(Ok, so for you perfectionists out there, I know this is a pictures of Stracapra, NOT Stracchino di Capra, but do you guys have any idea how HARD it is to find a picture of Stracchino di Capra?  Seriously.  It’s bizarre.  Just as bizarre as Sandra Bullock being nominated for an Oscar.  Whaaaaaat?  Oh snap.)

This Italian goat cobblestone is in very lovely shape right now – “sweet and lactic, sticky and mouthcoating with delicate ‘goaty’ notes.”  Now who doesn’t want a little goat lovin’ all up in your tastebuds?!  And to round out the day on her bestial goat’s milk treat?  Some crusty bread, a few dried apricots, and a crisp bottle of Vernaccia (a Tuscan white wine with good acidity and strong citrus notes) to wash it all down.  Oh hey, girlfriend – this sounds like that perfect picnic we had Under the Tuscan Sun.  Minus Diane Lane…and our Italian Villa…and ignoring the fact I’ve never been to Italy.  More like Under the Bedbugs in my Bushwick Apartment.  Sounds just as romantic, right?

Well, that’s all from us here at “Cheesepinions!”  We’ll be back next week to bring you some more tasty and delightful suggestions from our eager to please cheesemongers.  And get excited.  In the near future we will be bringing you posts about a great local farm, as well as an appearance by the elusive Charlotte Kamin!  She will be filling us in on her recent trip to France and Switzerland to visit our favorite European cheesemakers.  So crack out your leiderhosen and yodel all the way home.  Until then, see you soon!

Appleby’s Cheshire (a British raw cow’s milk cheese that is tangy, crumbly, and grassy)

and Mrs. Kirkham’s Lancashire (another British raw cow’s milk that is mild and buttery).

Apparently we at the cheese shop have an affinity for dairy products from the UK…  Apart from being delicious cheeses, Jess is into these two for more “sentimental” reasons.  Jason and Raef, two of our buddies from Neal’s Yard Dairy just popped over for a visit and it reminded Jess how great the mouthfeel of these milky, tangy, fluffy British cheeses are.  While Cheshire and Lancashire aren’t the strongest of cheeses, they are delicate enough to taste the subtleties of good cheesemaking.   You always loved a challenge, didn’t you Jess?  Jess thinks that his perfect lunch would be these two cheeses, some McClure’s Pickles, a dollop of mustard, and an English bitter (like Old Speckled Hen or Fuller’s London Pride).  Hey – maybe you and Dani should start providing British farm hands with gourmet picnic lunches?  Sounds….semi-lucrative.  Maybe stick to the cheese, boys…

On two completely random notes, I want to throw some cheese trivia at you fellow cheese dorks and appreciators that I personally found fascinating.

Fact #1: Appleby’s Cheshire is thought to be one of the oldest cheeses in Britain, with its recipe dating back to Roman times.  It is mentioned in the Domesday Book, which was sort of like the first census of England ever taken (well, if you count a census as the government only counting the wealthy and their sheep.  But what else REALLY matters.  Am I right???)  in 1086 for William the First!  Woah.  Totes old.

Fact #2: Mrs. Kirkham’s Lancashire comes from one of the best-named cheese producing places in the world.  Can you guess what it’s called?  Bet you can’t.  Ok, I’m gonna tell you.  It’s GOOSNARGH.  Fine, so maybe the majority of you “adults” out there won’t find this funny.  “Don’t make fun of other places for being different!”  Yeah, whatever.  But, for the rest of you out there who don’t function well in the morning, doesn’t this totally sound like the majority of words that come out of your mouth pre-cup of coffee?   Besides, if I ever saw this on a map I would probably think that I bought some weird Harry Potter wannabe atlas designed to make British children excited about geography.  Tru dat.

Welcome back, friends, to the dawning of a new Bedford Cheese Shop blog era!  We are sorry that we left you, high and dry, in the cheesy woods for a year, but guess what.  WE ARE BACK.  Oh yeah…

We have been coming up with new and exciting ways to get out our fromage knowledge into the Blogosphere and will be debuting one below!  We thought that you guys would want to know more about farmers, farms, and what we think – the Bedford Cheese Shop cheesemongers – about our products.  So today, we unveil our first installment of “Cheesepinions.”

Here, you will find the thoughts of one of our cheesemongers about the products we stare at and lovingly handle all day, every day.  So let’s get started with one of our star employees, Dani.

This week, Dani is on a real British Isles kick.  A sucker for hardy, “working man” cheeses, Dani has been noshing on foods that a farmer would take with him into the field to sustain him for the day.  Apparently, nothing is better for planting your rows of beetroot than your trusty hoe and a good wedge of crumbly cheese.  Trying to relive his pastoral glory days of the coal mines, he decided that his favorite dairy products in the store right now are:

Coolea (an 18-month Irish gouda),

Caerphilly (a crumbly, lactic and vegetal Welsh cow’s milk),

and Ardrahan (a semi-soft, washed rind, pungent cow’s milk from Ireland).

When asked what Dani would eat with his agronomist cheese plate, Dani responded with “A bottle of Rye, a can of Matiz sardines with Lemon, and some Brooklyn Brine Serrano Beans.  Because why not.”  Don’t forget your cup of tea and sticky toffee pudding, Dani.

Well that’s all from us this time!  Come on in and try out Dani’s cheese choices for the week and see what you think.  And if you have any comments or suggestions to the blog go ahead and let us know!  Pip, pip and cheerio!

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(can you smell it?)

There is a new book coming out by an old professor of  mine, Jay Parini, entitled Promised Land: 13 Books that Changed America.  It isn’t a book about the books of the highest literary merit but about the most influential books that have changed our society.  I’m intrigued by this idea because the short list isn’t entirely high-brow, Dr. Spock is on there, as is Jack Kerouac.  The Great Gatsby isn’t even in the honorable mentions, but Jane Fonda’s workout manual is.

What if we thought about the 13 most influential cheeses to the American palate.  Not the most outstanding or well made or even most interesting (though some may very well be all of these things) but the cheeses that have decided what Americans want on their cheese plates and their burgers.

1. Mozzarella
2. Kraft Singles
3. Cabot Cheddar
4. Parmeggiano Reggiano

…really 13?

1. Aged Gouda
2. Gorgonzola
3. Fresh Chevre (probably with something, like herbs or honey or nuts)
4. Eppoise
5. Ricotta
6. Poll-yo String Cheese
7. The Laughing Cow (wax covered round)
8. Stilton
9. Pecorino Romano

And here in that same order, briefly are the reasons why:

1.      Pizza.
2.      Convenience, grilled cheeses
3.      Actual flavor, sharp, simple, seems damn classy
4.      Over your spaghetti and meatballs.  Often comes in a cheap shaker, a true American        original copy
5.      A burst of flavor, no subtleties here
6. Gooey stinky an obvious introduction to blue
7. Goat cheese but G rated.
8. We’ve all read about it.  In GQ.  It must be good.  Righht?
9.  Sweet, a topping, almost like milk.
10. Lunchbox.
11. Ibid.
12. Guinness.  Port.  Booze.
13. Sheep can be milked?

      But what first has come to mind this Thanksgiving is the question of Native American cheese, namely, does it exist.  Most tribes weren’t big into domesticating animals early on so this leaves us with a priceless image- a man chasing after a bufalo by the teat no doubt.  Maybe horses then, surely the earliest American cheeses must be from the equine family.  I’ve never had horse milk or cheese, but I have had camel’s milk cheese and for some reason I think they must be similar.  There must be that flavor reminiscent of urine and dirt in the pate somewhere.  The dairy products produced were most likely used in other dishes (correct me if I am way off here) and were masked by other, more enticing spices.

   I mentioned Sherman Alexie because, on a much more contemporary note, he discusses goverment issued cheese on the reservation in his short story collection The Lone Ranger and Tanto Fist Fight which was later turned into the fantastic movie  Smoke Signals.  He is one of my favorite writers, it is about time to revisit him.  he talks about contemporary Native American problems, including habits in eating. 

    On Thursday while you are slopping butter onto everything in sight think about the first Thanksgiving and ask your self: was there any cheese?

yeah, that’s Queens. 

Anyway, everything from the farm is organic and fresh and cared for by a few loyal and loving farmers.  They have many many varieties of greens and a myriad of root vegetables.   It isn’t just a park but a real, functioning farm and if you want to learn more about where your food is coming from I recommend a drive out there  (n.b. via public transit it is a veritable nightmare).  They also have a lot of sheep, clean happy sheep, just begging to be milked and become cheese producers.  I can see it in their eyes.  Yeah, that sounds wrong.  Anyway, eat the veggies.

www.queensfarm.org