Artisan Bread, Cheese and Wine
Cuisine. Politics. Culture. Economy.
Artisan Bread, Cheese and Wine
June 28, '08. Foggy caves make for award-winning sheep cheese: radio farm tour.
Show notes for June 28 '08.
My plan had been to spend an extended late lunch hour at Mary and David Falk's LoveTree Farm, but as the early June afternoon melted into the evening, the conversation was still lively and the pot was put on for tea. There was so much to see and learn about this sheep dairy. An affable couple generous with their ideas and time, the Falk's have farmed their 200 acres of rolling hills for over 20 years. They began milking their sheep in 1993, and since then have worked to achieve a triple-bottom line: a sustainable, organic production; award-winning farmstead cheeses; and advancing a breeding program to develop a strain of sheep able to thrive in Wisconsin winters and produce the needed volume of high-quality milk.
If this farm sounds familiar to you, it’s no surprise. In 1999, LoveTree began collecting numerous awards. In 2000, it swept the young-sheep-milk-cheese category at the American Cheese Society Conference. And two years later, Mary and David were named Food Artisan ofthe Year by Bon Appetite and Food Network.
The podcast will introduce you to the Falks, their sheep and their large and very special guardian dogs. This is the first of two shows featuring LoveTree Farm. I hope you'll enjoy it.
But first, some background: The US is the world’s largest importer of sheep-milk cheeses. We - that's you and me - import over 72-million pounds of sheep-milk products a year. Now, compare this to the level of domestic production: about 450,000 pounds – under half-a-million. Seems like a growth market to me. One that could provider living wage for many more than the roughly 100-125 sheep dairies now operating across the US and Canada.
Are you buying domestic? If you are, I'll bet it isn't because of the industry economics. No, if you're like me, bliss is a wedge of well-aged cheese matched with a great wine, and accompanied by a hunk of hearth bread - something with a real crust. Isn’t that just about the most perfect meal ever? OK, it’s missing the chocolate, but other than that, isn’t that simple meal a slice of heaven?
Well, that picture got a whole new splash of color after tasting a variety of cheeses lifted off the cedar blanks in Mary Falk's aging caves. You can see pictures of some of these cheeses, of Mary and Peter Falk, their Spanish Ranch Mastiff, Pedro, and their sheep, click on the LoveTree photo gallery.
You can also find out lots more about sheep dairy operations from a number of sources. Here are a few I used:
- The Dairy Business Innovation Center, Madison, Wisconsin
- Wisconsin Artisan Dairy Network
- Wisconsin Sheep Diary Cooperative
- Sheep! magazine
Enjoy the farm tour, and drop me a line. I'd love to hear from more of our growing Internet radio community. Over the last several months, I've chatted with ABC&W-lovers in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Oregon, Nevada, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Stuttgart, Germany. Where are you enjoying artisan bread cheese and wine? And what domestic finds can you share with the rest of us?
Till next time, eat well. Eat thoughtfully, and if, at all possible, eat locally.
Bye!
Sylvia@artisanbreadcheeseandwine.com
Played: 73 | Download | Duration: 00:00:00
May 26, '08. Artisan cheese marketer reveals why we reach for that cheese.
Blog and show notes for May 26, '08. Natural food stores, high-end food sellers and chain grocers are expanding their selections of artisan cheeses. So many choices! If you're like me, you may find yourself staring at wedges you know little or nothing about. Of course, if you love cheese, this won't stop you from buying...something.
When I get home from the co-op, I'll often sort through my purchases and realize that I've made my selections based on curious names or attractive labels. Hardly scientific or academic, but very human, especially when faced with an item that offers a new twist to a loved product - handcrafted cheese.
Andrea Neu, a marketing consultant with the Dairy Business Innovation Center, Madison, Wisconsin, works with cheese producers all across the Midwest on this very aspect of food shopping. In this field for more than 30 years, Neu has participated in years of consumer research to investigate buying preferences. She helps her clients understand how to name, package and display their artisinal products so that shoppers like you and me will be prompted to try, and then buy again.
You can listen to her interview on this podcast.
The growing interest in artisinal cheeses has spawned a growing collection of instructional books, many of which let you know which producers welcome visitors. Here are a few in my library:
- Steven Jenkins, Cheese Primer. Still the first reference book I reach for when I bring home a wedge or round of new cheese.
- The New American Cheese, by Laura Werlin. Great descriptions of cheeses and their producers, along with recipes.
- The Atlas of American Artisan Cheesee, Jeffrey Roberts. With a forward from Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food Movement International.
- The Cheeses of Wisconsin, by Jeannette Hurt. This is a travel guide, and a really useful resource for those of us who want to visit our cheeses at the source.
Have you tried any interesting artisan cheeses lately? Let us know. I'd love to hear from you and find out why you've purchased your cheeses.
Till next time - when we'll focus on the artisan bread, cheese and wine of summer - eat well, eat thoughtfully, and whenever possible, eat locally.
Bye!
Sylvia@artisanbreadcheeseandwine.com
Played: 152 | Download | Duration: 00:00:00
Wine picks for Mother's Day. Wine-cheese, beer-cheese combos.
May 8.
Mom's day is coming up and you're wondering what to pour with that grilled hamburger, steak dinner or brunch? Well, Minneapolis Star Tribune wine columnist Bill Ward was good enough to lend some quick ideas:
- You'll need to use some judgment on that omelet because the fixings can really change the personality of the meal. If you're going with mild to medium fillings, Bill feels a pinot noir is a safe bet, great with mushrooms.
- If you're making a steak for that wonderful Mom in your life, a cabernet for sure. Bill also really likes a California Syrah or a petit syrah, and
- If you and the kids are grilling hamburgers for Mom (and when the weather's great who can resist the sizzle of burgers on the grill), pour zinfandel.
If you're heading to your local wine shop, take along this list and ask for the local products whenever possible. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the wines produced within 100 miles or so of your dinner table. Fine something terrific? Let me know! And be sure to check out Bill Ward's column and blog.
You don't' have to be a chef to pull together a tasty and entertaining cheese sampler for Mom (and the rest of the family). It's not rocket science; don't get stressed out. Here are four steps you can take to please Mom (and the kids):
- First, consider her tastes: does she like mild flavors or really strong ones.
- Second, identify her preferred wine or beer (or pop).
- Determine if you're going to feature the cheeses as appetizers or a main course
- Get a fun cheese (string cheese) for the kids to enjoy (Their young taste buds tend to appreciate the milder flavors)
OK. If she likes stronger flavors, here are some of the possibilities: blue cheeses such as Roquefurt, Stilton, Gorganzola, Iowa Maytag; and hard cheeses (older cheeses that have ripened over a period of time and are harder in texture) such as Mobay (USA and foreign), Roncal (Spanish), Manchego (Spanish), Asiago (Italian); and ripened cheeses that have runny textures, such as Camembert, or goat chevre.
Does she prefer lighter flavors? Again, you've got dozens of choices: Baby swiss, havarti, mild cheddars, young brie or Camambert.
You can make the shopping lots easier and more fun if you ask for help once you get to the dairy case.
How much to buy?
- You are going to want two or three different cheeses for the sampler
- If your cheese is the major part of your meal, consider a couple of ounces (roughly two square inches) of each type of cheese per person.
- The cheeses should vary in flavor intensity.
- And once you sit down to eat, you'll want to start with the milder cheese first.
What to drink? That depends on the cheeses you've purchased. If the beverage is more important to Mom, start there and choose cheeses to compliment the wine or beer. For example:
- Champagne: Brie, mild Cheddar, Edam, Gouda, Chevre, Baby Swiss
- Peppery Gewurtzraminer: Swiss, Chevre, Boursin
- Ports, sherry: Bleu, Roquefort, stilton, vintage brie
- Cabernet: sharp cheddar, Danish bleu, Brie US, Camembert
- Riesling: Cheshire, Colby, Edam, Gouda, Monterey Jack
When it comes to beer, try to find locally-produced microbrews. (Hey, Mom's worth it!) According to the Brewers Association, there are 1,406 microbreweries across the country (as of 2007), so there might just be a craft operation either close to you, or that sells product to your local purveyor. Here are some ideas from www.allaboutbeer.com:
- Mellow beers such as American wheat beer, American lagers, amber lagers: newer unripened cheeses such as ricotta, and cottage cheese.
- Pilsners, pale ales, porters, and American fruit ales: Camembert or Brie withbloomy rinds.
- Amber ales, golden ales, bitters, mellow bocks: semi-soft cheeses such as gouda, havarti, Tilsit, Liederkrantz, Port Salut and American Colby, Monterey Jack.
- Special bitters and pale ales, double bocks: semi-hard cheeses including the cheddars, Swiss, Cheshire, Tilsit, Edam, Gruyere, emmentaler, Jarlsberg and aged Gouda.
- Double bock, stout or porter: Blue-veined cheeses such as Stilton, Roquefort, and Gorgonzola, Iowa Maytag, St. Pete's bleu from Wisconsin. Maytag blue from Iowa go with the stronger beers: stout, porters,old ales, and Imperial stouts, and chevre.
Leave a comment. Just click on the title of this entry and you'll open to a longer page with options for printing the blog, making comments and voting on the information. I'd love to hear from you. And, please, feel free to e-mail this entry to a friend.
Have a great Mother's Day!
Sylvia@artisanbreadcheeseandwine.com
Will President Bush sign the 2007 Farm Bill? How will it affect your grass-fed beef, organic cheese or artisan bread?
April 29 '08. Last week, newspapers, TV evening news broadcasts, podcasts and blogs were abuzz with the Farm Bill. Could legislators compromise on the last $5 billion in this nearly $300 billion omnibus bill? Would the conference committee meet the April 25 deadline? Well, it seems lawmakers reached an 11th-hour tentative agreement last Friday night, and when they did, the noise stopped. The silence has been deafening, and puzzling. In fact, since last Friday, a quick Google search turned up stories in only three of the major national dailies: the the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal .
Why? Well, fellow cheese lovers, one reason may be that it's lots easier to report on a heated argument than it is to digest and interpret a 1,300-page piece of legislation. (Yes, that's right; three reams worth.) When I was a TV reporter (a zillion years ago), I certainly found that people involved in hot disputes - in this case elected officials - are usually very willing to provide snappy sound-bites as well as lengthly position statements which fill lots of time and space in conventional news coverage. Covering the nitty-gritty about complex legislation was, and remains, another matter entirely. In the second instance, you need time to search out the short- and long-term consequences. And so, are news editors and station managers now quietly deciding if they'll spend the time - which, of course, means money - to cover an issue that's no longer throwing sparks?
As I swirl my late-night merlot, I worry that publishers and TV news bosses may decide that we - lovers of healthful, flavorful foods - have no appetite for Farm Bill details. In part, this may be true because this legislation continues to be called the Farm Bill, and not America's Food Bill which is what it is.
Fortunately, all may not be lost. There may be another dust-up brewing: legislators have yet to reach a final agreement, and the President has said he may refuse to sign the corpulent bill: not enough subsidy cuts. But if that protest doesn't create the tempest reporters needs to get their juices flowing, consider this:
- Although this is five-year legislation, the budget is up for grabs every year. What's in column A can be shifted to column B.
- While there was an $861 million increase for nutrition programs over the next 10 years, it was partially paid for by slashing crop subsidies by $400 million and cutting a program to pay farmers for ruined crops by $250 million. (According to AP reports.)
- It cut commodity subsidies by $400 million over 10 years, from the $5.2 billion a year in direct payments
- It includes a tax break for race horse owners.
- This current bill doesn't begin to do what's needed to to promote sustainable agriculture, to protect the environment, or to facilitate healthier diets at home or in school.
- This Farm Bill does not guarantee food safety (remember the tainted meat episodes of just the last few months), nor does it promote food security (knowing that our food supply is not vulnerable to foreign control)
- This Farm Bill continues to link corn acreage to fuel production (ethanol).
- This bill still provides $$$ billions every year to support five commodities - corn, wheat, rice, cotton and soybeans
- And when you see the term, commodities, think high-fructose corn syrup, a key ingredient in highly-processed foods and carbonated beverages; and about the wheat and soy fillers that seem to find their way into so many of the prepared foods we eat (even powdered chicken broth).
Do you like your goat-milk Mobay, with that gossamer layer of gray ash floating through the middle? I do. And I really enjoy my raw-milk goat cheddar (especially with pitted prunes), and my local cow-milk cheeses. But if more land gets shifted from hay production to corn-for-ethanol, the price of hay is likely to rise, and with it the cost of my cheeses. While I might grumble about this increased cost, I'll likely pay it. However, my small complaint is not the issue.
The real problem is on the production side. As the costs to raise to raise cows, sheep and goats continues to climb, the livelihoods of small- and medium-scale farmers are jeopardized.
The demand for healthful foods, fresh veggies, whole grains, and seasonal fruit outstrips supply year after year. Yet, the Farm Bill does not exist to move more of our agricultural system in that direction.
A real problem is when those who are struggling to make ends meet - tens of millions in the US alone - find it more and more difficult to buy healthful foods for their families.
And so, I invite you to sit with your cabernet, pinot or hot tea and compose a plea and protest to your US legislators. It'll take all of a few minutes. Here are links to legislators' e-mail addresses you can use.
Thank you, and salut.
Sylvia@artisanbreadcheeseandwine.com
Farm Bill - America's Food Bill - wrangling pushes deadline?
Seems the conference committee reached tentative agreement in the 11th hour. Don't pack your bags just yet - your action needed.<< MORE >>
Food Bill (Farm Bill) deadline pushed to April 25. Use easy links to write congress and protect your local bread, wine and cheese.
Wrangling over the last $5 billion for the Farm Bill has given us until April 25, to contact legislators and let them know that the Farm Bill should not be signed. << MORE >>
Love Vermont cheddar, San Fran sourdough, Minnesota ice wine, or Iowa blue cheese? USA Food Bill (the Farm Bill) deadline is April 18 - it works to choke local production. Take 10 minutes to protect good, local food.
Podcast and shownotes: If you love your local artisan bread, cheese and wine, you need to protect your local food system. Write legislators to reform your Food Bill (the Farm Bill) NOW. See quick links.<< MORE >>
#004 April 1 '08: Organic dairy farmers go to glass bottles and liquid yogurt, Millenials beat Gen-Xers in wine appreciation, ice wine from snowy Minnesota, adult chocolate
Guess what happened in northern Wisconsin on March 31st? It snowed 6 inches! A cruel April Fools joke? Not really. We often get 50 inches a winter, and at least a couple of weekends where the thermometer never climbs above 30 below - and that's without windchill.
And, believe it or not, this is wine country! (It turns out that we also have a summer like that of the Burgundy region of France.) In this podcast, Robin Partch, a third-generation wine maker, describes the challenges and successes of making wines from grapes especially created for the cold winters of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Partch is one of over a dozen grape growers and wine makers who form the Minnesota Winegrowers Cooperative. The cooperative owns the Northern Vineyards Winery in Stillwater, Minnesota (a great tourist town just a half hour East of Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN).
U.S. milk sales have remained fairly constant for many years, yet the demand for organic diary products continues to climb off the charts. In this podcast, we hear from Troy DeRosier, who with his wife Barb, operate Crystal Ball Farms, just outside of Osceola, Wisconsin, a small river town that sits along the St. Croix River. This hard-working couple represents an important segment of today's young farmers - entrepreneurs who are new farming. DeRosier differentiates his products several ways: they are certified organic; though pasteurized, they are not homogenized, and so the cream rises to the top in a thick, luscious layer - a feature highlighted through the heavy glass bottles they use for their milk and cream products. The DeRosiers have also gained greater marketing control by bottling directly on premises.
We finish the show with a chocolate recommendation for adults: truffles from Chocolate Blessings, Amery, Wisconsin, paired with a golden port made by western Wisconsin winemakers, Chateau St. Croix Winery. Yumm.
Let me know what you're feasting on that's artisan, scrumptious and local. Discovered a locally-produced bread, cheese or wine that beats the import? Send me a brag note! According the the experts, there's a small scale winery now operating in every state of this country. What've you sipped lately? What's the best from the Upper Midwest, East and West coasts, Mid-Atlantic states and the South? I've been told Texas has some great wines.
Let's stir up support for great, locally-produced foods. Join the locavore resistance!! Support your local food revolution.
Let's stir up support for great, locally-produced foods. Join the locavore resistance!! Support your local food revolution.
Let me hear from you. Till next time, eat well, eat thoughtfully and, whenever possible, eat locally.
Sylvia@artisanbreadcheeseandwine.com
Played: 137 | Download | Duration: 00:00:00
#003 Feb. 17, '08 Reinhart on spirituality behind breadbaking, new wine column from snow country, busiest bread site ever
Shownotes: Podcast #003, Feb. 17, 2008.
It's been a while, but I hope you'll find it was worth the wait. In this third podcast, we feature bread book author Peter Reinhart talking about the experiences in his life that form a foundation for his professional life as teacher. We also catch a quick chat with Bill Ward about his wine column and blog, Liquid Assets in the Minneapolis (MN) Star Tribune. At a time when most newspapers are making dramatic cuts, Bill was able to point his editors to the growing local interest in wines produced close to home. You'll also hear from Floyd Mann, developer and webmaster of an absolutely terrific website called The Fresh Loaf. If you love artisan breads, you'll go nuts for this site because it was especially designed for home bakers and enthusiasts who enthusiastically (obsessively?) strive for that perfect baguette, crisp rustic boule, toothsome focaccia, and can talk endlessly about the vagaries of sourdough.
You get the picture.
And we end the podcast with a treat - a cut from a local singer, poet and rapper - Dessa.
Next up--Beyond cheese. What local cheesemakers are doing to diversity their income streams right down on the farm.
Let me hear from you! What do you think the Farm Bill - really America's Food Bill - will mean to the future of your locally grown organic foods? Is there a favorite grower or processor you'd like featured on an upcoming 'cast. Drop me a line.
Till then, eat well. Eat thoughtfully.
Sylvia
Played: 225 | Download | Duration: 00:00:00
Author Peter Reinhart talks craft vs quality vs technology, artisan pizza is next wave; and a cheese sampler lunch
Show notes, Jan. 15, 2008. #002. Bread-book author Peter Reinhart talks craft vs quality vs technology. Also, a great cheese lunch.
Do commercial bakers sacrifice craftsmanship by using industrial mixers and refrigeration? Not so, says Peter Reinhart, baker, teacher and award-winning author of The Bread Baker's Apprentice, Crust and Crumb, American Pie and other books. A life-long innovator, Reinhart continues to search for ways to extract the most taste and texture from flour. His newest book, Whole Grain Bread, illustrates his ongoing research. This is the first of two podcasts based on a recent interview with Reinhart. In this 'cast he provides his view of the term, artisan, and describes the role of new techniques for the professional and home baker.
I give a quick review of my favorite lunch - a sampler of four artisan cheeses - from California, Minnesota and France - fresh and dried fruit, a pan levain, and red wine. Yumm. Sorry you couldn't join me, but here are links to these terrific cheese makers: Shepherd's Way Farms, Nerstrand, Minnesota for sheep cheeses including the Friesago I had for lunch; the flavorful Carmody I sampled was from Bellwether Farms, of Sanoma County, California; and finally the award-winning Humboldt Fog was made by Cypress Grove Chevre out of California.
For the skinny on artisan cheese, check out Steven Jenkin's book, The Cheese Primer. It's an outstanding resource about cheese-making, and it's an atlas of sources for the best cheeses around the world, and across the U.S. It's a thick and easy-to-read reference. Steve pulls no punches in describing what he considers to be the best - or worse - among cheeses.
What are your favorite cheeses? Drop me a line. Let me know of a great cheese maker where you live!
Till next time, eat well, eat thoughtfully.
Sylvia
Played: 199 | Download | Duration: 00:00:00