Kiss me Im drunk...or German...or whatever**

** I totally ripped off that title from a  sign I saw in a German restaurant in Long Island City called Wunderbar.

Ok so my first week of my internship was amazing! I have already learned so much and I don't think I have ever been so excited for a Monday in my life. Which just goes to show you, you CAN be happy at work...who knew? The people at Artisanal are so warm and excited for me. They barely know me and yet accept my dream of a cheese shop as a reality. It is so nice to feel so supported, it is comforting to someone pressing full steam ahead into the unknown.

I will be honest, there were a few times this week where I was physically so exhausted that I started to worry. But as Matt (production manager) told me a lot of the production work I am doing is specific to the huge demands of Artisanal, it's not your typical shop. The folks in the production line work so hard and they really know their stuff, it is an honor sweating beside them.

Also I got to flex some more familiar muscles as my marketing and event planning skills were utilized. It felt good to know what the hell I was talking about for a couple days. Verna (event planner) is a wonder to me, she is good to her core and pulls these events off masterfully.

DAS BOOT!!!!!!
So on Friday I was treated to my third class of the week, an Oktoberfest Celebration of Autumn Beers with Candela Prol.  This class explored 5 beers and 7 cheeses. I am thrilled to report that I finally met a cheese I didn't like HAZAH!

The first part of the class was a closer look at beer. The five beers we had were:

1. Quollfrishch Appenzeller- light amber color, light and frothy.
2. Weihenstephan, Festbier- deep gold color, long and bitter finish
3. Eggenberg, Mac Queens Nessie- amber to brown color, the classes favorite, very malty
4. Smuttynose, Old Brown Dog Ale- brown color, toasty and delicious
5. Smuttynose, Pumpkin Ale- my personal favorite, Im a sucker for nutmeg and pumpkin

Some of the take aways from the beer portion of the class are that beer snobs look for a long finish on beer and a "persistent head". While I agree with the class that the Mac Queens Nessie was special and paired very well with many of the cheeses, the Pumpkin Ale just makes me happy and I think the spiciness is a great match with cheese in general.

Onto the cheese! I am excited that in this plate I had my favorite cheese of the week and the WORST CHEESE...blaechhhhh

1. Purple Haze, California, goat milk
25th Annual Conference, American Cheese Society's Winner
FIND THIS CHEESE, it is the best goat cheese I have ever had ever, ever, ever! It is so unreal.

"Purple Haze is a fresh little goat's milk cheese from Cypress Grove Chevre in Northern California flavored with wild fennel pollen and lavender. The combination of the herbs with the smooth and creamy chevre taste is unique and reconfirms the Provencale/Mediterranean identity of California flavors and cuisine. Here at the Artisanal Premium Cheese Center, we remove the plastic wrapper and drain the residual whey from the cheese, guaranteeing a creamy rather than sour flavor and dramatically improving the texture of the cheese. One piece weighs approximately 4.5 ounces".*

2. Bravaiam Limburger, Germany, cow milk
Ok from the cartoons I was expecting some grossness but this particular Limburger was really good! It was no stinkier than Taleggio and same buttery spread.

"Cooperative Kaserri Zurwies in Bavaria uses organic and silage-free milk to produce this Limburger which with it's elegant paste and butter flavor belies the rather "naughty" reputation that Limburgers gained in the past. The thin rind develops from the light washings that this cheese receives during its one month of aging, just enough to give the cheese a luscious buttery flavor with the aroma of damp caves, and a pudding texture. Each piece weighs about 7 ounces"*

3. Flosserkase (cant figure out how to work the umlaut feature), Swiss, cow milk
James really liked this one a lot, I am noticing he really likes the raw milk cheeses. It was a little bitter for me.

The Flosserkase is produced at the Kaserei Kramershaus in Emme Valley of Canton Bern, Switzerland. Using the raw cow milk of local farmers the cheese is washed in hops, giving it an additional layer of flavor over a rich smooth firm paste.




4. Hittisau, Austria, cow milk
Loved this cheese. It was so delicate and subtle. As James said "this is swiss cheese for people that don't like swiss cheese". You really can taste that hazelnut note too. YUM!

"Hittisau is the namesake cheese from producer Sennerai Hittisau in the beautiful Bregenz Forest of Austria just over the border from Bavaria. Silage-free raw cow milk from local farms gives this cheese a deep, slightly sweet flavor with occasional notes of hazelnuts at just over five months of age. The rind is brightly colored and the firm texture can develop a smattering of small eyes."*

5. Beermat, Switzerland, cow milk
BLECHHHHHH. I have violent feelings about this cheese. While I feel it tastes like a big lump of raw onions, James feels it tastes more like burnt plastic.

"Beermat, a.k.a. Aarauer Bierdeckel , is a washed-rind, artisanal cow's milk cheese from Switzerland. Beermat is bathed in wheat beer, giving it a slightly toasty yet pungent aroma (THAT IS PUTTING IT POLITELY). Its texture is like that of a ripe Taleggio, its flavor reminiscent of Epoisses. Beermat will stand up beautifully to any hearty dark ale or Alsatian white wine."*

remember to cleanse that palate....if you can

6. Goat Gouda, Netherlands, goat milk
The anit-beermat, this rivals the purple haze for favorite of the week. It is so creamy and interesting and has so many things and is a perfect pair with all 5 beers.

"Our Goat Gouda makes for a lighter, milder and creamier version of the far more familiar and stronger-flavored cow versions. This cheese has a smooth firm texture that practically melts in the mouth. It leaves a sweet mild aftertaste, which makes for a lighter, creamier version of the Gouda. This is an excellent candidate for an introduction to the goat cheese family that can be enjoyed on its own or with a cup of our fresh-roasted coffee."*

7. La Peral, Spain, cow milk
Really didn't like this, and I usually love the blue cheeses. It was caustic to me. It tasted like crushed up aspirin.

"La Peral is a lightly blued, rare and delicious cheese hailing from the village Illas in Northern Spain. It is made from pasteurized cow's milk to which sheep cream has been added. Also known as Queso Azul Asturiano, La Peral is made by the Lopez Leon family. The wheels are aged for 60 days in their Asturian caves just to the point that the blue begins to develop. La Peral resembles an Italian Gorgonzola and has a nice olive flavor and pungent aroma. Its slightly crumbly texture becomes significantly creamier in the finish". *

* These are the official Artisanal descriptions

OK off to read my new Culture magazine!!!