You really can't go wrong when putting together a cheeseboard. Most cheeses will work well together, but it is always fun to have a variety of styles and flavours. Here are a few of the classic guidelines for putting together the perfect board:
Select cheeses nearing their “Best Before” date. Fine cheeses are at their best 1 to 10 days before the expiry date. Sale items tend to be at their peak;
Forget the plastic wrap… wrap in aluminum foil or an air-tight container & store in vegetable drawer. Old cheddar is best stored at room temp wrapped in cheesecloth… a damp cloth sprinkled with vinegar also work, then put it in a cake keeper. Properly wrapped cheeses preserve their taste for 3-4 weeks;
Buy only the amount you need. Freezing cheese is not recommended. Frozen cheese loses its flavor within 4 hours of defrosting. If you must freeze leftover cheese, separate into individual portions to minimize flavor loss;
Serve cheese with beer as well as wine – the rule is mild wines or beers with mild cheeses and strong with strong cheeses and heavier with aged cheeses. The latest trend is to serve cheese with imported beer or local brews… serve white or blonde beer with goat cheese, Belgian beer with Camembert & amber or brown ale with blue cheese;
On a cheese board vary flavors from mild to strong. Select 3-5 cheeses building in intensity;
Select of variety of styles - ash covered, bloomy rind, washed rind, blue cheese, etc;
Select a variety of textures - soft, semi-soft, semi-firm, firm and hard
Incorporate different milk varieties including cow, sheep, goat and whatever other kinds are at your disposal;
Allow 60 g of cheese per person for a tasting;
Use different knives with each cheese so flavors don’t inter-mingle (pet peeve of mine! Yuck!);
Set out a variety of fruits, nuts and breads to cleanse the palate, in addition to carbonated or filtered table water;
Cheeses taste best at room temperature. Remove cheeses from the fridge at least an hour before you serve them to bring them to room temp to allow flavors to develop;
Do not ‘cube’ or cut the cheese up. Let guests help themselves. It leaves for a more intimate experience;
Eat your rind. The rind of the cheese is more often than not made to be enjoyed & holds the best flavor;
Buy local/artisanal. Great cheese comes from great milk - great milk comes from local/small producers because it has not been shipped, pooled, or stored excessively;
Read the ingredients. Cheese is made 99.9 % from milk. Try to avoid food coloring. Orange cheese should be colored by Anatto;
Putting together the perfect cheese board begins and ends by shopping from a reputable shop. Look for quality assurance like AACC, AOC, and DOP;
Good cheese often has great stories. Try and incorporate these stories into your tasting experience. Ask your cheesemonger about the cheeses you buy or Google what you bought and post it on a small stand near the cheese;
OK so here it is: my dream Canadian culinary road trip! My partner for this adventure was none other than the ‘Godfather’ (and my mentor) in Canadian artisanal cheese Alain Besre of Fromagerie Atwater.
Monday September 14, 2009
We leave Montreal at 7a.m. en route for Baie-Saint-Paul (Charlevoix). Four and a half hours later we arrive just in time for lunch with Maurice Dufour of Maison d’Affinage Maurice Dufour. Maurice is one of the countries best artisanal cheese makers and brings a special talent in ‘ripening’ (affinage) to the Canadian scene. He is the only person recognized from a business perspective as an affineur in Canada. Maurice ripens or makes the following cheeses: Migneron de Charlevoix, Tomme D’Elles, Ciel de Charlevoix, The Secret of Maurice, and Le Deo Gratias.
The greenish hue is typical wit high quality sheep milk. Small vats like the one Maurice uses is key for making great cheese.
Maurice and myself with never seen before cheese.
Tuesday September 15, 2009
Laiterie Charlevoix was our first visit on Tuesday. This company is family owned, generations old and in my opinion the most advanced, contemporary, unselfish, forward thinking, sustainable, environmentally sheik and delicious cheese maker in Canada! Bold statement right? I can be full of them when it comes to cheese but this place backs it up! Bottom line is Laiterie Charlevoix makes the most delicious cheese in Canada (Le 1608) because they are using the best milk in Canada (from the vache Canadienne). They have recently hired a geneticist to bring the breed back to life in Canada. This breed is remarkable because when compared to the Holstein, the vache Canadienne not only has better milk quality but it lives twice as long as a Holstein and produces only slightly less milk. Laiterie Charlevoix makes Le 1608, Le Hercule de Charlevoix, Le Fleurmier, Vieux Charlevoix, and Cheddar Charlevoix.
A turn of the century cheese vat at the museum at Laiterie Charlevoix
2 cool contraptions. Most badass custom made Raclette machine and an ID stamp used for cheddar sent to troops in WWII allied forces.
Another artifact from the museum
Must see at the museum!
Two caves: 1608 (left) and Hercule de Charlevoix (right)
Vache Canadienne
Rental cottages on the property at Laiterie Charlevoix
Charlevoix, need I say more?
Next stop…the Mother Land! Alain and I arrive at the ferry for Isle-aux-Grues. The only way to get to there is by boat or plane. This island could be called ‘Milk Island’. It is inhabited by 150 people who make up La Société coopérative agricole Ile-aux-Grues. These 35 families are all involved in the production of the islands only export, cheese. They make quite a few of Canada’s best cheeses there, including the Riopelle, Ile-aux-Grues cheddar, Tomme-de-Grosse-Ile and Mi-Careme.
A people of the land, it is fair to say the cheese produced on this island in the St. Lawrence has a true terroir. Terroir is a word often used in pretentious circles or has lost its identity when describing flavors of food. Not here. The Jerseys and Holsteins graze on hay that naturally grows on the island and have for hundreds of years. If this does not impart terroir I do not know what does. We arrived late and had local Sturgeon for dinner. Then we slept very very well!
Wednesday September 16, 2009
The pictures of Isle-aux-Grues should speak to my day!
Local bar in a boat and some breathtaking scenery.
Swiss Brown cows.
Local farmer on Isle-aux-Grues.
Aerial shot of Isle-aux-Grues.
After a ‘dream come true’ day we lined up for the ferry to head back to the mainland. There is one only per day. Christien lined Alain’s truck up in the queue the night before as a way to ensure we got our spot on the boat. Hmmm, if I were ever to go into cheese exile then would have been a good time.
Once back on land, we traveled 2.5 hrs to Notre-Dame-du-Lac to visit Mario at Fromagerie Le Detour. Le Detour makes Grey Owl, Le Clandestin, Magie du Madawaska, Sentinelle, Marquis de Temiscouata, Fleur de Brebis, and Dame du Lac. Basically Mario is one of those guys who found his calling in life. He is a magician with milk. I have never seen someone go from concept to market so quickly and so deliciously.
Le Detour by night.
Thursday September 17, 2009
After a “quick” 6 hour drive we arrive at Fromagerie La Station de Compton. They make wonderful washed rind cheeses like the Alfred, Comtomme and Raclette de Compton. So worth it because it was my first time seeing a well established cheese factory without a pasteurizer. It was a surreal experience. The cheese making room looked bare, rustic almost. It was not a room full of stainless pipes and seismographic gauges and the like. It looked and felt like an artists studio not a chem lab.
The caves at La Station.
Having been to see the most forward-thinking cheese makers in Canada, I am only more confident that we as a province and as a country are headed in the right direction. Provided we follow Quebec cheese makers around!
Don’t get me wrong. I love cheese! The primary reason for my trip to Price Edward Island was to see the award winning cheeses from the Cows Creamery. On my flight over I should have been thinking about their nutty sweet clothbound cheddar (the only one produced in our country) and the block cheddar that ousted the big players in Quebec and Ontario of the top prize for extra old cheddar in the Canadian Cheese Grand Prix.
But I could not help imagining the oyster frenzy I was about to embark on. The owner of Cows Creamery, Scott Linklater, is one of the most interesting people that I have met in food. His company makes cheese and oysters….hmmm…how cool is that. By far, two of my favorite things!
His oysters are Malpeques harvested under Raspberry Point, a popular find in the best restaurants in Canada. I have always wanted to say that I have seen cheese in Canada from coast to coast. Having already visited Saltspring Island and the Wood family in British Columbia, this trip to P.E.I. finally gives me the clout to say that I have see artisanal Canadian cheese from one end of the country to the other.
Cows Creamery, Charlottetown, P.E.I.
These cows are every where in P.E.I. This is the biggest one I could find. Believe me, I had my pick!
Armand, Craig and myself holding the famous Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar. Armand (centre, the cheese maker), was trained by the Neals Yard Dairy team in the U.K.
A quick clip of what a clothbound cheddar cave in P.E.I. looks like. I have see many ripening rooms in my day, but nothing like this…check it out!!
In the cheddar lair
Now on to the oysters. Picture of Scott walking out on a nice November day to get the oyster harvester.
Raspberry Point oyster harvesting.
My personal stash… yes they cleared security at the airport…good thing as my wife Alana is 8 months pregnant and having cravings for these slurppy suckers like crazy. I was told not come home empty handed!
Me at home shucking the Raspberry Point beauties.
The Olde Dublin Pub…Oysters and beer in downtown Charlottetown... where the locals eat their oysters…need I say more?
