Beer and cheese tasting

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Beer-may2013c Winter’s coming and with it stronger, heavier cheeses. Cheeses that shout out for beer. I’d heard beer and cheese were easier to match than wine and so I hollered out to my beer geek friends. 4 beers, 5 cheeses, my best glasses – a tasting afternoon!

I love formal tastings, they encourage a mindfulness often missing when you’re sitting round socially, quaffing and snacking. The incidental-ness of the food and drink is replaced by an almost solemn focus. Except of course nothing stays solemn for long when sipping beer and sampling cheese.

Apple makes a great palate cleanser

Apple makes a great palate cleanser

Soon enough we were giggling our way through the Pilsner, making cheesey highways on our tongues.

Making a cheesey highway while biffing back a brew takes some joyful practice.

Making a cheesey highway while biffing back a brew takes some joyful practice.

I’d heard of said cheesey highway on an Anne Saxelby podcast ages ago. A bubbly American cheese expert suggested chewing the cheese and holding it on your tongue, then tasting the beverage over the top – like laying a beery carpet over an interstate. I love the image and it does indeed help isolate flavours. Perhaps because all your taste buds are exposed to the the cheese/beverage combination, perhaps because you’re concentrating so hard to get a smooth coverage your mindfulness increases. Either way your enjoyment factor multiplies!

Parrotdog Red Ale

Mmm more beer, tasting notes are getting a little sporadic as we open the Parrotdog Red Ale

I used a cheese tasting plate suggested in Mastering Cheese as a guide. There are also loads of suggestions online. We ended up with 4 beers and 5 cheeses as Rog needed to include the Tuatara Aotearoa Pale Ale as well as a Red Ale. I chose all Kiwi cheese, but am keen to do a Euro tasting, and one with a more artisan NZ cheese range. We served them with baguette and slices of apple – perfect for cleansing the palette while leaving room for more.

Beer-may2013aThe cheeses
Whitestone Lindis Pass Brie
Meyer Gouda
Linkwater Cheddar
Over the Moon Galactic Gold Washed rind
Whitestone Windsor Blue

The Beers
Twisted Hop Pilsner
Tuatara Aotearoa Pale Ale
Parrotdog Red Ale
No 8 Wire iStout

Our tasting notes grew more sporadic as we worked through the Tuatara APA and cracked open the ParrotDog Red Ale. We learnt that Gouda was beer’s best friend, that the Red ale went happily with all the cheeses and that Stout can stand up to a blue.

Beer-may2013ePondering the differences between wine and beer tastings, we agreed they have a different vibe. Maybe it’s the slower decent into tipsiness, but I kept waiting for those sublime moments when a wine and cheese combo create a third taste, when both are transported and create flavours new.

We didn’t get that with the beers. The beer and cheese flavours stayed truer to themselves. We all noted how the Red Ale seemed to make the cheese taste more of itself, to intensify yes, but transform no. Perhaps this is why many of the books and blogs I consulted talked of seeking balance with beer and cheese matches. Was it just that my matches weren’t great, my cheeses were too tame for these rambunctious brews? Any thoughts my cheesey friends? I must admit I was a bit stumped as I reached for a chardonnay and tried to chase down a  transforming mix. Or do I just need more practice?

Mastering Cheese: Lessons for Connoisseurship from a Maître Fromager, Max McCalman, David Gibbons
Beer and cheese: my 5 favourite pairings, Fiona Beckett
Beer Cheese Pairings – The Joys of Beer and Cheese – Esquire
Cutting the Curd  -Anne Saxelby’s cheese podcast

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Cheese rolls – a South Island tradition

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South Island Cheese rolls Cheese rolls are one of New Zealand’s few regional food specialities. They ignite nostalgia in Mainlanders living up north, are a fund raising stalwart in Southland/Otago, and a source of fascination for this cheese obsessed North Islander.

South Island Cheese rolls

Onion or no plain, little did I know how there are at least 3 varieties.

Sheltering from a wet Autumnal day I spotted some in the basement café of a posho department store in Christchurch last week, and was inspired to find out more about this uniquely South Island treat. Te Waipounamu tell us your secrets!

A cheese roll, for the uninitiated, is a pre-prepared cheese mixture spread on thin white bread, rolled up and toasted under a grill. Little did I know before this culinary quest that there are competitions, new varieties being developed, and fears that the ‘sushi of the south’ might be dying out.

South Island Cheese rolls

Rog and I scoffed a plate of Rex-cheese filled rolls before heading to the Races – perfect!

Professor Helen Leach of Otago University has been researching this Southern icon.

Cheese rolls are first recorded in the 1930s and gained popularity in the 1950s as sliced bread became available.  Though she can’t find regionalism in their genesis, it is certainly Southlanders who have kept this delicacy alive. It’s virtually unknown today in the North.

The defining feature, and that which separates the iconic cheese roll from the humble cheese on toast, is the pre-prepared filling.

South Island Cheese rolls

Quick, warm and filling – this are nostalgia food at its best

Helen Leach of Otago University found three main variants, and I’m making the one based on tins of Rex cheese from Australia. She tells how ingenious Kiwi cooks came up with a home-made version of the exotic sounding tinned ‘luncheon cheese’.

There’s another version with onion and loads of recipes for a later ‘70s version using evaporated milk and dried onion soup. Is there another food culture so heavily influenced by evaporated milk and onion soup? Onion soup and processed cheese being the basis of the ‘70s Cheeseball. I digress.

Check out Helen Leach and Mary Brown as they reveal the secrets of making great cheese rolls on video.
Video: How to make cheese rolls

This is nostalgia food, just what is needed when winters chilly tendrils come up from the South – luckily this time bringing a warm and tasty snack.

South Island Cheese rolls

Ready to be toasted – try brushing with butter first.

Rex Cheese-derived Cheese Rolls

1 1/2 cups grated tasty cheese
2 Tbsp milk
1 egg
2-3 tsp vinegar -
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar

Put all ingredients in a small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat and cool. Store in small jars in refrigerator.

To make a cheese roll, spread one of the above fillings on sandwich-sliced bread slightly. Some recipes suggest cutting off the crusts, but I left mine on.

Buttering before or after is a matter of choice. I prefer brushing melted butter on before toasting as it gave a lovely buttery crunch. The version I ate in the café in Christchurch had grated cheese.

Toast on both sides under the grill until golden brown. If adding butter post-grilling spread it thinly over the top.

References

Thanks to #curdnerd from cheesesolidarity for his help
http://www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/food-amp-wine/102534/flavours-home-say-cheese-rolls
http://www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/food-wine/32821/a-case-hard-cheese?page=0%2C1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese_roll
Pen and Plate, NZ Guild of Food Writers, June 2008, www.foodwriters.org.nz
http://cheesesolidarity.wordpress.com/2011/08/14/south-island-cheese-rolls/
https://pinterest.com/pin/328410997797355082/

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/21615163

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Ricotta – easy as but totally delicious

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Ricotta in a bowl with basil on toast

Fluffy clouds of creaminess – ricotta is a cheese anyone can make at home

Ignite your inner cheesemaker with light and creamy Ricotta. Marvel at the alchemy of lemon juice turning milk into clouds of creaminess you can spread on toast, stuff in pasta with spinach, or combine with eggs as a luscious baked cheesecake.

I haven’t made Ricotta in ages after I was frightened off making cheese by a series of spectacular Mozzarella failures. That is, until a recent conversation with my lovely accountant Nina. She didn’t think a failure rate of 3 out of 5 tries was that bad! So my cheesey friends, I’m getting back on the horse, and have returned to my old favourite Ricotta.

ricotta-april2013c

I used my Ricotta in MediFood’s divine Sicilian Baked Cheesecake

True Ricotta is a by-product of cheese making. But you can make this whole milk version at home. So grab a thermometer and cheesecloth and channel your inner curd nerd! A new Chux cloth or thick paper towels will work if you can’t find cheesecloth.

Like scone making, Rcotta is simple ingredients cooked with technique. So here are my set of rules, maybe superstitions – that help me feel all artisan and I reckon increase my chance of making lovely soft curds. Because rubbery-ness is the curse that you wanna avoid.

A colander with cheesecloth

If you can’t find cheesecloth a brand new Chux cloth will be fine.

So here is my list of tricks to date:

  • Use the best milk you can find – whole not homogenised. I love Origin Earth Organic Whole milk.
  • Be patient and heat the milk slowly on a low heat. Aim for it to take 10-15 minutes.
  • Don’t agitate the milk too much – never stir in circles, only ever gentle back and forwards movements.
  • Check the milk isn’t sticking, but don’t stir, just move it very gently back and forward
  • Handle the curds carefully – treat them like sleeping babies – no loud noises, abrupt movements and you’ll get silken soft curds – OK this one’s superstition
  • Use a smaller rather than a larger pot. You want the milk quite deep, otherwise the thermometer won’t take an accurate reading. I ended up tipping my pot so I could get most of the thermometer spike submerged – who knew?

Lastly carefully ladle the curds into the cheesecloth rather than pour – I am sure this helps keeps the ricotta light, and you’ll also feel more like a cheesemaker, honing his or her art, rather than just dumping them in any old how.

ricotta-april2013aThis is a Smitten Kitchen recipe. Use the cream for a rich ricotta you can eat as a spread or dip, or just use all milk if it’s for cooking. You’ll get about 220g or a cup from 4 cups of milk.

Whole milk ricotta
3 cups of whole milk
1 cup of cream
1/2 tsp salt
3 tablespoons of lemon juice

Pour the milk, cream and salt into a nonreactive pot. Attach a milk thermometer and heat the milk to 88°C or 190°F, checking occasionally, moving it gently to keep it from scorching on the bottom. Take it off the heat and add the lemon juice, then stir it once or twice, gently and slowly, up and down, not round and round. Let it sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.

Line a colander with a few layers of cheesecloth (or Chux cloth or paper towels)l. Place it over a large bowl (to catch the whey) and gently ladle in the curds. Let the curds strain for at least an hour.

At an hour, you’ll have a tender, spreadable ricotta. At two hours, it will be spreadable but a bit firmer, almost like cream cheese. It will firm as it cools, so don’t judge its final texture by what you have in your cheesecloth.

Discard the whey, or use it instead of milk in scones, bechamel or other sauces.  Eat the ricotta right away or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use. I recommend making a cheesecake.

Smitten Kitchen – Homemade Ricotta
Mediterranean Food Warehouse Rich, crust-less cheesecake

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Parmesan custards with Anchovy toasts

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Parmesan custards with Anchovy toastsParmesan custard. Not sweet. With toast.

Think silken-cheesey ambrosia enveloping salty crunch and assume that alchemy has taken place. This is creme brûlée’s sexy cousin, luring you into the crash of her toast, and she’s a siren of a starter.

I’ve been perving these luscious treats in Fiona Beckett’s cheese book for months. I was surprised how easy they were to make, especially for something so special. Indeed I am planning a dinner party right now just in their honor.

Parmesancustardmarch2013aDon’t worry how insanely anchovy the butter is, the dish needs its salty robustness. Because this custard is delicate and clings to the toast like a silent movie heroine saved by her dashing pirate prince. It’s the moment Princess Leia collapses into Han Solo’s heaving chest, and the screen lights up with the frisson of desire.

Parmesan custards with Anchovy toasts

Don’t worry if your ramekins don’t match.

I wonder about all new ramekins, but I also like the higgledly piggledy of mismatch – somehow more disheveled, straight from bed not prim.

I found this recipe in Fiona Beckett’s Cheese Course, and she got it from London restaurant Le Café Anglais. We all agree it is divine.

Parmesan custards with Anchovy toasts

A fine grate of fruity, nutty Parmesan.

Parmesan custards with Anchovy toasts

1 ¼cups of light cream
1 ¼ cups of whole milk
1 cup of finely grated Parmesan (you’ll need at least 110g of cheese)
4 egg yolks
Cayenne pepper
12 anchovy fillets
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 very thin slices of rustic loaf
Sea salt and finely ground white pepper

8 ½ cup ramekins or over proof dishes, buttered

Serves 8

Mix the cram, milk and all but 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan in a heatproof bowl, place it over a saucepan of boiling water, and warm it gently until the Parmesan has melted. Remove from the stove and let it cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 300° F/ 150° C

Whisk the egg yolks, a pinch of salt, a pinch of white pepper, and a little cayenne pepper into the cool cream mixture, then pour into the prepared ramekins. It’s about a third of a cup in each ramekin.

Place the ramekins in an over proof dish in the oven, then pour boiling water from the kettle into the dish to reach halfway up the ramekins. Cover the dish with a sheet of buttered baking paper and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the custards have just set. Remove form the oven and turn on the oven grill or broiler.

Mash the anchovies and butter to make a smooth paste and spread over 4 slices of bread. Cover with the remaining bread and toast in a sandwich maker or panini machine. (Note I burnt mine a little in the picture).

Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over the warm custards and brown gently under the hot grill. Cut the toasted anchovy sandwiches into fingers, serve alongside the warm custards, and prepare to be delighted.

Fiona recommends Champagne or any similar dry sparking wine with this.

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5 tips for simple, stylish cheeseboards

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A simple cheeseboard of Cilantro Billy the Kid Goat's Cheddar and Talbot Forest Wiahi Blue.

Stylish yet simple cheeseboards are easy to put together if you follow my tips.

Do you get stuck choosing cheese? Follow my 5 tips for a stylish cheeseboard and banish the rabbit in headlights look next time you’re at a cheese counter.  A couple of well-chosen cheeses, an easy wine and some quality bread – superb!

Today’s board, through simple, was a great reward after working hard in the garden. The ivory white cheese is Cilantro’s Billy the Kid Goat Cheddar, the orange-blue Talbot Forest’s Waihi Blue.
Cilantro Artisan cheese from Hamilton
Talbot Forest from Geraldine

Talbot Forest Waihi Blue

Talbot Forest’s Waihi Blue provided contrasting colour, taste and texture – and was one I’d never tried – a great success.

My 5 top tips to easy cheeseboard

1. Choose contrasting colours, shapes or textures.  I paired fruity, hard and flinty with creamy, fudgy and sharp. The antique ivory of the goat’s cheddar played well against the stunning orange of the blue. One was goat’s milk, the other cow’s.  Also look for round versus wedge. You get the picture.

2. Try something different – Surprise yourself and try a cheese you’ve never tasted, you’ll have more fun discussing it with your mates. You can always pair it with something well known. There’s nothing wrong with Kikorangi, it won the People’s Choice award, but maybe hunt out other NZ blue cheeses – there are some gems out there or try a Goat’s Brie rather than the standard Brie.

Cilantro's Billy the Kid Goat's Cheddar

I shaved off slices of Cilantro’s Billy the Kid Goat’s Cheddar, and handed them out to taste on their own – delicious.

3. Serve bread and encourage your mates to taste the cheese plain, using the bread to cleanse the palatte between cheeses, rather than as a cheese delivery mechanism. Of course anything goes but I love it when people eat with their fingers – food just seems to taste better eaten by the hand. If you just serve bread you don’t need crackers- keep it simple.

4. Pick an easy wine to match. If in doubt serve a nice light chardonnay – it’ll work with a range of cheeses. Of course try other matches, but don’t worry too much, cheese and wine matches are hard to predict. I read that cheap wine often pairs better with cheese. I like that rationale, spend more money on cheese!

5. Get them out of the fridge hours before – I mean that – hours not a piddling 20 minutes. I left a Waimata Brie out of the fridge for 2 days, I’d forgotten it, and I tell you it was superb. Sue from Whitestone cheeses thought it good to go to Cheesefest in the evening, as the cheese would’ve warmed up properly after sitting out all day. A great take home tip from a Kiwi cheese icon!

I hope that helps, a simple cheeseboard can be easy to put together and fantastic on the table.

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Secret to a great cheeseboard Part 1

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2013 Cheesefest and NZ Cheese Awards

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New Zealand Champions of Cheese winners 2013

The Champions of Cheese laid out on the winners table.

Like Disneyland crossed with the Oscars, the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards and Cheesefest were 36 hours of cheese geek heaven!

Last week cheese makers, industry folk and cheese lovers paid tribute to New Zealand’s specialist cheeses. And I loved every second of it.

2013 NZ Champions of Cheese Awards

Fifty nine companies, 413 cheeses and 74 Gold medals.

Twenty eight cheesey experts had sniffed, savoured and spat their way to judging the awards. Who knew cheese judges spit much like wine judges?

This was the second year Dutch-style cheeses took out top honours. Another major highlight was Ministry for Primary Industries’ award for Aroha Raw Rich Milk Plain. This is New Zealand’s first commercially available raw milk cheese and I can’t wait to try it.
View 2013 the awards and medals
MPI’s press release about the cheese

Crescent Dairy Goat's stand at the 2013 Cuisine Cheesefest

Crescent Dairy Goat’s stand at the 2013 Cuisine Cheesefest was an opportunity to taste smaller producers not available nationwide.

Cuisine Cheesefest

Next day was Cuisine CheeseFest, a raucous event of cheese tasting, with the opportunity to buy quantities of specialist cheese at special prices. My overhead locker positively pulsed with cheesey delights on my return flight.

This was a great chance to taste smaller producers not available nationally and to talk with cheesemakers in the flesh.

Highlights for me included tasting Mt Eliza’s English style cloth-bound Red Leicester, Eliza Blue and Farmhouse Cheddar. I’ve been cyberstalking these guys for ages and the tasting has tipped me over into buying it online.
Mt Eliza Cheesemakers

I also loved trying Crescent Dairy Goats cheeses at last, especially their dreamy goats milk ricotta and stunning Farmhouse Sting, proudly decorated with nettle leaves.
Crescent Dairy Goats

Also great were the fresh Italian styles, Il Casaro and Massimos with their Mozarella, Scamorza and Cacioricotta. I loved chatting to these passionate cheesemakers and was fascinated to find that Buffalo mozzarella softens as it ages, whereas the cow’s milk version hardens.
Il Casaro
Massimo’s Italian Cheeses

cheesefestmarch2013c

Award winning Mercer cheese – one of the many generous cheese stands.

There were loads of other cheese makers, as well as other Cuisine Artisan Award winners. I loved meeting the gorgeous folks behind Lewis Rd Creamery and Rachel from the NZ Manuaka Egg Company who make wonderfully exotic sounding smoked raw eggs!
Lewis Rd Creamery
NZ Manuka Egg Company

Ah, my cheesy friends this was a foodist extravaganza and I recommend putting it in your diary and indulging yourself next year.

So thank yous to my friend Kate for coming with me, #CurdNerd for encouraging me, Goode PR for organising it, and of course the cheesemakers and their girls for making such divine cheese.
New Zealand Specialist Cheese Makers Association

Watermelon, Feta and Mint salad

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Watermelon, Feta and Mint saladOn a hot summer day nothing cools like Watermelon and after an afternoon gardening this simple salad with mint and feta brought succor to my parched tastebuds.

The recipe is pretty loose, more of an idea really. Crisp, clean melon against salty cream of feta, aromatic mint, pretty and cooling in pink, white and green.

I scoffed my bowl of salad, so be generous, the joy of this salad is the flavours and colours playing off against each other.

Watermelon, Feta and Mint salad

Keep the salad chunky, so you can really taste the separate ingredients. And make sure you soak the feta, it makes all the difference.

I kept my salad simple, but you can add other ingredients. My brother Matt suggests adding toasted pumpkin seeds, while Nigella makes a more complex salad with black olives and red onion, using lime juice in her dressing.
Nigella’s recipe.

The dressing will give you enough for a large salad, so you only need a bit per serving.

I tried the salad with Danish cow’s milk feta, the super-smooth white one but it was better with traditional Goat’s milk feta, the crumbly one in the photos. I really recommend taking the time to soak your feta in milk, it makes all the difference.
More on about the difference between Danish and Greek feta.

Rekorderlig Cider

Rekorderlig Premium Mango-Raspberry Cider pairs beautifully with this salad.

I paired my simple version with a Rekorderlig Premium Mango-Raspberry Cider. It’s pink deliciousness perfect with this fragrant salad.

Watermelon, feta and mint salad

Dressing
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tsp manuka honey
Salt and pepper

Salad
Mint –a small handful
Watermelon
Feta – Goat’s milk
Milk for soaking the feta

Cut your feta into some big chunks and soak in milk for 15 minutes. This cuts the salt and brings out more delicate flavours. Make the dressing by putting the ingredients into a cup or small bowl and whisk together with a fork.

Chop the mint roughly, putting aside any little soft leaves for garnishing. Slice rounds from the watermelon, and chop into good size chunks, 2-3 cm bits.

Just before you’re ready to serve, combine mint and watermelon in a bowl, crumble the feta roughly, not too finely and gently sprinkle on the dressing. Add those pretty mint sprigs.

Pour a cool drink and serve. This is a great addition to a summery barbeque, a small plates spread or lunch but I had mine on it’s own after my day in the garden. It’s a great restorative.

Oh and by the way eat it up, this salad won’t last, much like the fleeting days of summer.