Cheese of the Month March #2 : Cour De Thierache

I thought I would show case something new for the second March cheese. When I was in Auckland I decided to stop in on one of my importers La Fromagerie. Situated in the shadow of giant Lion Brewery in New Market, the entire suburb was filled with the smells of mash and boil, La Fromagerie is the cheese importing arm of Maison Vauron a wine importer who more interestingly to me imports some French cider as well. Although the nature of my visit was mainly a courtesy call inevitably a wee cheese board was sourced and a few interesting cheeses tasted. One of the cheeses I subsequently decided to stock was Cour De Thierache, a beer washed rind cheese from the north of France.

Washed rind cheeses come from the monastic tradition where the fermented products of the monastery often featured in each others production. Accordingly the beer or wine was often used to help ripen the cheese, the grain from the mash was used to make the bread and feed the pigs and so on.
Washing the rind of the cheese not only flavours it with what ever you are washing it with but also helps in the development of b-linens, the rusty coloured moulds that create pungent, yeasty and fruity aromas and flavours. I love washed rind cheeses.

Cour De Thierache comes shaped as a heart, bloody French eh?, and sits towards the milder end of the washed rind spectrum. That said it is still gloriously yeasty with an edge of funk. The rind has a slightly gritty crystallised character with the texture of the cheese inside being semi-firm.
I pulled out a bottle of 2003 Chimay Blue from the cellar to match the cheese and enjoyed the combination with SWMBO. The beer, cheese and company matched gloriously (I know cheesy but we are talking a heart shaped cheese for Christ’s sake!). The yeasty punch of the cheese was softened by the mellow dried fruit character of the Chimay. At 5 years the Chimay Blue is definitely starting to develop some port character. In fact it put us in such a port mood that a bottle of Sandeman followed in quick succession.

Cheese of the Month March #1: Te Mata Mt Erin Goats Brie Pyramid

As I totally missed out last month’s cheese of the month I will try to fit in two this month. For the first one this month I have chosen Te Mata Mt Erin, the pyramid format of their goats brie which has just taken out best in class for white mould cheeses and a gold medal at the New Zealand Cheese Awards. It is I think particularly impressive that a goats milk cheese has achieved best in class in a category that one might assume a cows milk brie or camembert to win.

In common with most soft New Zealand goats cheeses, Mt Erin lacks the acidity that you would find in a French Chevre, however it more than makes up for it with spicy marzipan notes and a hint of gamey-ness. When young the cheese will be chalky with a hint of spice, as it matures it will start to run and the full marzipan character will develop, eventually these flavours will become barnyard like.

When its at its peak I think Mt Erin matches extremely well spicy phenolic continental styles. I have successfully matched this cheese Weizen Biers, Wits and lambic beers. For the photo shoot I decided to take a different tack and match it with a frambois, unfortunately the rather sweet jammy Timmermans interpretation didn’t really work. Go with a Wheat beer or a Gueze I say.

Cheese of the Month January: Barry’s Bay Mature Cheddar

Last month I chose Linkwater Cheddar as my cheese of the month because it is I believe the best mass produced cheddar available in NZ. This month I thought I would write on Barry’s Bay Mature Cheddar as it’s a rare New Zealand example of traditionally produced cheddar. Unlike mass produced cheddars which are aged in vac packed 20kg blocks Barry’s Bay Cheddar is moulded in wheels and then wrapped in clothe or wax and left to mature.

Barry’s Bay is just out of Akaroa on Banks Peninsular which is known for having been the scene of jousting over the South Island between France and England in 1840. At one point Akaroa was known as Port Louis-Philipe. It is then somewhat fitting that a very English cheese is produced in what could have been a colony of France.

Barry’s Bay Cheddar is a fantastic example of naturally matured artisan cheese, no two wheels are the same and due to the natural aging of the wheels the flavour varies significantly from rind to core. At the rind the cheese displays a complex mix of earthy notes, bonfire smoke and sometimes even a radish like sharpness. The core tends to be palate coating, rich, savoury and creamy.

Barry’s Bay Mature Cheddar finds a perfect place in a Ploughman’s Lunch such as pictured, with strong bitters, old ales or strong ales making a good partner. I drank a pint of Theakston’s Old Peculier when doing the photo above, magic.

Cheese of the Month December: Linkwater Cheddar

With the silly season upon us I thought I should choose a cheese that will sit well on a board next to the traditional dried fruit mince pies and Christmas cakes of the moment. It’s an oddity of living at this end of the world that due to our European heritage we end up eating rich warming cakes and puddings while the mid summer sun beats down on us.

Linkwater Cheddar is a brand created and owned by my employer, Moore Wilson’s. The cheese is produced in industrial blocks like almost all cheddar in this country, however unlike most cheddar we aged the cheese for at least 3 years, our current stock sitting at about 3 and a ½ years old.

With this level of aging the cheese develops crunchy ‘eyes’ where minerals and lactose crystallise into salty deposits. The cheese is rich, savoury and almost meaty while also being sharp and tangy.

I have enjoyed linkwater with strong bitters, old ales and imperial stout, for the photo above I cracked a bottle of Thomas Hardy’s Ale. The fortified vinous fruit flavours contrasted with the richness of the cheese and matched the Christmas Mince pie perfectly.

Cheese of the Month November, Te Mata Irongate

This month I have decided to cover one of my favourite New Zealand cheeses, Irongate the washed rind cheese from Te Mata in the Hawesbay. One of the exciting things about Irongate is that it has grown to be my biggest selling line from Te Mata outstripping the sales of even their brie. This is despite the fact that the washed rind style is a pretty full on acquired taste. Much like I find the fact that the Invercargill Brewing Co sells more stout than lager I find this development to be an extremely encouraging sign about how the New Zealand food market is maturing.

Anyway enough with the ideology, on with the cheese.

Irongate is roughly in the style of a Normandy soft washed rind cheese such as Pont-lEveque, or Livarot. Washed rind means that the surface of the cheese has been wiped or washed with a brine, beer or brandy solution which then creates an environment conducive to the growth of Brevibacterium linens an orange mould which creates an incredibly complex array of fruity, funky yeasty, sometimes vegetal, flavours and aromas.

Irongate is washed with brine and leaves the cheese plant with a firm texture and just the faintest hint of brick coloured mould starting to develop on its rind. Once I receive the cheese I store it for one to two weeks in the climate controlled Fromagerie where the rind turns a deep brick red and the body ripens till it starts to run. The cheese is then cut, wrapped and sold, some customers (like myself) will then store the cheese for another fortnight or so till it’s at its rather intense peak.

When Irongate is young it has a delicate fruity yeasty aroma and rich savoury flavour, as it ages the aroma becomes more cabbage-like, palate more creamy and the flavour sharper. I often serve Irongate at the bar on Thursdays (that’s when the boys come round) with crackers and sweet mango chutney. Strong funky Belgian Ales match it well, although an English Barley Wine or Old Ale makes a good match as well.

I once carried a ½ square of Irongate around in the back of the car on a beer hunting road trip, it took no prisoners, insured there would be no fraternisation with the opposite sex and tasted absolutely amazing when we devoured the last bit.