admittedly it was a bit of an experiment, that thing we did last night at the growing center. we had no idea what kind of successful outreach and interaction, if any, we were having with the interweb, or how likely it was to expect dozens of people we’d never met to find a sort of remote part of somerville and hang out with us. just before we headed over with our civic full of every plate we own and a couple pounds of local cheese, darry and i were estimating on our hands that probably, maybe, 15 people might show up. and most of them would be our friends that we made promise to go.
so it was with profound surprise and happiness and gratitude that about 50 people, most of them strangers, arrived at the growing center to eat cheese with us. and put on silly name tags, and introduce themselves to strangers and linger in the fading light of a quiet urban garden. it was awesome, and i am seriously, seriously really glad you all came. it was a pleasure. also, it would have been a load of cheese to take home if you had not been there. thanks.
and since a bunch of you asked, the following is a reprint of the cheese bios that were on display (and perhaps a bit confusing — my apologies for the clutter) last night.
LOCAL BENDER … next month. we shall gather again to drink local beer.
the cheeses… all of these are available at some combo of farmers’ markets, Whole Foods, Formaggio Kitchen, Foodie’s, City Feed and Supply, Lionette’s, Dave’s Fresh Pasta, Harvest Co-ops and the Dairy Bar.
GREAT HILL BLUE - This is made in Marion, Mass., in an old barn on the shores of Buzzard’s Bay. The cheesemakers use raw, unhomogenized cow’s milk from neighboring farms. The result is softer than your average blue cheese. And rather light and elegant. Put it on salads, please! Price: $14.99/lb. We get this is at Whole Foods on River St. It’s also at the Dairy Bar in Somerville.
GRAFTON CHEDDAR (sage + maple smoked) - This hails from lovely and terribly remote Graftonv, VT! Grafton Village Cheese Co. is literally the only thing happening in this town, and it employs a bunch of people. The cheesemakers use hormone-free milk from Jersey cows that live on New England farms. If you’re gonna buy cheddar, it’s way better to buy Grafton cheddar than some faceless, glow-in-the-dark orange crap you can find in any Grocery Store. It’s a quality, localish (most cheddar is not) and with a seriously good bite. And good news: Grafton is sold just about everywhere! Any Harvest Co-op, Whole Foods, Shaw’s, Hannaford’s should have it. Also, it comes in several tasty flavors, as well as regular old sharp cheddar, and it’s relatively affordable. Price: $6.99 for 8 oz wheel; $4.99 for 8 oz bar
CONSTANT BLISS, Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, VT - Bliss is made from fresh, raw cow’s milk. Starter culture is added before the milking is even finished! The slow lactic fermentation that takes place overnight renders the milk yogurt-like by morning, Each cheese is turned daily for the first two weeks, after which they are turned twice a week until they have developed a rind and are ripe! Price: $10.99 for 5 oz wheel. We go this at Whole Foods too.
BAYLEY HAZEN BLEU, Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, VT - Bayley Hazen Blue is a natural rinded blue cheese made with the early morning (raw) milk of Ayrshire cows. Ayrshire milk is particularly well suited to the production of blue cheese because of its small fat globules, which are easily broken down during the aging process. The paste of a Bayley Hazen is drier than most blues and the penicillium roqueforti takes a back seat to an array of flavors that hint at nuts and grasses and in the odd batch, licorice. It is aged between 4 and 6 months. It’s drier and crumblier than most blues — and damn strong. You need just a little taste to get the job done. Price: $21.99/lb. Whole Foods!
CRYSTAL BROOK FARM GOAT CHEESE, Mediterranean Marinade - This is made in Sterling, Mass., by Ann Starbard, a very spunky and rather iconoclastic lady. (Ye who ask her why local cheese costs more than Grocery Store cheese, BEWARE!) Ann also keeps a herd of 70 alpine and saanen goats. They’re wily and beautiful. And very well cared for — so are the pastures they spend their days on. (Tidbit: Ann’s husband Eric is a sawyer; he producers lumber on the farm.) Price: $3.25 per serving. I got this at the Davis Sq farmers’ market on Wednesday. It’s sold at other markets. Check their web site for a listing.
CAPRI, Westfield Farm in Hubbardston, Mass. - Ten years ago, the family that owned Westfield Farm wanted to retire. They put a classified in the Globe’s real estate section and Bob and Debbie Stetson, two urbanites looking for a change, made an offer! They ended up moving in with the family for a month to learn the ropes. The property is no longer a working farm; the Stetsons opted to just take over cheese production. But they do buy milk from four local goat dairies. They make fresh and aged goat cheese, including an aged bleu goat cheese and a feta. But their wee logs of chevre are the easiest to come by. It’s creamy and the flavor is quite gentle. Plus, the Stetsons are very nice people. And this is sold at the Brookline Farmers’ Market. Price: $5.49 for 5 oz log. I got this at Whole Food’s but I’ve seen it around. Check the Westfield Farm site.
FIORE DI NONNO or “my grandfather’s flower” - Holy, holy crap. Here is the crown jewel! Lourdes Smith makes this mozzarella every morning right down the street in the Tazo chocolate factory in Somerville. Lourdes’ grandfather, an Italian immigrant, ran a dairy shop in New Jersey when she was a kid. As a grown up, she sought out to emulate his perfect hand-stretched mozzarella and went to study with a fellow who’d apprenticed under her grandfather. Thus, the recipe she uses today is pretty damn close to what he brought over from the old country. This mozzarella is nothing like the shrink-wrapped stuff in the supermarket. It’s meaty, perfectly salted and melty in your mouth. If you eat it with fresh tomatoes and basil, it will rock your world. You can get it at Davis Sqare, Belmont, Lexington, Copley Square and Kendall Square farmers’ markets. Also at speciality shops and a couple of fancy restaurants. Price: $5 per serving. Lourdes sells at Davis Sq, Lexington + Belmont Markets. Dave’s Fresh Pasta and Lionette’s. Check her site for the full listing, though.
VERMONT BRIE, Blythedale Farm in Corinth, VT - This cheese is new to us. What we know: it’s made with pasteurized, whole milk from Jersey cows. And the cows are hormone-free and have year-round access to pasture. Indeed they look pretty happy in the photos on the Vermont Cheese web site. Price: $8.99 for a wheel. Whole Foods!
SMITH’S COUNTRY CHEESE, Gouda from Winchendon, Mass. - The Smith family keeps a pretty large herd of Holsteins on their farm. They use raw milk from the cows to make this gouda. The rind on these babies is wax — so don’t eat it! The cheese — like all cheeses made with raw milk — is aged 60 days. That’s the law. The Smiths have a rather big operation out there in Winchendon and their cows are grain fed, which we are a bit dubious about. But still, this is not a factory produced cheese. It’s the real local deal, and just about the only gouda we’ve been able to find made in Massachusetts. Price: $6.99 for 8 oz wedge. I got this at the Dairy Bar in Somerville.
HANNAHBELLS, Shy Brothers Farm in Westport Point, Mass. - The Shy Brothers are, in fact, two sets of twin brothers. Bizarre, no? They grew up on their dairy farm and, a few years back, when it looked like they might have to sell because mega, monoculture farms like to crush small operations like theirs, the Hanleys moved to town. The Hanleys are very nice business people who worry about the future of food. They decided a good way to save the farm was to turn it into a slightly more specialized place. Hence, these fancy little artisanal cheeses were born and the Shy Brothers became cheesemakers. Their cows graze, the milk is pasteurized and the cheese is ready to eat after about two weeks of aging. The cheese itself is modeled on a French recipe. It comes in fun flavors too! And the Hanleys insist the unique ocean-y climate in Westport Point gives the milk a super special edge. Price: $6.99 for 4 oz. Dairy Bar. But these also sell at a bunch of Whole Foods, Foodie’s Market in the South End and maybe Formaggio Kitchen.
This will be fun.
Center in Somerville, where Kristi was adding dry stuff to the compost bins and just before an elderly Italian gentleman, taken with her “big, sparkling eyes,” serenaded her in Italian.