Explore a world of cheeses with Cheese Traveler, Trevor Thomas, CCP
Cooking, Pairing, Education
As I write this, I am looking at the outside temperature on my phone..108ºF….then my eyes drift down the list of other cities, and then I see Maui, Hawaii at a breezy 72ºF…Ugh! While current restrictions keep me from flying to Maui, I can still dream I am there after a quick trip to my favorite cheese counter and their aisles of specialty foods.
When one thinks of tropical islands, they may not immediately think of cheese….
Read MoreThe bartender says, “Wow…you look like you could enjoy a Double…or maybe even a Triple”…and then slides over a platter of Double and Triple Creme Bries!
Sounds great doesn’t it?...But what to pair with it??
We have discussed cheese and wine pairings before, but what about other libations?…
Read MoreJust like a good “Throwback Thursday”, I enjoy looking through some of my earlier posts to see where I have been and what I have already reviewed…One in particular caught my eye this week and I thought that I needed to revisit the region – “Regional Cheeses of the Northeast” was a story I wrote about my travels up to Albany, New York exploring several of the cheeses that could be found there. Right after I re-read this story, I grabbed my keys to head down to visit my local cheesemonger when I stopped to take took a closer look at my “Black Sheep” keyring from Old Chatham Sheepherding Creamery. I knew that this was the cheese lineup that I wanted to share with you today.
Read MoreHello Cheese Enthusiast!
Although my travels during these days have been suspended, my mind (and taste buds) are currently vacationing in Austin, TX….Why Austin you ask??….Well its Hatch Chile Season of course!!
My friends at Central Market, (a division of H-E-B Markets) in Austin have been celebrating the harvest of these amazing peppers (August 5th-25th) for the last twenty-five years. This event has grown so big that in 2013, the New Mexico Tourism Department certified that the Central Market event is “the most authentic Hatch festival outside of New Mexico.” This celebration has carried over to their H-E-B locations as well and combined they will bring in 330,000 lbs. of these peppers to sell in their produce departments as well as fire-roasted at selected locations.
Read MoreHello Cheese Enthusiast!
While shopping at Nugget Market (home to one of my favorite cheese counters), I got into a discussion with their specialty cheese manager, Reed Pattison. Reed and I have known each other since 2014 when we were both studying for the American Cheese Society’s Certified Cheese Professional Exam. I am happy to say that both he and I passed the exam and became part of an alumni that only tops 1,000 people across the U.S.
Read MoreHello Cheese Enthusiast!
One of the best parts of summer for me is the ability to grill as often as I want…whether it’s meats, seafood, or cheese. I think its part being outside, part eating healthier, and part trying new recipes and items that I didn’t get to try last year.
Just in case you may have may have missed my July 13th post on grilling, this post could easily be considered “Part II”…
In the last addition I covered Halloumi, Paneer, and “Bread Cheeses.” All of these were cooked on the stove, but for today’s post, I moved outside to the grill.
Read MoreHello Cheese Enthusiast!
This July 26th, a very special birthday will be quietly celebrated around the globe for one very special lady…She may have been born in Southern France of simple means, but once the King of France fell to her charms (and her beautiful green eyes), she became nobility to the people of France…and soon, around the globe. So entranced by her, they referred to her as ‘Queen’, but today we simply refer to her as Roquefort.
Read MoreHello Cheese Enthusiast!
Okay, this story could have been easily written in the Spring, but when I happened to visit my local cheese counter at Nugget Market and saw they had a beautiful display of cheeses that were covered in edible flowers, I just knew that I had found my inspiration for this week’s post.
Read MoreHello Cheese Enthusiast!
According to the National Day Calendar(R), July is National Grilling Month. No argument here!!....I love grilling foods and need little or no excuse to fire up the barbeque.
While I am warming up the grill in preparation for tonight’s dinner, I thought I would take a few minutes to look at “Grilling Cheeses”. Americans may love their Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, but the rest of the world has been into grilling cheese for quite some time.
Read MoreHello Cheese Enthusiast!
Shortly after being elected president for a fourth term in 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was asked what he would like to do when he retired. “I would like to open a cheese shop in Hyde Park like that kept by my friend, Monsieur Pierre Androuët in Paris,” he replied.
So who was this man that our 32nd President of the United States admired so much?....and more importantly, what was so special about his cheese shop??
Read MoreOh what a year it’s been!...I started this cheese blog 1 year ago (54 weeks ago) and since then, I have flown dozens of flights, traveled to 16 different states (not including Canada), and have written about 100 of my favorite cheeses (truth is…they all might be my favorite!)
I don’t think anyone could have predicted how 2020 was going to have turned out…and try as they might, I do not think anyone will be able to predict where this is all heading and if (and when) we will ever return to normal…whatever normal will look like.
Read MoreHello Cheese Enthusiast!
Love…It starts with the perfect pairing!...and nothing loves cheese more than honey…except maybe wine, but that is a story for another day.
I work in the cheese industry and I can tell you from firsthand experience that people are always asking about the perfect cheese pairing, what item to pair with what cheese, what things don’t go together, the list could go on and on.
Read MoreHello Cheese Enthusiast!
This week’s entry is/was part of a cheese and wine event that I was supposed to teach in the Spring.
The plan was to talk about five different cheeses and how the cheesemaker used nature to overcome the problem at hand.
Let me better explain by using an example from my fellow ACS CCP, Reed Pattison – “One can complement nature, or contrast it…Take the example of a river…One could simply build a bridge over it and complement it, or contrast it by diverting the river to another area”. The more I thought about it, he was totally right and I was reminded of the stories of my grandfather and great grandfather who worked on the construction of the Hoover Dam. These 21,000 man had to stop the flow of the mighty Colorado River and divert the water into diversion tunnels, all before the construction of the dam could begin. That is a contrast!
Read MoreHello Cheese Enthusiast!
As I am entering my third month of no travel, I find that while I may not be able to get on a plane, my mind is free to travel at will…no TSA, no lines, no tickets needed, I just close my eyes and settle in to ‘first class’, as my mind circles the globe….Join me!...I saved you a seat!
Nine years ago, I had the pleasure of traveling to Switzerland for ten glorious days.
Read MoreHello Cheese Enthusiast!
The subject of rennet is one that I have wanted to share for some time…Why?...Well, when I got my first job behind a cheese counter, my boss Randy told me it would be one of the first (and most consistent) questions that I would be asked while working behind the counter (other than ‘Can I freeze cheese?’)
He spent the rest of the morning trying to explain what rennet was, why is was important in cheese making, and more importantly which cheeses contained animal rennet. While he did the best job he could, I learned over the years that there was much more to the story than he shared. Cheese education and research was difficult back then, as there were only a few books out on the market (mostly for home cheese making) and the internet was years away from becoming a reality.
Read MoreHello Cheese Enthusiast!
The inspiration for this week’s post came from my Aunt Jeri…She has always been an inspiration to me, so it was not a surprise when she shared a new recipe with me, that it might just make a great story to share with you…
The recipe that she found in her local paper was for Gougères. Not familiar with them??...Let me share a little background on them and the “secret ingredient” that makes them SO good!
Read MoreHello Fellow Cheese Lover!
I just came back from a visit to my three local supermarkets…just trying to pick up a few essentials. I am not sure how the grocery store conditions are near your home, but they are still pretty rough where I live. While it may not surprise me that people are hoarding some pantry stocking items, it does surprise me as items that are abundant as black pepper are out of stock. Hmmmm…that is a head scratcher! Well, while in the spice aisle, I decided to look closer through…
Read MoreHello Fellow (soon to be?) Travelers!
As a Californian, our “Stay-at-Home” orders were declared on March 19th by our County, and by our Governor.
On April 28th, our County announced that it would be letting these orders expire on April 30th. So what does this mean?...Do I still need a mask to go to the store?...Can I enjoy a sit down dinner at my local family restaurant?...and more importantly, can small businesses across the State (and Country) open back up?... I have dear friends that are so deeply impacted by these closures, and I pray that they are able to hold on until America can safely come out of hibernation from The Great Pause.
Read MoreHello Fellow Cheese Lovers!
This is one cheese that I have been wanting to write about for the longest time…It is the story of a cheese that could have been found in my first cheese counter, but I only fell in love with this cheese once we started selling Girolle® units and could truly taste this cheese the way that it was meant to be enjoyed (more on that later).
If this cheese is new to you, this raw cow’s milk cheese was developed in a monastery in Switzerland in the 1100’s. These little 1.5 lb. to 2 lb. drums have a washed rind and have been lovingly aged on Spruce boards from 75 to 180 days.
Read MoreHello Fellow Non-Travelers!
Two weeks ago I asked my fellow readers to take part and rally around the “Support our Cheesemakers” event on Facebook and Instagram, as well as the live stream on Facebook to kick it off.
I am happy to say that I participated in this event, along many friends, family, and coworkers across the country.
The “live stream” was hosted by Nathan Aldridge of Gourmet Foods International (or just simply GFI), an Atlanta based specialty foods and cheese distributor. Nathan heads up their Cheese Education efforts.
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