Funkmeister

                                                  


Didn't I recently say I was looking for a cheese with some funk? Well, I found it. Hold on to your extra tall and slightly outlandish Godfather hats. This is Funkmeister, a cheese named for that stinky, pungent odor that comes from a good washed-rind cheese. It's exciting and cool and slightly out there and maybe just a little bit dirty, but man, like those bad boys that are oh so good, you will want to keep coming back to this one.

Haystack Mountain in Longmont, Colorado is known for its goat milk cheeses, but they carry an excellent selection of cow milk cheeses as well. The company has been creating award-winning products since 1989. Jackie Chang is the lead cheesemaker at Haystack Mountain. She grew up in Taiwan and Korea and moved to Boulder in the late 80s. Her cheeses are designed to be flavorful but not overpowering. Such is the case with Funkmeister.

Funkmeister is a double cream, washed-rind cheese, washed in a cultured brine. This process encourages bacteria to spread and grow on the surface of the rind, enhancing the aroma, flavor and aging of the cheese. The cow's milk and cream used are organic. A vegetable rennet is used in the cheese-making process, so vegetarians can dig in without worry.

Inside the ochre rind that's ever so slightly sandy is a rich ivory paste. To say it's creamy is an understatement. The inner texture is divine and practically melts on your tongue. The complex flavor is equally magnificent. It consists primarily of a cream taste with strong notes of raw hazelnuts and softer undertones of straw, mushrooms and earth with a gentle but noticeable tang that goes right to your nose, not unlike the little zing associated with yogurt. This cheese is spicy and sharp without being obnoxious. There's a good dose of salt that hits your palate after the initial flavor has subsided and a very, very slight bitterness at the finish that's not at all unpleasant. The flavors intensify as the cheese ages. Oddly, despite the very obvious pungent and spicy flavor, my overall impression is that this is a delicate, fruity cheese. Sure, it's showy and outrageous on the surface and maybe a little bit offensive to the nose, but there's a refinement about Funkmeister that puts it up close in ranking to cheeses such as Epoisse and Pont l'Eveque.

Funkmeister has an interesting looking rind.

Saving room for some crusty bread on this plate.

The best way to serve this cheese is at room temperature straight up on some crusty French bread. It's a great cheese to put on sandwiches, too. Serve it on a cheese board with sliced tart apples, grapes, celery sticks and dried meats. Try Funkmeister in baked dishes as well. Heat softens and tames the flavor while allowing it to retain its depth. Any harsher notes disappear when it's cooked in pasta, eggs, or even when it's simply melted on toast. You can also serve it as suggested on the Haystack Mountain website, with savory preserves.

Funkmeister pairs well with Pinot Gris, Condrieu, Riesling, Gamay, Malbec, Blanc de Noir, Chenin Blanc or Jurancon. Haystack Mountain also suggests serving it with a floral, piney IPA.

Oh yes, we want the funk.

Try Funkmeister with a nice IPA.

Petit Munster - A Tale of Two Cheeses

When I was in France on a three-week whirlwind trip in the 90s, one of my favorite things to do after seeing the sights in Paris was to go to the fromagerie located near the hotel where I was staying. There, I found some of the most incredible cheeses imaginable. I fell in love with both the Petit Munster and the Petit Pont L'Eveque. Both of these cheeses are of the wash-rind variety, and the flavor of each is bold, funky and not for the meek. I smuggled some into the United States on my way home. Since the gentleman in customs acknowledged both the cheese and the beautiful Poilane boule I was carrying and let me go with nothing more than a joke about people not being fed this kind of food in the United States, getting the goodies into this country was not as dangerous as it sounds, though it probably wouldn't be so easy now. Whenever I asked about Petit Munster here in the United States, I was directed to sliced muenster cheese, a different animal altogether. Petit Munster is a semi-soft, wash-rind cheese that has a strong aroma and a slightly sticky outer surface.

After many years of searching for the Petit Munster here, I found some at a local supermarket. It's not cheap, but I decided to splurge and try it. It was very good, but this was nothing like what I had in France, not even close. All of a sudden, I was on a mad quest. There had to be a way to find this cheese, the one I remembered so well.

This pale-looking Petite Munster cheese has a mild flavor.

I scoured online cheese websites, made calls, sent emails, and asked local cheese mongers where I could find this cheese, all to no avail. The only one out there seemed to be the one produced by Haxaire. That was the same one I found at the supermarket. Finally, I found a description on Igormet that seemed different. Could it be? It sounded like it was the very cheese I wanted, but I had to make sure. In a chat with an Igormet representative, I explained that I had purchased the Haxaire producer's version, which was nice but not what I consider true Petit Munster, and I was hoping to find and purchase the Jean Roussey version or something similar. The lady offered me a more detailed description, and it sounded exactly like what I wanted. I ordered some despite it being an even larger splurge.

The days seemed to take weeks to pass as I waited impatiently for my cheese to arrive, but eventually, it showed up at my doorstep. When I tore into the package, I was not happy to find the exact same Haxaire produced Petit Munster I had purchased (for half the price!) earlier. Fortunately, after I explained the situation to the Igourmet representative, I was refunded, but the whole experience left me disappointed. The search continues, only less enthusiastically now that I know it's unlikely I will ever find what I'm looking for. I haven't given up completely, though. Also, it was nice of Igourmet to let me keep what they had sent, even though it wasn't what I wanted.

A darker Petite Munster tasted about the same as the lighter one.

Below is my review of the Haxaire Petite Munster.

I could very simply state that this cheese tastes like Camembert, but I think my readers want more information than that. It's similar to Camembert, but it's not exactly the same, of course. Despite receiving two cheeses with the same label, you will notice that the second cheese is distinctly more orange in color. One might guess that the first is a younger cheese, but it's more likely that the rind on the second developed more bacteria during the aging process. Still, the flavor of both was almost identical, though the smell of the second was a wee bit funkier, and the rind was also stickier.

Traditional Petit Munster is made with a high-protein, unpasteurized milk from the Vosges, an area near Alsace, and it's aged, often in caves or cellars owned by monasteries and abbeys, in the town of Munster. The cheese is protected by an Appellation d'Origine Controlee that ensures producers rigorously observe various steps in the cheesemaking process. Inside the wash rind that tastes more like a bloomy rind than the familiar pungent ones associated with most cheeses in this genre is a beautiful ivory paste. The texture is fat and beefy. The first cheese I bought was like ambrosia, delicate with a light, flavorful taste. The second was just a little bit more pungent, and the texture was heavier. Both are mild with notes of button mushrooms, milk and butter and a faint taste of Brazil nut. As the cheese ages, its flavor becomes more pronounced.

Petit Munster can be served hot or at room temperature. Bake it and serve it with crusty bread, slice it onto salads, serve it with fresh fruit, try it with boiled potatoes and sesame and cumin seeds, or place a wedge on a cracker or apple slice topped with honey. This cheese with pairs well with Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Sauternes or Jurancon.

Pair Petite Munster with Gewurztraminer.

Uniekaas Gouda Truffle

I have a new addiction. Actually, it's an old one, but when I started this post, it was fairly new. I took a break from writing cheese reviews and only recently started up again, but I didn't stop sampling great cheeses. I kept telling myself I would write a review of the Uniekaas Gouda Truffle cheese, but I got too lost in the sampling part to bother writing anything. This is a cheese with that WOW factor, and sometimes writing about these kinds of impressive products can be intimidating. It's a sign of a good cheese, though. I wanted to do it justice.

It's true that I occasionally get stuck in a pleasant rut buying the same cheese time after time if it's good enough, but I took this one a bit far and refused to buy anything else for months. Conveniently forgetting to write up a review worked as a great excuse to continue buying more and more of this particular, delightful cheese, though I was limited by my finances, of course. The intention to write was there, but I didn't follow through until now. I think there was a part of me that wanted to keep buying this and only this cheese, but the spell was broken recently when I stumbled upon Cypress Grove's Purple Haze, which I reviewed here.

Truffles

Truffles are among the best gourmet foods in the world. Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, the famed French epicure and gastronome, is quoted as saying: “Truffle. As soon as the word is spoken, it awakens lustful and erotic memories among the skirt-wearing sex and erotic and lustful memories among the beard-wearing sex. This honorable parallelism comes not only from the fact that this esteemed tuber is delicious, but also because it is still believed to bring about potency, the exercise of which brings sweet pleasure.”  Unfortunately, many cheeses with added truffles also have an overpowering flavored truffle oil mixed in, making the final taste shockingly garlicky. Others don't add nearly enough truffle, making the flavor too subtle. Fortunately, with this Gouda truffle cheese, there is a nice but faint garlic flavor, and the true flavor of the actual truffle shines. This is how truffles done right taste. 

I often think of Peter Mayle and his description of pigs finding truffles in the woods in France, a scene in his book "Toujours Provence". He explains that the scent of truffles to a pig is sexual, and the animal sometimes has trouble containing itself. It gets excited and roots around more vigorously when the truffle aroma is unearthed. That's why some truffle searchers have taught dogs how to sniff out the treasured fungus. Truffles are known to be an aphrodisiac to humans as well, though few people have to be held back upon seeing or smelling the sacred mushroom. Dogs, on the other hand, wait patiently after pointing out the truffle. A canine's lack of enthusiasm regarding mushrooms is why it's perfect for the job: no destroyed truffles on this four-legged friend's shift. Now pair this beautiful black treasure with a fine Gouda, and you have yourself one hell of a cheese.

Uniekaas Gouda Truffle cheese can stand on its own.

Uniekaas Gouda Truffle cheese is rich and buttery with hints of walnuts and a very slight tang that's true of all Goudas. It's not sweet but there are very subtle notes of butterscotch. It's the Italian black truffle flavor that stands out. The sharpness of the semi-soft, pliant but not sticky Gouda is matched by the truffles, and the whole cheese becomes balanced while still retaining its character. This is a showstopper, something that will grab people's attention. 

From the Uniekaas website:

Made on small farms using raw milk from the farm's herd of cows, Uniekaas Raw Milk Farmer Gouda with Truffles starts as a traditional "Boerenkaas" or Farmer Cheese. However, just prior to pressing and shaping of the cheese, shavings of Italian Black Truffles are generously sprinkled throughout the curd.

Considered "black gold" in Italy, black truffles are a rare delicacy with a strong earthy aroma and umami flavor — or the "fifth taste." After nine weeks of aging, these flavors are infused throughout the cheese along with notes of walnuts. (from Uniekaas)

The Uniekaas Gouda Truffle is a cheese you can eat by itself. It also pairs well with tart apples or light rye crackers. Add it with a blend of cheeses into some mac and cheese or make fancy cheese sandwiches with it. Because of its robust flavor, Truffle Gouda doesn't require any accessories, just the cheese by itself piled into some crusty bread and sauteed in a pan with some butter or oil makes an outstanding grilled cheese sandwich. Simple perfection.

Serve this outstanding cheese with Janasse Chateauneuf-du-pape, Chardonnay, Montepulciano D'abruzzo, Pino Gris, Sangiovese, Riesling or Jurancon. 

Montepulciano D'abruzzo pairs well with this gouda truffle cheese.

Red Hawk

Red Hawk cheese is the legitimate (it plays too much by the rules to be illegitimate) lovechild of a triple-cream Brie and Taleggio. In the same way a pony is not quite a horse but everyone knows they are both in the equine family, Red Hawk is technically a washed-rind cheese. It's just a very mild wash rind, a less hardcore stinky cheese. It's like when Metallica decided to throw everyone a curve ball and release Nothing Else Matters. Is it heavy metal if it's soft? Possibly not, but everyone still loved the song. Such is the case with Red Hawk. It doesn't quite fit in with traditional heavy-hitting washed-rind cheeses, but it's a fun little cheese that people can't resist.

Cowgirl Creamery is responsible for making and aging Red Hawk and several other cheeses. One thing to note is that the Cowgirl Creamery cheeses are Marin Organic Certified. It's not surprising that Red Hawk won Best-In-Show in 2003 at the American Cheese Society's annual conference. It also nabbed a 2nd place award in the Best-In-Show category six years later. Those aren't the only awards this stellar cheese has won, though. It took gold at the 2014 and 2013 State Fair and secured a second place at the American Cheese Society in 2012. Be sure to check out the entire "about us" section on the Cowgirl Creamery website. You will learn not only about Red Hawk and its many awards but about how the company started and even how cheese is made. It's worth it to explore each category, from the cheeses to the recipes.

What struck me most about Red Hawk is the fresh smell that rose up when I opened the package. It was almost like sticking my nose into a container of beautifully prepared cottage cheese, buttermilky and mild with just a hint of yeasty stink if you get your nose up close. This is the perfect cheese to use if you want to introduce someone to the world of washed-rind cheeses but don't want to traumatize anyone. This wash rind is sticky to the touch but not so much that it gets embedded and lingers on your fingers the entire day, though the smell will stick with you somewhat.

Everything is mild with this cheese. Even the color isn't as robust an orange as most other washed-rind cheeses. It's pale with just a hint of an orange hue.

The interior is a paste you can cut into, not something you want to eat with a spoon like Epoisse; it's a semi-firm consistency. Despite a bit of a funky aroma, the flavor is mild with hints of milk and cashews. An unexpected, slightly sweet, fruity tang that's reminiscent of a goat milk cheese hits your palate as an afterthought. It makes this little treasure intriguing and more complex that the traditional mild, nutty-flavored wash rinds. Heated, the flavor evens out nicely. Can you imagine this in a mac and cheese dish? Swoon! I love this kind of cheese with corn chips or crackers with some texture, but it pairs well with a crusty baguette, of course. Try it with quince paste or serve it with slices of tart apples for dessert.

Red Hawk cheese, side and rind view.

Red Hawk cheese up close. Too bad the aroma can't be sensed in this image.

As far as the details, they are as follows:

Farm / Company: Cowgirl Creamery

Cheesemaker: Point Reyes Team

Proprietor: Sue Conley & Peggy Smith

Affineur:

City, State: Pt Reyes Station, CA

Region: West

Country: USA

Milk Type: Cow

Milk Treatment: Pasteurized

Rennet: Vegetarian  (Vegetarians rejoice!) 

Rind: Washed

Texture: Soft

Aging: 4 weeks

For wine pairings, I suggest Chardonnay, Torrontes, Pinot Blanc or Chenin Blanc for the white wines. A Tempranillo Blends, Sangiovese, Malbec or Lagrein would do well, too. For dessert, try either a Jurancon dessert wine or a Blanc de Noir sparkling wine. 

Bayley Hazen Blue

Jasper Hill is quickly becoming a favorite American cheese company among cheese aficionados. One of their more notable cheeses is Harbison , but the team at Jasper Hill makes many outstanding cheeses including a remarkable blue cheese called Bayley Hazen Blue.

Cheese making involves several steps, each with a separate team to oversee the process. It all starts with the milk. Many cheese companies outsource their milk, but Jasper Hill has its own creamery and is also part of a shared space facility called the Vermont Food Venture Center. The motto at Jasper Hill Farm is quality over quantity, so they push for excellence over mass production. They milk about 45 cows that are pasture-fed during the warm months and fed dry hay the remaining months. Each style of cheese is made from a single herd of cows. Once the cows are milked, the cheeses can be made, and once they are ready, the cheeses must be aged in their unique climates. Jasper Hill has its own aging facility that is separated into seven specially calibrated vaults. In addition to the recipe of the cheese, the aging process is what makes each cheese different.

After the products have been packaged, selling the cheese is the last step in the process unless you count eating, which is where I come in. A cheese monger is the one who does the selling, and I am the customer or the cheese eater.

Bayley Hazen Blue is a surprisingly well balanced raw milk cheese that is reminiscent of the English blue cheeses. Think of a dense, intriguing and more rock and roll version of a Stilton. It's drier than the American blues or the famous French Roquefort, but I wouldn't say it's a very crumbly blue. Some say it has a fudge-like texture, but it's not as chewy or sweet, of course, though there is a nice sweetness about this cheese. This dairy product does have a nice mouthfeel, and the finishing texture is soothing and creamy on the palate. The natural rind provides a wee bit of an earthy, mushroom flavor that's not unlike that of a bloomy rind cheese, but the texture and look are nothing like the rind you would see on a Brie. The outer grayish crust is thin, dry and almost sandy.

This is a bold cheese that has an immediate salty kick. The tang that eventually hits the back of your throat is balanced by a traditional spicy blue cheese flavor with a trace of licorice. Light nutty notes, such as toasted hazelnuts or Brazil nuts, are present, and these undertones are complemented by an overall earthy, straw-like taste. Primarily, there's a wonderful milky flavor that stands out. Some describe this as buttery, but it's really a pure, fresh milk taste. The more the cheese ages, the more a barnyard characteristic emerges. When heated, the total flavor of this blue cheese mellows and becomes quite mild and lovely.

At Jasper Hill, here is how they suggest pairing the cheese:

"The texture and flavor make Bayley an ideal choice for any lover of blue cheese, but with a balance of flavors that renders it accessible to those new to the style. Try pairing with a fruity red dessert wine, toasty Imperial Stout, or a hunk of dark chocolate. Bayley is also ideal for crumbling over a juicy burger or adding to a salad with spinach, walnuts, and dried tart cherries."

Some other suggestions are:
Riesling or Chardonnay, Grenache, shiraz or Sangiovese.
Try Champagne or even a Tawny port for dessert.

Beautiful blue veins are abundant in this cheese. 

The cheese is dense enough that it doesn't crumble completely.

Purple Haze

It's no surprise that my new favorite cheese, Purple Haze, comes from one of my all time favorite cheese companies, Cypress Grove. What is surprising is just how much I love this cheese. Dare I say it's addicting? It is, even after one bite. The unexpected shower of subtle but enticing herbs combined with the sweet tang of the goat cheese makes this little beauty both puzzling and remarkable. It's one you will want to keep exploring. Each bite seems to evolve as the flavors build and change on your palate. 

Purple Haze is a brilliantly thought out product. Reading the ingredients, I wouldn't have thought it would be something this extraordinary. It contains simply pasteurized goat milk, salt, fennel pollen, lavender, cultures and enzymes. That's it. I'm not a huge lavender fan and fennel isn't a flavor I often rave about, though I don't mind either one. I just didn't realize how delightfully these flavors would pair with a fresh goat cheese. If anyone was wondering, fennel pollen comes from the flower part of the fennel plant. It's an exceptionally aromatic perennial herb, and the pollen has a nice, slightly sweet and powerful flavor. A little bit goes a long way, and there's just the right amount in this cheese. Purple Haze has won many awards for good reason. It's a unique cheese with an exceptional taste. 

The beauty of Purple Haze is that the flavors are balanced perfectly. The herbs don’t overwhelm the cheese and visa versa. The flavor is outstanding, almost otherworldly. While the flavors are subtle at first, there's no denying the lovely but unexpected lavender and fennel accents. And these flavors build to a gorgeous crescendo. This is a cheese you will want to keep coming back to. It’s incredibly memorable. This beautiful cheese transports you into a sunny, fairy tale afternoon. You can picture yourself strolling through a charming garden on a warm, spring day.

Someone suggested caramelizing the top of this cheese before serving. That sounds divine!

Purple Haze on toasted rye bread.

As far as pairings, make sure whatever you put the cheese on isn't too salty, too sweet or too aromatic. You don't want anything competing with these lovely flavors. For wine, a nice Sauvignon Blanc or Reisling would do well. Most red wines will be too strong, but you could also try a light rose.  

You can read about Cypress Grove's sexy Truffle Tremor or their wonderful everyday cheese the Lamb Chopper in my other blog posts.

Was That Epoisses? I Don't Think So.

Ahh, the REAL king of cheeses, Epoisses. It's the royal cheese, a fromage for cheese snobs everywhere. It's expensive. It's stinky, and it's divine. I reviewed the beautiful product here: Epoisses Review. As anyone can see, it's a favorite of mine, unless it's one that's not properly cared for, which, sadly, I experienced recently.

I will begin by saying that I have had some phenomenal Epoisses in the last few years, so when I went to purchase a round that was advertised as being on sale for half price in early December, I was really, really looking forward to taking my first bite of the soft, creamy paste. I didn't think too much of it when the rind looked a bit more orange than I remembered. Slight variations can occur from season to season. It wasn't until I got home and opened the package that I started to worry. The aroma was stronger than I remembered, very much on the pungent side. Epoisses is a funky cheese, but it's no Limburger.

Hervé Mons is an outstanding affineur. I like pretty much all the cheeses I have tried with his name on the label. His Epoisses, a relatively new product I assume, is the exception. In all my years of sampling and eating cheese, I have never returned a cheese product, until now. This was terrible. I can't think of another time when I couldn't consume a cheese. When I tried this version, against my better judgment, it tasted like the smell of horse urine. Yuck. The ammonia flavor was overwhelming and almost burned my throat. This was not merely old or overly aged cheese. I have tried Epoisses well past its prime and can assure you that it's not this bad. What I tried had no resemblance to Epoisses whatsoever.

If you're looking to buy Epoisses, stick to the classics.

This is what good Epoisses should look like