CHEESE 101

Last night…Oh last night…First my friend Chris and I had a few beers next to a fire at The Blind Tiger. I had the Rogue John John hazelnut, which I suggest everybody try because it's dreamy, along with truffle roasted root veggies (talk about awesome bar snacks). What came after that was magic; Cheese 101..

I’ve decided I want to drop out of Brooklyn College and get myself an education at Murray's Cheese Can I get a degree there? They offer lots of classes; hard cider, honey & cheese, wine & cheese, whiskey & cheese, BREWS N' BLUES, goat cheese class, etc. We went to the cheese intro class, but we’ll be back.

 The class was on the second floor of the store in an airy white room with big windows overlooking the shop below. We all sat around a U-shaped table and had black slate plates decorated with little wedges and smears of 7 cheeses in front of us, along with bread baskets and fruit plates. They even gave us champagne & red wine; Yes you get refills. Chris nudged me “I can’t stop smiling”. Either could I…Wow. I felt like I was going to burst I was so happy; I was basically vibrating with excitement. 

The instructor Sascha Anderson was great too; So knowledgeable, comical, patient, and warm. Plus she had a baby in her belly, which is always endearing. She explained the chemistry of cheese-making in a language anyone could understand. I really loved that she used human adjectives to describe the cheeses; giving them personalities, the way I do with fruit. Even though we were the last people lingering in the room, in denial that it was over, I could have talked to her for hours more, easy. 

We tried:

UP IN SMOKE- A pasteurized goat cheese from Oregon, Aged <2 weeks,

HARBISON- A pasteurized cow cheese from Vermont, aged 1-2 months

QUADRELLO DI BUFALA- A pasteurized buffalo cheese from Italy, aged 2-4 months

TORTA DEL CASAR- A raw sheep cheese from Spain, aged 60 days

MRS. QUICKE’S CHEDDAR- A raw cow cheese from England, aged 4-6 months

PLEASANT RIDGE RESERVE- Another raw cow cheese from Wisconsin, aged 10 months

FOURME D’AMBERT- A pasteurized blue cow cheese from France, aged 2-4 months

“Up in smoke” was delicious. They even passed around the maple leaves for us to smell; smoked and softened in bourbon. Yum. 

The Harbison had cauliflower culture added to it and cambien bark wrapped around the rind, which dealt it a really different flavor than any cheese I’ve tried.

The torta del casar smelled like peanut butter and tasted like marcona almonds because of something called “thistle coagulation”, giving it a floral, sour flavor. I loved this one. 

The Fourme D’ambert blue cheese was incredible. I wasn’t aware that blue cheese had the highest concentration of salt than any other cheese style. No wonder I love it so much. They paired this cheese with a pear and hot pepper jam made by “Anarchy In a Jar” who actually did a write up on my mom and the farm market. 

The Pleasant Ridge Reserve was the one that moved me much, I had to hold on to the table so I wouldn’t melt into a puddle on the floor. I scribbled so many stars around the name on my sheet; so hard that I actually broke through the paper. Chris was scribbling stars right next to me. Great minds… The best part about this cheese was what they paired with it; a preserved young green walnut soaked in simple syrup. If you ate it with a blindfold on, you’d swear it was a fig. That walnut+ that cheese + that wine= food orgasm. 

The night was perfect...BUT WHERE WAS THE TRUFFLE CHEESE!? Is what I want to know.

Afterward, we got private shopping time in the closed store as well as 10% off purchases. We both bought box graters and caramels and got free bread. Score! I can’t wait to go back for another class, and I’ll definitely bring my new foodie partner in crime. Beautiful people, delicious cheese, and great drink.