Hunter Valley Shines With Wine

Last weekend saw the public tasting for Gold medal winners at the Hunter Valley wine show... yeah I know it was hard work! As you would expect at a Hunter Valley wine show Shiraz and Semillion varieties showed through to win pretty much all of the medals and trophies.

While I love a classic Hunter Semillon with a delicate goats cheese, I have always struggled to find any Australian Shiraz to be the perfect match with cheese. Now before everyone stops reading because you think I have gone mad; a great cheese match is seamless blending with the ability to bring flavours and aromas forward that you haven't perceived before and most importantly no clashes of flavours.

Bold ripe and spicy fruit with tannic mouth feel best describes Australian Shiraz and will make delicate goats cheese taste like the 'Billy' goat has been in the wrong stall and for hard cheese the tannins will just make them excessively tangy.

The development of wine styles like Shiraz Viognier, soften the acid and make the style much more approachable. A sensational medal winner from the Hunter show was the Margan 2007 Shiraz Mourvedre which is beautifully balanced to match, the sheep cheese Ossau Iraty, Alpine Appenzell or a traditional cloth-wrapped cheddar.

Just like they use to make...almost

The days of buying cheddar cheese in a cloth bound wheel in Australia almost seem a distant memory. Pyengana Cheese Factory on the east coast of Tasmania have nearly single-handedly kept the faith alive producing an old school cheese that has flavour without that sharpness that pretenders think is vintage cheddar.

If you are a serious foodie and can store cheese correctly, you will be well rewarded if you can hang onto this world class Cheddar for another 6 months. The flavours will be extraordinary.

Available from Australia on a Plate

http://www.aoap.com.au/Content_Common/pr-Semi-Hard-Cheese_Pyengana-Clothbound-Cheddar.seo

Cheesemaker on the TV...again

This was a very fun day. Basically I sat around and drank wine all day. Mike Whitney, the host of the Sydney Weekender program is a former Australian cricketer which will always make my day.

Why Are They So Mean To Me?

Goats get a bad wrap in my opinion. When you care for goats correctly, they are social and loyal and produce sweet, creamy milk with no gamey taints and this sets the platform for great cheese. Sèvre & Belle from the French Atlantic coast love their goats and are rewarded with 'Le Chevrot' being a marvellously yeasty soft goats style. The cheese has that distinct 'brainy' creamy yellow rind that is typical of geotricum moulds, which slowly softens the rind without making it go runny. Perfect dessert or aperitif.



Available from Simon Johnson stores in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth
http://www.simonjohnson.com/store/stores.aspx

Cheesemaking Demonstration (Part 2)

I had the pleasure of doing a cheesemaking demonstration on national TV at the beginning of the week on Channel 9's 'Mornings With Kerri-Anne'.

This post hasn't received copyright approval so I will leave it up as long as I am permitted

Cheesemaking Demonstration of TV (Part 1)

I had the pleasure of doing a cheesemaking demonstration on national TV at the beginning of the week on Channel 9's 'Mornings With Kerri-Anne'.

This post hasn't received copyright approval so I will leave it up as long as I am permitted by Channel 9.

Stracchino like Mama made

This soft cooking cheese is actually the base curd for Talleggio and Gorgonzolla, so if you buy the same brand of all three Italian styles of cheese, they should fundamentally taste the same. While not a common cheese in Australia Stracchino when melted will make any pasta rich and creamy. Binnorie Dairy in the Hunter Valley has recently introduced Stracchino to its mix of cheeses.





Available at Everleigh Markets, Sydney and Newcastle Farmers Markets

Recipe suggestions can be found at http://www.australianregionalfoodguide.com.au/index.html


NOTE: The author is the maker of this cheese.

The Tasmanian Sheep of La Mancha

Don Quixote may have been a fictional character that made the Spanish region of La Mancha famous in the English speaking world, but La Mancha is also the home of the divine hard sheep milk cheese Manchego. Superb on a Pizza or other pastas and salads, this cheese should not be discounted as an appetiser with beer or a Spanish wine like Tempranillo. Made with full respect to the Spanish style, Grandvewe, a sheep milk dairy south of Hobart, has produced a Manchego by the name of Grandvewe 'La Manche'. Hard, true to style grainy but melt in the mouth texture, with piquant and nutty tones this is an excellent example of the style. Recently won a gold medal at Sydney Royal Show 2009.

Available from Salamanca Markets, Hobart. Also available on line http://www.grandvewe.com.au/cart/view

Blue On The Mild Side

If your idea of a Blue leans more towards Castello than Fourme D'Ambert will take you further down your blue cheese path. This ancient style of blue style from the central French district of Auvergne has the creamy and soft style like Castello, with out the robust and sometimes harsh acidic blue notes of Roquefort and Gorgonzola. While milder than the Kings of Blue, Fourme D'Ambert still has style and poise. Celebrate the subtle finesse.

Available from Adelaide Central Market or online at www.smellycheese.com.au

Sing The Praise of Mountain Cheese

Appenzell is a Swiss cheese from the canton (regional district) of Appenzell and is a rich, spicy cheese. This hard cooked style cheese is carefully matured for over 6 months to allow the full flavour to develop. The nature of the cooking process and the long careful maturing allows Appenzell to be made from raw milk and imported into Australia. The result is a significantly more complex flavour to remain in the cheese. Traditionally used in a fondue, Appenzell is also ideal as a dessert cheese.

Raw milk Swiss and pasteurised Australian Appenzell available

online from Fromart Cheese www.fromart.com.au

Little surprise from Italy

La Tur is a three milk cheese which will satisfy both the beginner and the connisour. After close examination of the ingredient list, this delicate cheese is produced with sheep, goat and cows milk. Lightly moulded with geo mould, it has a rich buttery flavour and texture but with length that surprises. A hint of matured goat cheese sneeks in the back palate will provide that extra character to make this a new favourite table cheese.

Available from Formaggi Ocello, Surry Hills http://www.ocello.com.au/

A Brie With Flavour

Finding a brie with some flavour that is not some old sweaty French brie trumped up as a real cheese is hard to find. From the Southern Highlands of NSW comes Small Cow Farm 'Petite Vache Brie'. Subtle flavours, but with complexity and length, this brie does not rely on cream to do the work, reflecting precise milk quality and cheese maker skill. Just won a Gold Medal at the 2009 Sydney Royal Show.

Available at Canberra EPIC Markets and Sydney Pyrmont Markets
www.smallcowfarm.com

Presentation! Presentation! Presentation!

As with all Woodside Cheese, Figaro is immaculately presented, with a rafier bow holding together a washed rind goat cheese layered with grape leaves. Smooth and creamy with a slightly sour note that is not unexpected because of the vine leaves. This is a must for those wanting to show off with a cheese platter.

800g wheel.

Widely available in delis and specialty cheese sellers nationally.

http://www.woodsidecheese.com.au/figaro/

Judging Cheese

Nothing like starting your initial blog with the most controversial of subjects - food judging. For this blog I am going for the simple 1 to 5 rating, but for those with a leaning towards technicalities, this is my rating table and it is very loosely based on the old cheddar cheese grading scale and still used in some dairy shows ;

To get a one cheese rating there is something drastically wrong and it is not in my personality type to embarrass anyone in public so you are not likely to ever see this rating. (Score: Less than 85 points - not edible)

A cheese that is very simple and made badly, likely to have a number of technical faults and made by a beginner, so keep your chin up and keep working at it. (Score: 87-90 points)

A cheese that would be awarded a silver medal at a respected show. Nothing flashy but true to style. (Score: 90 - 92 points)

A mighty fine cheese, likely to win a gold medal. Perfect maturity, true to style with distinct or unique flavours. (Score: 92 - 94 points)

Absolute excellence! Perfect maturity, complexity and length of flavour. This cheese would not only be something to write home about, you should head for the roof and start yelling very loudly right now. (Score:95+ points)