Portland Culinary Alliance

More Cheese, Please!

“Eat good cheese. Eat less of it. And Enjoy.”

That was the advice from Steve Jones, founder of Steve’s Cheese, and the host for Wednesday night’s Wine and Cheese Tasting; an exclusive event put on for the Portland Culinary Alliance. Teaming up with Dougal Reeves of Square Deal Wine Company, the two took a mix of 18 PCA members and their guests through the world of American cheese.

The theme of the evening’s cheeses was selected varieties of goat and sheep’s milk from small farmers throughout the U.S. who are making hormone-free and certified organic cheeses. The majority of those we sunk our teeth into was made from raw milk and had been aged 60 days or more prior to consumption (a legal requirement for serving raw cheese).

“Very stinky cheese,” “So soft,” “Creamy,” “Sweet, nutty, and salty,” “Can anyone else smell chocolate aromas in this cheese, or is it just me?” were just a few of the comments coming from the happy mouths and noses of those seated around the large, wooden table basking in the wide array of flavors that paired so perfectly with each chosen wine. “This wine really makes the flavor of the cheese pop,” said one patron enjoying our first combination: an Ampelidae Armance B sparkling white from the Loire Valley and Nancy’s Camembert cheese from Old Chatham dairy; the largest sheep’s milk dairy farm in the U.S.

As the evening moved along, the cheese continued to get passed around and our wine glasses seemed to continuously refill themselves, which, of course, paved the way for an entertaining evening of great conversation and sharing amongst all who were in attendance. We worked our way through seven more pairings that seemed to only get better.

Throughout the event Steve was asked many questions and showered us with his expertise in the world of cheese, selecting cheeses and preserving cheese. A few of his tips on cheese purchasing and storage:

1. Purchase your cheese in paper and avoid plastic wrap, which can impart a negative flavor on cheese.

2. Change the paper every three days.

3. It is ok to wrap the cheese in paper, and then tuck it into a plastic baggy or Tupperware container. This allows the cheese to breathe, but does not cause it to dry out.

4. Eat the cheese within three to five days if it’s a soft variety. Hard cheeses can last three to five weeks.

5. Parchment paper is a good option for storing as is wax paper.

6. Try to avoid the “cut and wrap” program – cheese that is already cut, wrapped tightly in plastic and placed on grocery store shelves for days. He also noted that Steve’s Cheese always cuts away the outer layer of a wedge of cheese each day if it’s been sitting in plastic prior to serving.

7. “Find a good cheese monger and come see us every three days,” Steve Jones.

For more information on Steve’s Cheese or Square Deal Wine Company, visit: http://www.stevescheese.biz or http://www.wineaccess.com/store/squaredeal/.

-Jennifer Fields