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I was thinking about the word "ripen" today. We always refer to fruits as ripe when they are at their peak flavor and ready to eat. Those of us in the cheese world, also use the term "ripen" to describe the process of aging cheeses to the point that they are ready to eat. Affinage is the french term for the process of cheese ripening. Inherent in the term is the notion that something is acting on the cheese or the fruit to cause it to change its flavor, texture, etc. In both cases, it is a biologically mediated process (those microbes at it again) that coaxes along the digestion of some compounds and the production of others (sugars in the case of fruits, fatty acids and other flavor compounds in the case of cheese). In both cases too, ripening is a fairly subjective term that lets the eater (and in our case, the producer-eater) determine when the flavor of the food is at its peak. Ripe cheeses and ripe fruits--the joy of eating locally is that you actually get to purchase these foods when their delicousness is at its apex.
It seems like June is the month for ripening. We have had a plethora of soft-ripened (or bloomy rind) cheeses peak this week along with raspberries, currants and maybe even some gooseberries.
We'll be bringing lots of cheese to FOUR farmers' markets this week-Urbana, Bloomington, Green City Market in Lincoln Park, Chicago and of course Oak Park Farmers' Market-- so come visit us and buy some cheese. We might bring berries to a couple of the markets if we have extra. We're bringing the following cheeses:
Chevre--plain, herbs de Provence and cracked peppercorn--come early to get the full selection
Angel Food-goat milk brie--epitomizes "ripeness"
Little Bloom on the Prairie--goat milk camembert-tasting really great this time of year-must be the pasture coming through in the goats' milk
Ewe Bloom-sheep milk bloomy rind-still on sale this week, because, you guessed it, several batches decided to ripen at the same time.
Prairie Dropseed-our blended milk (sheep and goat) little ball with a geo mold rind--someone told me it reminds them of brain coral (it does!)
A new little bloomy rind we're calling "Pear Capri" it is less than 2 oz of white and blue mold coated goat mik creaminess in the shape of a petite poire (little pear in french). We're making this special cheese for Stephanie Izard's new restaurant ("Girl and the Goat" slated to open the third week in June) and she came down to make an experimental batch with me a couple of weeks ago. You get to have a sneak preview of this little gem.
Roxanne will reappear in the lineup next week; maybe even Moonglo. Stay tuned and stay ripe.
Cheeses ripen, fruits too
Posted 6/10/2010 10:56pm by Leslie Cooperband or Wes Jarrell.
I was thinking about the word "ripen" today. We always refer to fruits as ripe when they are at their peak flavor and ready to eat. Those of us in the cheese world, also use the term "ripen" to describe the process of aging cheeses to the point that they are ready to eat. Affinage is the french term for the process of cheese ripening. Inherent in the term is the notion that something is acting on the cheese or the fruit to cause it to change its flavor, texture, etc. In both cases, it is a biologically mediated process (those microbes at it again) that coaxes along the digestion of some compounds and the production of others (sugars in the case of fruits, fatty acids and other flavor compounds in the case of cheese). In both cases too, ripening is a fairly subjective term that lets the eater (and in our case, the producer-eater) determine when the flavor of the food is at its peak. Ripe cheeses and ripe fruits--the joy of eating locally is that you actually get to purchase these foods when their delicousness is at its apex.
It seems like June is the month for ripening. We have had a plethora of soft-ripened (or bloomy rind) cheeses peak this week along with raspberries, currants and maybe even some gooseberries.
We'll be bringing lots of cheese to FOUR farmers' markets this week-Urbana, Bloomington, Green City Market in Lincoln Park, Chicago and of course Oak Park Farmers' Market-- so come visit us and buy some cheese. We might bring berries to a couple of the markets if we have extra. We're bringing the following cheeses:
Chevre--plain, herbs de Provence and cracked peppercorn--come early to get the full selection
Angel Food-goat milk brie--epitomizes "ripeness"
Little Bloom on the Prairie--goat milk camembert-tasting really great this time of year-must be the pasture coming through in the goats' milk
Ewe Bloom-sheep milk bloomy rind-still on sale this week, because, you guessed it, several batches decided to ripen at the same time.
Prairie Dropseed-our blended milk (sheep and goat) little ball with a geo mold rind--someone told me it reminds them of brain coral (it does!)
A new little bloomy rind we're calling "Pear Capri" it is less than 2 oz of white and blue mold coated goat mik creaminess in the shape of a petite poire (little pear in french). We're making this special cheese for Stephanie Izard's new restaurant ("Girl and the Goat" slated to open the third week in June) and she came down to make an experimental batch with me a couple of weeks ago. You get to have a sneak preview of this little gem.
Roxanne will reappear in the lineup next week; maybe even Moonglo. Stay tuned and stay ripe.
