Hey everybody!  I know it’s been a while since the Bedford Cheese Shop blog has been up and running.  Two whole weeks.  But don’t worry!  All of you fans out there who have turned into shriveled little prune like turds due to a lack of cheese information, Cheesepinions, and snark are now gong to be relieved.

This week, as promised, I thought I’d write something about a cheese term that I just noticed popping up all over the place - Thermalized Milk.

I have a feeling that this process has been around for a while, but I’m just noticing it as our store tries to sneak younger cheeses into the shop.  But what exactly is this process?  Is it actually cool?  Or is it yet another stupid restriction that the FDA imposes on cheese importation that prevents us from getting delicious dairy goodies into the country?  I set about one afternoon to do some research and figure out if thermalized milk is too kewl for school or is a total beta (fish).

Let’s do some back story first.

Imagine the world before 1865.  I’ll sum it up for you – everyone was a bunch of pussies.  That’s right.  Yeah, yeah – everyone was more polite, the world ran at a slower pace, art was a part of daily life and architecture, things were simpler…

Ugh. Gross. All these people have polio.

FALSE.

The world was terrible and people were dying left and right for absolutely no reason.  One day you wake up and have a runny nose? BAM. Tuberculosis.  Dead.  Your friend who lives next door discovers a funny spot on his arm?  KABLOOEY.  Leprosy.  Have fun losing body parts on a remote island until you are nothing but hair and nubs.  But then came along the Industrial Revolution and the dawning of an era of new scientific and social innovation.  Wheeeeee!

This is totally the world before Louis Pastuer.

During this time, Louis Pasteur, a hunky young French whippersnapper and microbiologist, set about trying to figure out a way to prevent milk from just up and killing everyone he knew.  Milk can hide a lot of bad bacteria and was just obliterating hoards of these lame nineteenth century wusses with no immune system.  So he figured out that if you bring milk up to the temperature of 161 degrees and keep it there for 15 to 20 seconds, you kill off much of the evil bacteria that lives within!

Oh, yeah, Louis. Give me those bedroom eyes.

Hence the dawning of Pasteurized Milk.  Sweet.  Count Chocula was never to be the same.

There are lots of really dope cheeses made with pasteurized milk.  Stilton. Humboldt Fog. Several types of Italian Gorgonzola.  So good!  Nomnomnom.  Finally!  Pregnant women fear not!  Your babies won’t catch listeria and you can rest well at night knowing that you can successfully binge on designer cheese.  Good for you.

But what’s that?  There are FOOLS out there that like to ignore the safety of pasteurization? What what?  Do they have a death wish?!

Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized, therefore allowing the natural flora and fauna you find in milk to die a slow and natural death.  Many gourmands think that raw milk cheese is superior to pasteurized milk cheese because the bacterias and mold weren’t cooked alive and killed way too fast (like Cannibal Holocaust! Has anyone seen that movie?  Totally insane.).  This means that the flavor of the cheese is going to be more complex and interesting for the palate.

So. Good.

I mean, yes.  Raw milk cheeses taste different.  But usually not noticeably.  If you were given a really good piece of pasteurized cheese you wouldn’t spit it out because it tastes like gasoline.  You’d probably munch on it and think of how nice it was that this stranger just gave you cheese.  I find that you can taste major differences when you have two types of the same cheese – one that is pasteurized and one that is raw (i.e., Stichelton and Stilton).  And when you are tasting them back to back.

But raw milk purists are snobs and annoying – so get off your dangerous milk soap box and eat some cheese with the rest of us.  If it’s good it’s good.

So, there’s one more thing to know before we even get into thermalized milk. After WW2, America went into this weird 1950’s OCD cleanliness obsession.  Germaphobes everywhere.  So, in 1949, the FDA restricted the selling of raw milk cheeses that are younger than 60 days.  Supposedly all the natural bacteria die by then.  Great.  Way to destroy American palates forever FDA.  This means that here in the good ol’ US of A we can’t import many of the delicious, young, gooey, delicate, creamy raw milk cheeses of Europe.   And they hoard them. Because Europeans are selfish.

OCD much? Just pop another pill, drink a wine spritzer and CHILL OUT.

Just kidding.  This just means we bring in young cheeses made out of pasteurized milk – and while super yummers, they are just not the same.

So this brings us to the whole point of this rant.  Thermalized milk. Ah yes.  It just sounds great, doesn’t it?  Like the Jetsons invented it and it all takes place in some sort of Willy Wonka influenced factory where small orange men sing songs of dairy and salmonella.

Basically, thermalized milk is in between raw and pasteurized.  The milk is heated up to between 100 to 160 degrees for 15 to 30 seconds.  So.  Lesser temperature for a longer period of time.  What this does is very, very, very slowly pasteurize the milk.  The bacteria within very slowly die, but not as slowly as raw milk so they are allowed to influence the flavor of the finished product more.  It’s then allowed to cool and is reheated again when the cheese is made (because all milk is usually heated during the cheese making process).  So….it’s raw milk cheese that’s pasteurized.  Right?

Nope.

According to the FDA, thermalized milk cheese is technically raw.  And according to the EU, thermalized milk cheese is technically pasteurized.  Come on guys.  Get it together.  This still means that thermalized milk cheeses have to be aged 60 days before coming into the country.  Lame.

The FDA does have a point; thermalization doesn’t kill off listeria – the biggest fear of raw milk.  (I mean, the symptoms of listeria basically sound like food poisoning.  Fever, body ache, SOMETIMES puking and pooping, and “confusion.” Which sucks.  Or sounds like bad drugs.  Except it can kill fetuses.  Which also sucks.  But women all over Europe eat raw milk cheese and are still having healthy babies.  Although that may explain why Europe is….Europe.)

Ugh, losers.

So – is thermalized milk that cool?  Not really.  But kind of – a better way to put it is: Thermalized milk COULD be cool.  Thermalized milk cheeses taste more like raw milk cheeses.  But, in the USA, we can’t import them unless they are 60 days or older.  So…..why not just make raw milk versions and import those?

This would all change if the FDA considered thermalized milk to be as safe as pasteurized milk.  That would mean we would be able to import thermalized milk cheeses that are super young because they are “pasteurized.”  This would open up a new world of young cheeses and tastiness for America!  Imagine – French goat cheeses that were 11 days old.  Or gooey Swiss cow’s milk cheeses that were aged for three weeks.  The flavor profiles that we could enjoy!  It would be like spring mountain air, touched with flavors of hay flowers and cool glacier streams.  You could basically taste the Von Trapps in every bite (minus the whole Nazi thing…).

So…come on FDA.  Ignore pregnant women for like 12 seconds and think about the rest of us that like to eat our feelings.  And let us eat our young thermalized cheeses.

At BCS, we carry a couple of thermalized Swiss cheeses (for example, the friendly and approachable Wolzen) so stop on by to taste them!  I tried to Google some of them but they are no where to be found on the internet…so you’ll just have to come in and try for yourselves.

Well that’s all from me….your favorite cheese ranter.  I promise I’ll be better at updating.  I’m all over this social media stuff now.  It’s my new “thing.”  I even went to a discussion group about it the other night – if you come in and ask me I’ll tell you all the hilarious details.  I’ll give you a hint: it involves Trader Joe’s Sauvignon Blanc and Yelp.

Great.  Ok.  BYE BYE!

Et voila. Le pamplemousse. This must be what heaven is like. Fat, hungry, and wearing great hats.

Hey guys!

I’m writing a quick entry to give all of our loyal blog followers a SPECIAL DEAL on a BCS Spring Treat we have prepared for you.

Right now we have a decadent Spring Picnic Basket on sale.  It’s awesome.  In this pre-made basket, you get:

- Fra’Mani Pate Campagnola (Between a country style and a mousse, this stuff is so good.  Garlicky, peppery, and       porky.)

- A Lazy Lady Buckhill Sunrise (A gooey all-natural cow’s milk from Vermont.)

- Slice of Lincolnshire Poacher (An English cheddar with no bandages. So nekkid!)

- Petit Toasts (Crunch.)

- A Michel Cluizel chocolate bar (Rich. Decadent. Aphrodisiac?)

- A jar of cornichons (So little and pickled.)

All this for $33!

Oh wait. No it isn’t.  HEAR THIS!  If you come in and mention the blog you get this picnic basket for only

$30!!!!!!!!!

Yeah.  That’s right.  Only $30.  Look at that!  Because you guys love the blog we give you a discount.  So….come in, mention the blog, tell us how funny you think we are, and you get a discount.  Isn’t that awesome!  The internet is so cool some times.  Ok, so we better see you soon.  Byeeeeeee.

Yes, amigos.  ‘Tis that time again, where I share the secrets of the inner workings of the Bedford Cheese Shop cheesemongers.  So dark and twisted and full of dairy products.

This week, I present to you Dylan, one of our newest hires, who hails from the sunny state of Colorado (is it sunny there?  I’m actually not really sure.  I’m pretty positive he’s from outside Aspen?  Which leads me to believe it’s mostly sunny.  Because that sure does sound tropical.  ASPEN.  Like Aruba.  Or Des Moines.) and is pretty new to the cheese biz.  But, like the rest of us, he already has opinions about what products he wants to put all over his tastebuds.

This time around, Dylan presented me with a two part Cheesepinion.  One for when you are feeling fancy and one for when you’re feeling down on your financial luck.  How considerate, dear sir.  His first pick this week is Stanser Schafkase, a lovely sheep’s milk cheese from east central Switzerland.  It’s kind of grassy, herby, and spicy and doesn’t pack too much of the stinky barnyard pungency of other soft sheep cheeses.  Dylan thinks that this guy is a “phenomenally complex, soft slice of sheepy goodness that leaves you wondering what the next taste will reveal.”  How “Labyrinth” of you, Dylan.

Dance Magic Dance.

And to make your picnic complete?  “I would enjoy this guy with a Cote de Rhone and a Creminelli Picante salami to really stimulate those taste buddies.”  You go boy with your spicy self.

Well that’s all this week.  Oh wait.  JUST KIDDING.  Totally jk’ing here, folks.  Dylan has a SECOND cheesepinion to throw out there this week.  This is the Blue Light Special edition, where Dylan breaks it down for those of us who like a bargain.  Dylan is also really pumped about Leonora, a Spanish goat’s milk from the rambling hills outside of Madrid.  It’s cakey, lemony, and grassy.  With a gooey edge (like me).  Dylan loves this goat’s milk treat because it’s like licking a sweaty, stanky goat, with a hint of lemon.  And to finish your goat picnic: “I would probably just grab a baguette and a 6 pack of Pabst with this because in reality this is all I could really afford.”  Yessssssssssssssss.  Honesty is totally the best policy, Dylan.  I love when you break it down for LA GENTE.  Besides, would Dylan ever lie to you?

Is this pony named Honesty?

Ok.  So for reals this is the end of the blog today.  I promise.  But I’m working on something really super cool about THERMALIZED MILK.  Yeah.  So cool, y’all!  Or is it?  I dunno – you’ll have to wait to see what I say.  Ok!

Oh!  And be our friend on Facebook!  Just search for us and you’ll be one of the cool kids.  Finally.

Oh, what?  TWO POSTS IN TWO DAYS?!?!?!  That’s right.  Even though it may be 85 degrees and sunny outside, I have a hankering to sit inside and type.  In a windowless room with a stainless steel table.  How very “Bladerunner” of me.

Yup. This is what our office looks like.

Anyways, I’m back with another round of Cheesepinions, because I forced everyone to give me their opinion on cheeses the other day and I have a lot of dairy information to process.  I also did something different this week, which was actually participate in one of the many silly blog activities that I make everyone else do.  So.  Today.  Get ready.  It’s MY VERY OWN CHEESEPINIONS.  Yes, that’s right.  Chris, the blogmaster, is actually giving his opinion on cheese – just to prove that I actually know a thing or two and prove that I can do other things apart from subtly and sarcastically mock my coworkers (although that is a special gift I possess).

So, for this round of Cheesepinions, I want all y’all to hear me blab on about one of the most seasonally appropriate and delicious cheeses I have had in a long time: Tomme de Bordeaux.

Tomme de Bordeaux is so f'ing good.

Tomme de Bordeaux is the perfect cheese for springtime.  It’s like the Carnaval of Cheeses. It’s big, bold, and full of tropical French spices, like cayenne, Juniper berries, and rosemary  (ooh la la!).  I would equate it to the most glittery parade float around full of beautiful, ambiguously multi-ethnic, thong and feather wearin’ goats.  Dancing.  To disco.  It’s dense and luscious with just enough goaty kick to keep it interesting.  And the herbs pair perfectly with cold wines – sparkly, whites, or rose.

To keep the party going, I would pair this cheese with a dry Spanish cava, some Brooklyn Brine Moroccan Beans, an Amy’s Baguette and a Creminelli Sopressatta.  The ultimate picnic.  Come over and see me some time…  This cheese is pretty intense, so I want something dry and bubbly to cleanse my palate so that I could make green bean and sopressatta mini-sammies.  I don’t want anything to overpower or compete with the cheese, just compliment and keep it exciting.  Plus, it’s French goat cheese season and everything tastes just parfait at this time and date.

Welp.  I think I just gave everyone enough culinary and descriptor overload for the day.  Sorry, I just got really excited about this cheese and the image of me eating it in the South of France.  On a boat.  With Beyonce.  Snickering about something totally bougie, like how Lindsay Lohan is being held together by scabies and foundation….Or politics.  But probably not politics (sorry, it’s not how I roll).

We love you.

Ok guys!  See you next time!  Love you!  XOXO!

Hey y’all!

So remember when you were a kid and your Uncle Buford and Aunt Jemima came back from vacation in Kansas and regaled you and your family with a four hour slide show documenting their trip to the Butter Cow and the beautiful “painting” that hung above their hotel bed?

Me neither.

That being said, I now present to you, a travelogue via photos, courtesy of our red headed maven Amy. Amy and Charlotte recently took a trip to France and Switzerland to visit our favorite cheese makers and see what sort of things they are up to (and I’ll give you a hint: It involves being awesome in the Alps…) and meet the people that make our cheese. So rad. And Amy is a little shutterbug and took pictures of everything they did. She then compiled them into a SLIDESHOW. Woah, totes rad. So, I know present to you:

Amy and Charlotte Do Europe