Tag: curd nerd
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Three Reasons to Treat Yo-self to a Cheesemaking Class
About a year and a half ago, we hired a new baby cheesemonger named Janna at the shop I worked at in West Seattle. One of her previous cheese qualifications was that she had taken a cheesemaking workshop from another local grocery store, PCC Community Markets. Listening to Janna talk about the class, it seemed…
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Why You Need to Try Tête de Moine, the Tiniest Mountain Cheese
You know it is autumn when your cheese shop bulks up on Alpine-style cheeses. The summer’s proliferation of fresh cheeses and backpacker-ready goudas has been shrunk to a minimum. Meanwhile, Gruyère mountain grows in the “Swiss cheese” side of the case. It is as sure a thing as the leaves changing colors or pumpkin spice-flavored…
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German Cheesecake: Revisited
It seems to be cheesecake week here in Seattle. Not only did I have a hankering to bake one on my days off this week, but now I hear one of my friends is baking one for her anniversary this weekend, too. I posted a very solid recipe for German-style cheesecake last December. Since I…
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Sunday Pun-Day: Conversational Skills Starter Pack
It’s been a while since we’ve had a good Sunday Pun-Day on this blog. Since the last time, I’ve gotten really good at working cheesy puns into everyday conversations. Sometimes, the puns fall flat. Like when someone doesn’t know what Scamorza is. (Read this, and you, too, will know what a Scamorza is.) So, for…
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Hey Honey, Comb try these Cheese Pairings!
Honeycomb is delicious, luscious, and expensive. So you know when you are about to eat it that you want the experience to be worth the money, honey. Since cheese is also delicious, luscious, and sometimes expensive, it makes a great partner for honey and honeycombs in kind. I asked in a social media post a…
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A Tale of Cheese as Old as Time
Not too long ago, one of my dear readers submitted a question to the blog (something anyone can do, by the way; it’s nice to get a message from someone who isn’t a spambot). That question was as follows: Can a cheese be too old to eat? The question was prompted by the video I…
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Five Feta Ways to Savor Summer’s Last Days
Earlier this week, I wrote about the wonders of Feta, its history, and the many cultures that enjoy the beautiful brine-cured (read: pickled) cheese. While I talked up its many applications in just about every food under the sun, I didn’t provide many examples of seasonal Feta dishes you could take to your table NOW.…
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Feta Makes Everything Better
There’s a common saying in our household: “Feta makes it betta!” And let’s face it, it’s absolutely true. A salad is not a “good” salad unless it is covered in crumbled Feta. Fish tacos are not quite as fresh-tasting without Feta. And mindless snacking is just not the same unless you are able to pick…
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Pasta Filata Cheeses: Not Just for Pizza or Pasta
Pasta Filata: it’s kind of fun to say. And wouldn’t you know, this family of cheeses is also fun to eat! Pasta filata is Italian for “spun paste,” meaning that the cheeses’ curds are spun, or stretched, before the cheeses are aged (if they are aged). Filata means “string” or “thread,” and can be translated…
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The Best Cheeses for Communing with Nature
It comes as maybe no surprise that a question frequently asked of Northwest cheesemongers is, “I’m going backpacking; what would be a good cheese to take with me?” (or the other common variant, “what are some good cheeses to take camping?”). The root of the question is really, “what cheese will not kill me if…
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What Happens at Cheese Camp Doesn’t Stay at Cheese Camp
Yeah, I went there—with the bad “what happens at _______ stays at ________” reference in the title AND to cheese camp. You’re welcome. [metaslider id=890] So I went to Cheese Camp last week. And if you are wondering what that means, sit tight; I’m about to tell you all about it. For the…
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Grand Ewe’s One Tough Gouda
Okay, okay. I’ve definitely gotten the memos from my readership that this blog needs MOAR VIDEOZ. And so I took some time out of my busy workday of managing a cheese shop to stop and cut the cheese–and film it for y’all. (And no, mom, I did not “glam it up” for this one. This…
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Ricotta Ice Cream Will Rock Your World
Hi, it’s me again! Ricotta’s biggest fangirl! (Don’t believe me? See exhibits A, B, C, and D, for starters.) But seriously, I just made the best batch of ice cream I have ever created, and it is thanks in no small part to the greatness of ricotta. I got the idea from a customer, actually.…
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Fresh Cheeses to Freshen up Your Summer Picnics (and Everyday Life)
Fresh cheeses are the wee babes of the cheese world, you might say. Allowed to sit for only a few days before they should be consumed, these youngest cheeses are fresh in all senses of the word. Understanding fresh cheeses requires a quick lesson in cheesemaking. The milk, which must be pasteurized if a fresh…
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Burrata: The Dumpling of Cheeses
Burrata and I have had a complicated relationship since my time in the cheese biz. That’s because it hasn’t always sold the way it was expected, or at least hoped, to sell. In the first cheese shop I worked at, I didn’t really understand what Burrata was. I stocked the few cases we received, it…