So what's next

Well, nothing for a few weeks while we let the holidays blow over.

It doesn't mean we're idle, however. I'll be busy setting up the menu and cheese program for a new wine bar owned by the folks who created Harlem Vintage. Our debut tasting will be in early January.

Meanwhile the next Joy of Cheese event at 10 Degrees in the East Village will be in late January. We'll do our second annual survey called Ports and Blues and Other News.

-MJ

A Man Called Rolf

The Joy of Cheese Presents A Man Called Rolf

Switzerland is one of the great cheesemaking nations of the world and Rolf Beeler is out to prove it. His Gruyere is so dense and wonderful that people have it and break out into song (well not just anybody, the singing man was a professional opera singer). His other cheeses make people who aren’t musicians hear music too.

There’s a lot more to the Switzerland tradition than Emmenthal and Gruyere and we’re going to explore them in the November tasting series at 10 Degrees. Expect cheeses like Forsterkase, Half Moon, Riesling X Sylvaner, Fricalin and maybe, just maybe…a very special seasonal cheese. Most of the cheeses will be by Rolf Beeler but not all; we will introduce cheeses by up-and-coming affineurs as well, and we will probably sneak an American into the mix for comparison.

Overall we will investigate 12-14 cheeses; there will be dark chocolate, fruit and two mystery cheeses. I am happy to answer questions about these cheeses and about cheese in general.

The tastings are Tuesdays November 6^th and 13^th as well as Thursday November 8^th

As always the tastings run from just after 7 until around 8:30 at 10 Degrees, the wonderful wine and high end spirits bar at 121 St. Marks Place in the East Village. Admission to the tasting is $30 and you pay for your drinks as you go.

Reservations are a must. Contact me at thejoyofcheese@yahoo.com

And The Joy of Cheese now has a column, The Joys of Cheese at moli.com

http://www.moli.com/p/moliview/6_197451/article

Next tastings: January dates tba, our second annual celebration of Ports and Blues

-MJ

Cheese that's rocking my world these days

Tarentaise: a wonderful Vermont interpretation of the French classic Tomme D'Abondance. Whereas its inspiration offers a gentle balance of nuttiness and earthiness, Tarentaise, especially when aged nine months or longer, is a big burst of roasted macadamia nuts. I love it melted.

Persielle Des Tignes. Speaking of mouthfuls, this cylinder of firm goat's milk cheese hails from the Rhone Valley and it's a big mouthful of dirt. In a good way. Show this to the next person who says you can't pair goat's milk cheeses with red wine. This baby screams for a Chateauneuf du Pape.

Bleu D'Auvergne Mons: Not just any ol' Bleu D'Auvergne, but the one from Herve Mons! Harvey's spin on the basic French blue is a sweet creamy and biting. You'd almost think it was a Roquefort.

The World needs more Cheesemongers!

Friday late afternoon, I was at Dean and DeLuca's Soho branch waiting behind a customer who was getting a nice spread of cheese. The customer looked at the wide variety of chevres available and wondered aloud where to begin. I pointed him to Gianni Cora's Caprino Castagna, a beautifully supple fresh goat's milk cheese from Tuscany wrapped in chestnut leaves. When his counterperson returned, the customer mentioned that he was interested in a chevre and that this Caprino Castagna looked interesting. The counterperson immediately brushed aside his interest and talked him into Humboldt Fog, a well known goat cheese from Northern California. Excitedly, the counterperson said"it's a goat cheese but it's not stong!" as if that was some sort of ringing endorsement.

Oh well. Great cheese counters should have competent staff, but that's probably asking too much these days.

-MJ

The next tasting

The Joy of Cheese Presents Cheeses to pair with Autumn wines

Ever notice that all of the wine and cheese pairing strategies come from the wine community? At The Joy of Cheese we’d like to counter that with some wisdom from the cheese side.

Autumn wines tend to be a fruitier and sweeter than their warm weather counterparts, and to a cheesemonger way of looking at the world, that means it’s time to break out the more aggressive cheeses. At our next Joy of Cheese tasting, look for such off the beaten path delights as Shawandase from Long Island (yes, Long Island), Rocotiere from France, Calcagno from Sardinia and a host of other loud and proud cheeses.

The tastings will take place October 16, 18 and 23 at 10 Degrees, the wine and high end spirits bar at 121 St. Mark’s Place in the East Village. The tastings start just after 7 and run until 8:30. Tickets for the tasting are $30 and attendees pay for their wine (or any other spirit that suits them) at the bar separately. To reserve space, e-mail me at thejoyofcheese@yahoo.com.

Our tastings usually begin with an introductory cheese, then a flight of three cheeses followed by a round of fruit, and a mystery cheese to keep folks on their toes. This flight/fruit/mystery cheese sequence is repeated twice then at the end, we finish with a round of chocolate (usually 60% dark from Jacques Torres). I’m happy to answer any and all questions about cheese. Although many of the regulars call these classes, instead they are more like informal discussion groups where a delicious series of cheeses are served.

Next tasting: A Man Called Rolf, the cheeses of the great Swiss affineur Rolf Beeler November 6, 8 and 13.

The Essential Problem for high end retailers of cheese

You probably have friends who cook and friends who don't, but both go to great restaurants.
When the friends who cook tell you about their meal, they go into some detail, for instance, they may have had the monkfish seasoned with lavender and fennel, drizzled with blood orange juice and roasted in a banana leaf. When your friends that don't cook tell you about their meal, they tell you that they had the fish, it was great.

Here's the issue for cheesemongers. The overwhelming majority of customers don't make cheese and what's more, that overwhelming majority haven't even handled cheese.

Thus our cherished lexicon, pressed, raw, washed, etc. is all Greek to them. And if they're Greek and speak their native tongue, then it's all Swahili or some such. Thus they're all in the boat of the person who doesn't cook yet goes to great restaurants.

So for cheesemongers the issue is selling cheese and bringing them up to speed on cheese. It's hard work. Most customers at a cheese shop would like to just say, I'll have what I had last time and hope that you know what that means.

-MJ

The next tasting

The Joy of Cheese Presents Cheeses of Spain, Portugal and Colorado, yes, that Colorado

There’s a lot more to cheesemaking in the Iberian Peninsula than Manchego.

The first Joy of Cheese event of autumn will focus on the great cheesemaking traditions of Spain and Portugal and how these techniques have spread to unlikely places.

Our selections will likely include Queso De Mano (an American), Serpa, Monte Nebro, Roncal, Quinta Boa Vista, Pau, Garrotxa, Serena and several rare varieties.

Your wine drinking may be shifting toward sweeter whites and more red in general and these cheeses are an ideal match.

The tastings are scheduled for Tuesdays September 25^th and October 2^nd as well as Thursday September 27^th.

As always the tastings run from just after 7 until around 8:30 at 10 Degrees, the wonderful wine and high end spirits bar at 121 St. Marks Place in the East Village. Admission to the tasting is $30 and you pay for your drinks as you go.

Reservations are a must. Contact me at thejoyofcheese@yahoo.com

The Joy of Cheese blog is up at http://thejoyofcheese.blogspot.com

Next tastings October 16, 18 and 23: Cheeses for Autumn Wines

-MJ