Must Try Cheeses for 2014

Is there any clearer sign of a born-to-be-a-cheesemonger than one’s own name ?  The  Cheese Shop of Concord boasts such a cheesemonger … (Ms.) Brie Hurd offers a few predictions on the likely top sellers for the year to come.

AMERIBELLA

Type:               soft-ripened, washed rind, raw cow’s milk

Provenance:  Connorsville, Indiana, USA

Ameribella is one of three cheeses made at Jacobs & Brichford Farm in the Whitewater River Valley, in the southeast corner of the state, by husband and wife team Leslie Jacobs and Matthew Brichford, on family-owned land that dates back to the 1800s.  It’s made in the style of northern Italy and comes in creamy yellow bricks with a yellow-brown rind.

“We don’t carry many cheeses from the American midwest,” says Brie, “but when I tasted this in NYC, I just had to keep hounding folks until it was available in the Boston area.”

L’AMUSE AGED GOUDA

Type:                          raw cow’s milk, aged 24 months

Provenance:             the north central Netherlands

L’Amuse Aged Gouda “commands your attention and won’t let go,” said the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Concord Cheese Shop’s Brie Hurd agrees. Its deep amber color, burnt caramel flavor and long finish are the result of two years of aging at mid range temperatures (unlike other goudas that age cool). Brie is a fan of this cheese’s female affineur, Betty Koster.   

TUNWORTH

Type:                          soft-ripened cow’s milk

Provenance:             Hampshire, England

Tunworth arrived at the Concord Cheese Shop around the holidays and became an immediate hit, says Brie.  Made by Stacey Hedges, an Australian native and the mother of three teenagers, Tunworth won the British Cheese Award barely a year after it was created in 2006, and still wins them regularly with its sweet creamy texture and wrinkled rinds, aged in poplar boxes.

HILDENE CHEVRE

Type:                          fresh goat’s milk

Provenance:             Manchester, Vermont

Hildene comes from the old English word meaning “a hill and valley with a stream,” but even more interesting is that this estate-made cheese is produced from a herd of 25 does on land that belonged to the descendants of Abraham Lincoln (until 1975).  Concord Cheese Shop expects to offer this rich, dense goat’s cheese in May or June. “In summer, it’s got a lemony tang that pairs well with a cold, crisp Sancerre,” says Brie.

NAPOLEON

Type:                          raw sheep’s milk

Provenance:             Pyrenees, France

Napoleon is a full flavored cheese with a rustic rind, fudgy texture and praline aroma, aged between one and two years.  Janet Fletcher, one of the foremost cheese experts in the U.S., calls it “expensive, but worth it,” and recommends pairing it with honey for dessert.  Right now, Brie Hurd has several wheels of 2-year-old Napoleon stacked and ready to sell at the Concord Cheese Shop.

BICA DE QUEIJO

Type:                          goat-cow-sheep blend (70%-25%-5%)

Provenance:             northern Portugal

Bica, as Brie Hurd calls it, comes from the Minho region, where the animals graze by the sea, lending a saltiness to the milk that goes into this unique cheese. It is then washed with white wine and sweet red pepper. Made entirely by hand, the curds are wrapped in cloth that is twisted tight before draining and aging for 5-6 weeks. The imprint of the cloth is evident on each round of bica, literally translated as “bag of cheese.” Mild, buttery and satiny, bica has a 45% fat content and pairs well with dry Portugese white wines, fruity red wines, or port.

TALEGGIO LATTE CRUDO

Type:                          soft-ripened raw cow’s milk

Provenance:             Valsassina, Lombardy, Italy

“It’s an honor to carry the handmade cheeses of the Carozzi family,” says Brie.  “This is the best taleggio available in the U.S., intense and penetrating.”  Made outside of Milan, the uncooked cheese paste is heated at 25 degrees Celcius, then aged for 40 days in an 18th century stone cave.  Concord Cheese Shop proprietor Peter Lovis visited the Carozzi facilities in 2012, and Marco Carozzi hopped a plane and visited the shop in Concord that same year.

CAPRIZIOLA

Type:                          goat’s milk

Provenance:             Valsassina, Lombardy, Italy

Capriziola is a Gorgonzola style cheese that tastes like Cambazola, but is firmer.  Tangy and somewhat “gamey,” it was a 1st place winner of the World Cheese Awards in 2013. This cheese, which is also produced by the Carozzi family mentioned above, shows best at room temperature, and pairs beautifully with forest honey.