green-blue veins will begin to develop
in the depths of the cheese started by the moldy bread spores.
Down in the damp caverns of Cambalou the cheeses have been transformed,
a slow aging process that takes many months,
and can now be brought back to the surface and eaten!
Life In Provence Roquefort itself is wonderful, salty and powerful
with the grassy rustic flavor of ewe’s milk shining through.
The flavor is vibrant, yet not overpowering,
creamy in the mouth and slightly crumbly.
The saltiness of Roquefort begs for something sweet,
either in the beverage or in the food you are pairing with it.
Sweet wines, such as Sauternes, are natural partners with Roquefort,
as are fresh fruits and toasted fruit and nut breads.
It is a bold cheese, so do not shy away from pairings with big reds and your filet of beef!
I prefer it in its purest form though, perhaps on a Life In Provence mini toast,
but nothing else to distract me from its greatness.
Roquefort is uniquely French,
a source of pride and a signature of national heritage,
a grand addition to our family of cheeses.
With Stilton and Gorgonzola, Roquefort stands as one of the great blue cheeses;
rising from the dark caverns to the plates of kings, this cheese is truly one for all ages.
(text by Jeff Babcock)
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Letter #12
OPEN at the shop
197 W. Clay, Downtown Muskegon
Tues - Fri 10 - 6
Saturday 9 - 4
At the Muskegon Farmers' Market
Thursday and Saturday mornings
I know you are wondering about the new store but . . .
between the painting and the running around,
we are managing to get some family time in, too.
Both my sons have been around this summer.
There are some local weddings that they are involved with
so we've been lucky to be part of the travel track.
Todd, Sarah and Elle were here for a week
and Nate and Kelly have been back and forth, too.
____________________
The new shop is coming along.
We're thinking 4 weeks or so.
The floors are done.
The wiring is done.
The plumbing is mostly done.
The painting is mostly done.
The facade plan has changed because under the old siding
we found city brick, it has been sandblasted and repaired,
and tomorrow the wooden part of the facade begins it's renovation.
We are plugging away on the cleanup and the transfers
and are excited with how it is looking.
.
Standing at the back of the new store,
looking toward the windows.
________________________________
CHEESE
It's back!!!
Real Roquefort.
John and I were lucky enough to visit the Lacaune sheep barns
and the caves where Roquefort is aged in April of 2004.
The 7 companies that make Roquefort all work on the same street and eat in the same cafeteria.
The people were warm and welcoming.
It was a magical trip.
This account of Roquefort was written
by Jeff Babcock of European Imports, my supplier.
________________________
The real celebrities here are not the historic and prolific people
who have delighted in eating this cheese,
but the Lacaune sheep and the cryptic caverns
of Cambalou that have given us the magic that is Roquefort.
The wondrous ewes of south central France provide the richest full cream milk
for the production of Roquefort.
All Roquefort must be made exclusively with 100% ewe’s milk,
neither pasteurized nor homogenized, allowing every bit of quality
to pass into the cheese itself.
Either process would take something away from the historic presentation of this cheese.
It is to be noted that the land on which these animals are raised is in every way natural,
free of pesticides and environmental worries,
something the Appellation of Roquefort has gone to great lengths to ensure.
The animals graze on this lush countryside and wander the rolling green hills,
brought in morning and evening for milk collection.
The history of the cheese in this region of Aveyron and the town of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon
dates back in writing to Pliny the Elder in AD 79 and little has changed for the cheese since those days.
Modernization has allowed for larger scale production and easier collection of milk,
but protection for its authentic nature has continually been refined over the centuries.
The epicenter of this are the caverns of Cambalou,
the prehistoric limestone caves in which all true Roquefort must age;
wherein the special Penicillin Roquefort mold was discovered.
These caves, which were expanded into elaborate labyrinths in the 17th century,
provide the perfect aging facility for the cheese.
The temperature remains low and the humidity very high through “fleurines”,
natural fissures that rise some 300’ to the surface and act as a sophisticated ventilation system.
Young cheese, which has been colonized with mold,
is transported from the dairy to the caverns for its aging process to begin.
Life In Provence Roquefort is produced using the age-old method
of molding rye bread and seeding the cheese curd,
a process that has been given up by most.
Pierced with needles, the mystical green-blue veins will begin to develop
in the depths of the cheese started by the moldy bread spores.
Down in the damp caverns of Cambalou the cheeses have been transformed,
a slow aging process that takes many months,
and can now be brought back to the surface and eaten!
Life In Provence Roquefort itself is wonderful, salty and powerful
with the grassy rustic flavor of ewe’s milk shining through.
The flavor is vibrant, yet not overpowering,
creamy in the mouth and slightly crumbly.
The saltiness of Roquefort begs for something sweet,
either in the beverage or in the food you are pairing with it.
Sweet wines, such as Sauternes, are natural partners with Roquefort,
as are fresh fruits and toasted fruit and nut breads.
It is a bold cheese, so do not shy away from pairings with big reds and your filet of beef!
I prefer it in its purest form though, perhaps on a Life In Provence mini toast,
but nothing else to distract me from its greatness.
Roquefort is uniquely French,
a source of pride and a signature of national heritage,
a grand addition to our family of cheeses.
With Stilton and Gorgonzola, Roquefort stands as one of the great blue cheeses;
rising from the dark caverns to the plates of kings, this cheese is truly one for all ages.
(text by Jeff Babcock)