New York Cork Report

Catapano Dairy Farm Fresh Chevre

One of the things I look forward to the most during the in spring and summer months is the abundance of fresh chevre that is available. The bright and creamy texture coupled with basil, heirloom tomatoes, and a grind of fresh black pepper… it doesn’t get much better than that in my book.

Conversely, there is a part of me that is always a little sad as we move into late fall and winter, the goats move into the barn, and that fantastic cheese is taken away for another year. 

Goats generally mate during the September and October months, and give birth to kids through April. Although the first few months of milk go to the kids, mothers can usually continue producing milk for the next six months, resulting in a somewhat finite period of time during which chevre and other goat’s milk cheese to be made. 

Fresh chevre is essentially the ultimate expression for seasonality in the cheese world. One of the finest examples of this is right on Long Island at Catapano Dairy Farm.

Located on the North Fork of Long Island, Catapano Dairy Farm has been making headlines since 2005 ever since their cheese won 1st place for chevre from the American Cheese Society, considered the most prestigious cheese competition in the country.

I was first introduced to the cheese a few years ago when my wife and I first started coming down to visit Lenn and Nena on Long Island. It was a revelation then, and continues to be the benchmark that I strive for every time I make fresh chevre at home.  T

he cheese has an incredibly moist and creamy texture with a slight scent of grass and flowers that you immediately associate with freshness and quality. What I like about this chevre is that it isn’t overwhelmingly "goaty."  What I mean by that is some goat’s milk cheeses can be so acidic and tangy on the backend that it can overwhelm some people to where they will swear off any cheese made with goat’s milk. The Catapano is incredibly mild and smooth with just a hint of the brightness on the end, and has converted several goat cheese haters into Catapano lovers. 

Put it on a cracker, put it in a salad, put it on a spoon…it’s that good…

As I sit and write this on a cool day near the end of summer, I am reminded once again that the spring and summer months are fleeting. Fresh chevre is only going to be made available for a little longer. Take advantage of it while you can. Catapano is a good place to start.

Two Cheeses From Sprout Creek Farms

By Aaron Estes, Cheese Editor

As I mentioned in my last post about a positive addition to the Rhinebeck beer and cheese scene, I used the opportunity to try a couple of New York cheeses that I was unfamiliar with.

Having lived in the Hudson Valley for quite a while, I can attest that most people are familiar with Sprout Creek Farms. Located right within the heart of Poughkeepsie, this working farm provides education for children and adults with a specific focus on connecting the people with the land, animals and seasonality. 

One of the primary methods by which this message is conveyed is through making cheese. I have had a couple of Sprout Creek cheeses in the past, but the selection in the case at Grand Cru had a wedge of both Batch 35 and Toussaint. I had heard of these cheeses, but I had never taken an opportunity to taste them for myself.

Batch 35 is a washed-rind cheese made with raw cow's milk. The label on the wrapper (direct from the farm) indicated that this cheese is both pungent and meaty. After unwrapping and letting it come up to room temp (about an hour), the rind was bright orange and quite sticky. The nose on the cheese was...well…almost non-existent. There was a little bit of butter with a hint of sourness on the end, but not the meaty pungency that I expected given the the description. The texture was very flexible -- almost to the point of being rubbery. The taste was very mild with the same hint of butter from the nose and mild creaminess that I could almost associate with a Fontina.

Because of the stark differences between the descriptors used by the cheese makers and the way it was tasting for me on this day, I have a feeling that this was a wedge cut from an older batch. I would really like to taste this again as I suspect that either age or poor storage had an adverse effect.

The Toussaint by way of contrast was a welcome change. This Alpine-style cheese has a dry and dusty rind that gave the cheese a very rustic, handmade look and feel. The familiar Alpine aroma of sweet nuttiness was mixed with the mustiness of dried hay that drew me right in.

The texture was very flaky and dry, which enabled me to shave off a thin piece and let it melt in my mouth. The nice amount of salt in the paste melded well with the subtle flavors of butter and caramel, providing a well-rounded flavor. The dry texture really begs for it to be paired with some sort of beverage. I have to admit that I have never had an Alpine cheese that was quite this dry before. This isn't a negative by any means, but simply unique.

I like a nice saison and saison-style ales with Alpine style cheeses as I like the slight barnyard funk of the beer paired with the sweet notes from the cheese. This cheese would provide no exception.

The next time I visit the Hudson Valley, I would like to visit Sprout Creek Farms, meet the cheese makers, and get more of a sense of their cheese making philosophy. After tasting these two cheeses, I am anxious to revisit their portfolio and explore the rest of their line.

Grand Cru Beer & Cheese Market: Great Beers. Good Start for Cheese.

By Aaron Estes, Cheese Editor

Having lived in the Hudson Valley, I can attest that it is somewhat difficult to find shops that offer a quality cheese selection. The places that do have carry cheese beyond your normal supermarket variety do not necessarily specialize in promoting local, artisanal cheese. But, a friend sent me an email that mentioned about a New York-focused beer and cheese shop that had just opened up in Rhinebeck, NY.

Rhinebeck, for those of you not familiar, is a beautiful historic area on the banks of the Hudson River in Northern Dutchess County that serves as home to several historic landmarks, restaurants and B&Bs.

With all of this to offer, there was one thing definitely lacking… a place to buy New York-sourced cheese and beer. I've spent a lot time in Rhinebeck, and understand the local feel to the area. So, I was excited to head to the Grand Cru Beer & Cheese Market and check out the offerings.

Upon entering, I could see that this place takes great pride in their beer selection. There were many great and hard-to-find breweries offered that are sometimes difficult to find even in New York City. In addition to the shelves of beer in which to “build your own six-pack,” and refrigerated cases to take and drink right away, they offer growlers and three daily selections from which to choose.  It was pretty impressive to walk into this new shop and decide on having a pint from Victory Prima Pils from PA, Ommegang Zuur from NY, and Avery Maharaja IPA from CO. All in all, this is quite a nice beer selection in an area that desperately needed a specialty shop.

That being said, I wish that their cheese selection was as extensive and varied as their beer selection.

In looking at the cheese selection, I saw a variety of cheeses that were pre-wrapped in a cold case next to the register in the back.  The cheese selection is New York-centric (which is great) with a few European favorites thrown in, but it seemed to favor one particular New York cheese farm above the others. 

Of the 10 local cheeses that were in the case (by my count at the time) 8 of them were from Sprout Creek Farm in Poughkeepsie, NY. 

There is nothing necessarily wrong with that, but I would think that a shop with a New York focus would extend beyond the immediate area. 

There were some other cheeses in the case as well -- Coach Farm Chevre and Old Chatham Ewe’s Blue -- but the case looked pretty empty with some pieces wrapped haphazardly in plastic wrap. When I asked about a couple of the Sprout Creek cheeses with which I was not familiar, they didn’t have anything open for me to sample, as everything is pre-weighed, priced and wrapped. 

After buying a couple of pieces (more on the cheeses themselves in an upcoming post), I took a seat in the front of the shop where they have a few tables and chairs. My cheeses were brought to me on a board with a few crackers and shot glass of delicious local honey for me to pair with and enjoy. But like I said, more on that in a future post.

I think it is important for any cheese shop to excite their customers about the cheeses they carry. Bring them into the stories behind the cheese, where it was produced and what the cheese maker is striving for. A great way to do that is by talking over a taste, and talking about it together.

Getting a feel for your inventory can be a difficult thing to do, especially in a brand new shop for a new area. 

Making sure that there is enough cheese to sample as well as sell is a fine line, especially without any prior knowledge or benchmark data. Having been open for only about a month as of July 12, I think the owners have made a great start in bringing artisanal cheese (and beer) to this community.  I am hopeful that as the shop owners get more of a feel for their customer base, and familiarity with the great cheeses that are being produced in New York, they will take the next step in branching out to other regions, offering tastes of what they have selected, cutting to order, and bringing their cheese counter up to the level that their beer selection has already achieved. I think this shop has a lot of potential. 

Give it some time and refinement, and this shop could become a destination spot for cheese and beer lovers making a trip through the Hudson Valley.

New York Cheese: Ewe's Blue

By Aaron Estes, Cheese Editor

As a part-time cheesemonger, I am routinely asked for my recommendations for cheeses. Composing a cheese plate for a party, pairing with a specific wine and making an addition or substitution for a recipe are all issues that I handle in a typical day when standing behind the counter. 

And, as we move into the summer months, more and more people are grilling outside and looking for that perfect blue cheese to top their steak, melt over their burger or even toss with a salad of field greens. 

Invariably, my first suggestion is “Ewe’s Blue” from Old Chatham Sheepherding Company in upstate New York. 

  Tom and Nancy Clark own the largest flock of dairy sheep in the country on their farm in Old Chatham, located in the heart of the Hudson Valley.

Using the pasteurized sheep’s milk from approximately 1,200 East Friesian crossbreeds, “Ewe’s Blue” is a soft and moist blue cheese made in the Roquefort style -- a style typified by a sharp flavor with a hint of acidity and salt on the front end, and a rich and creamy paste on the interior, with a long and lingering finish that can sometimes bring about a hint of smoke.

The veining is blue with pockets of green that give this cheese such a sharp tang and what is generally associated with a “blue” flavor. 

What I find most remarkable about this cheese is the unctuous texture. Of the three milk types generally used in cheesemaking, sheep’s milk is the most distinctive in that it has higher milk fat content than either cow and goat milk. The result is a higher concentration of fat within the curd that gives these cheeses a rich mouthfeel and complexity. 

With the high fat content and salty bite on the front end of this cheese, an assertive wine or beer is needed in order to complement. Classic blue cheese pairings include beverages with a sweet component to balance the saltiness, such as a barley wine, port or even a late harvest riesling.

Although this cheese is based on the Roquefort style, Old Chatham Sheepherding Company has created a truly American artisanal cheese that propels us forward in establishing our cheese cultural identity.

Cheese Geek Aaron Estes Joins NYCR Team as Cheese Editor

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor

As the New York Cork Report continues to evolve and grow, it's important that we never lose sight of the fact that wine (and beer) are not meant to be enjoyed in a vacuum.

You need food and friends to get the most out of wine and vice versa.

With that in mind, please welcome Aaron Estes our new Cheese Editor.

I've known Aaron for just over five years -- a fact that I'm able to remember only because I first met him at his wedding, which was only a couple months before my own. I do remember my own anniversary and thus sort of know when his is as well.

Our wives went to college together and have been friends for a long time  -- and sometimes those forced college-friend's-significant-other friends work out, I guess. This is one of those times, and many of the best "meals" Nena and I have had over the past five years have barely been meals at all in the traditional sense. Instead they often involved Aaron, his wife Christine and a table filled with cheese, cured meat, bread, olives...and of course wine and beer.

An IT project manager by day, cheesemaker and cheesemonger by night, Aaron became a serious cheese freak a couple of years ago while spending time in Wisconsin on an opera gig. Yes. He's a singer too...just like Nena and Christine.

When he isn't making cheese at home (quite well I might add), mongering at Lucy's Whey at Manhattan's Chelsea Market, or traveling to various farms for classes or inspiration, you can find him trying to put his passion for cheese and pairings into words at the Cave-Aged Blog.

For the New York Cork Report, he'll be writing about the New York cheese industry and artisanal cheeses made in New York. There are some amazing cheeses being made in New York and they deserves more attention in much the same way New York wines do. 

If nothing else, I look forward to "researching" some co-written posts about cheese and wine pairings.