Tag: foodie
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What You Need to Know About White, Fuzzy Rinds
The other day, a mother and her pre-teen daughter were in the shop buying cheese. In our soft-ripened cow’s milk section (which is not labeled as such), the mom picked up a small wedge and put it in their basket. “Mom, why does it say Bloomy?” the daughter asked, peering at the cheese’s label. “I…
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Ossau-Iraty is Oh So Yummy
Once upon a time I wrote about Mahón, and my deep and undying devotion for that cheese. I share those feelings equally with another cheese: a sheep’s milk Tomme from France’s Basque country that goes by the name of Ossau-Iraty. Mahón doesn’t have to worry about me cheating on it; I give these cheeses both…
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Celilo is Here!
This weekend, an older couple came into the shop looking for Death & Taxes. While I knew exactly what cheese they wanted, I had to report that we did not carry it; in fact, I do not know of a shop in Seattle that does (please let me know if I’m wrong, people!). At that…
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How to be Sweet on Citrus with Cheese
Ah, the dead of winter. That means different things to different people, to be sure. In general, we associate this time with darkness, cold, and snow. For much the northern US, Europe, and Asia, that is the reality of January and February life. When I lived in Arizona for my first 23 years, winter was…
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Health Questions About Cheese for the New Year and All Year
It’s only taken me half of January to get back online, but the holiday hangover is not at fault. Sadly, I was knocked flat by whatever plague it is that I caught at work just before Christmas. I blame the customers who cough into their hands, wipe their noses with their fingers, then proceed to…
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Why Do Cheese Shops Always Sell Fig Bread and Date Cake?
“This is cheese?” That’s the question—always practically shouted, always with incredulity—we get 99-percent of the time when a customer notices our fig bread and date cake for the first time. Last week, an older gentleman even picked up a wedge, looked me square in the eye, and said, “so this is what’s become of fruitcake?”…
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The Logistics of Giving the Gift of Cheese
I was going to put together a holiday gift guide for last-minute shoppers, but I waited as long to finish writing it as I did to do my own holiday shopping—which meant it would be too late for anyone else to get their gifts in time for Christmas if they got an idea from my…
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The 12 Days of Cheesemas
[Originally published on December 18, 2016; revised.] In honor of the holiday season that surrounds us, I give you the gift of poetry and music. Tonight is the first night of Hannukah, and tomorrow is officially 12 days away from Christmas. No matter what reason you have to celebrate, we can all take part in…
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Three Reasons Why Some Cheeses Just Melt Better
It is a fact that not all cheeses melt equally. Sometimes we have to discover this the hard way, by preparing a meal that we anticipate will be ooey-gooey and utterly delightful—only to discover hard strings of cheese scattered over the surface like a platter of dry grains. Other times, a meal we prepare to…
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Celebrate Cheesemas with a Charming Deal
‘Tis the season to buy gifts for our friends and family. Whether we’re celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the Winter Solstice, Festivus, or just general seasonal awesomeness, sharing seems to be the name of the game in December. In honor of this spirit of giving, I’m offering a pretty Gouda deal on the cheesiest hand-crafted charms…
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Thanksgiving Leftovers: Will They Raclette?
We are now four days removed from the American Thanksgiving holiday. (Yes, Canadians are also Americans, but their Thanksgiving was on October 8.) If, like me, you still have a lot of leftovers in your refrigerator, there’s a high likelihood that you are growing tired of recreating last Thursday’s feast every day. I will provide…
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Finding the ‘Taste of Place’ in Cascadia Creamery’s Cheese
This is a story about some of Washington state’s finest cheeses and the fairytale-perfect land where they are made. If you drive south on Interstate 5 from Seattle until you cross the Columbia River into Oregon, take Highway 84 East at Portland. The highway meanders along the south bank of the river, treating you to…
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The Truth About Pairing Cheese and Fruit
One of the most common questions cheesemongers get from customers is a varietal of “what fruit goes with this cheese” or “what cheese goes with the [insert fruit here] that I just picked up?” A lot of people are only imagining fruit when they ask you for a good pairing for a certain cheese. Why,…
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Trick-or-Treat! Don’t Forget the Cheese (Platter)
Whether you are heading out for an early evening of trick-or-treating with some tiny humans or staying in to hand out candy, Halloween is an excellent night for a cheese platter. And no, it’s not too late to throw something together, even if you are at work during all of the daylight hours. After all,…
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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…