Calling all Anglophiles. If
you’re mad about all things British and have a passion for the finer tastes in
life, you’ll want to peruse the Central Market cheese aisle and take home a few
new Juliet Harbutt British cheese selections.
Who pray tell is Juliet
Harbutt? She’s only the author of World Cheese Book (DK Publishing, October 2009, $25) and the creator
of the prestigious British Cheese Awards. “In 1994 when I created the British
Cheese Awards there were barely 200 different cheeses. Last year we had nearly
900 entries, and today Britain can boast nearly 700 unique cheeses,” informs
Harbutt, the New Zealand expat who moved to the British Isles in 1984 and
founded Jeroboams The Wine & Cheese Shop.
Wonderfully opinionated and,
not surprisingly, quite passionate about her subject, she started her lecture
to a few media types by asking us to take a Jelly Belly bean, hold our nose, put it in our mouths and chew it. What? It tastes
sweet right? But that’s it? Ah, ha! Now let go of your nostrils and you’ll feel
a rush of different flavors bursting forth. (Kids love this game by the way.) This
little colorful demo was used to illustrate the power of our senses when they
work simultaneously.
Slice off a small piece of
Snodsbury cheese, for instance, and she’ll ask you crumble this pure white hard
cheese made of goat’s milk into your palm, take a deep whiff and think about
how the dry crumbs smell. (Of almonds and sweet marizpan, as a matter of fact.)
Next, taste this goat cheese and discover that it’s actually worlds away from
the soft chevre that everyone in the States has a bad habit of labeling simply
“goat cheese” from the literal French translation.
Wondering which wines pair
particularly well with cheese? Harbutt stresses Merlot, which doesn’t possess a
lot of tannins, is a good choice for the red category. As for white, go with a
Riesling or Viognier. Harbutt’s rule “The lighter and whiter the cheese, the
lighter and whiter the wine. And the darker and richer the cheese the darker
and redder the wine.”
Selecting only 16 cheeses
for her initial range you’ll find fromage such as Blue Monday, a bronze metal winning soft, creamy blue that’s
mellower than most. Both steely and sweet, it has hints of dark chocolate and
spices at the finish. And watch it age! At 10 weeks when it hit store shelves
direct from the farmstead it’s soft, moist and creamy, then at 14 weeks it’s
mellowing out and becoming even creamier. When it reaches 16 weeks it’s rich
and spicy, while at 18 weeks it’s gooey like Gorgonzola with sweet notes and a
briny bite.
The Creamy Lancashire,
another highlight, is a gold metal winner made with a unique method of
combining its curds over 2 to 3 days that dates back to the thirteen century.
This traditional style cheese has a mottled texture and a delicious oniony
aroma. When you break if off and squeeze, the cheese crumbles to look like
curds of scrambled eggs. I encourage you to try it with eggs in fact, made with
copious amounts of butter and chives.
And what do really savvy
cheese aficionados most enjoy with their Stilton and Double Gloucester? Harbutt
guides us to fresh apples in season, dried figs, plain toasted nuts, quince
paste, crusty bread and salads simply dressed with vinaigrette. (We had an excellent
mixed green mix salad cloaked with a French mustard vinaigrette, perfect.)
The last bon mot of Harbutt’s I leave you with has to do with fat
content and cheese. She notes the higher the fat content the harder the cheese.
Contrary to popular belief, triple crème cheeses like Brie are actually lower
in butterfat content than cheddar (which is among the highest). Water makes up
for great deal of the creamy, runny texture of Brie and accounts for its
inflated fat content perception. While fresh cheeses like feta and mozzarella
are the lowest in fat because they’re also the highest in moisture content.