LA Fromage by Corey Kelly

LA Fromage exploring the world of

los angeles cheese

Table of Contents

LA Cheese Map 4-5

Articles wirtten by Corey Kelly All photography by Corey Kelly

Interview 6-9

Its all about how you cut the cheese 10-15

Visit Your Local Cheese Shop

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Andrew's Cheese Shop 728 Montana Ave. Santa Monica, CA, 90403 310-393-3308

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The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills 419 N. Beverly Drive Beverly Hills, CA, 90210 800-547-1515

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The Cheese Store of Silver Lake 3926 West Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA, 90029 877 644 7511

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Cheese lover, and prevaier John Muller reveals the secrets to a life dedicated to milks solid counterpart

ohn Muller is a cheesemonger at the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills. He as worked at the store for over 15 years and has been working with cheese for over 25 years. He has made a living by dedicating his life to that which he loves, cheese.

CJK – How does your love of cheese affect the way you live? JBM – I must admit that I have geared a lot of vacations around visiting cheesemakers over the last decade. In addition, I am always asked by friends to bring cheese to parties. Also, my parents order the cheese plate at restaurants now in order to tell the waiters that I’m a cheese buyer. The waiters never really care, but they pretend to, which is the most reasonable reaction. CJK – When you’re considering farms to buy cheese from, what’s the first mark on your checklist? JBM –The cheese itself is always the first thing, not the farm. What is original about it? What does it taste like? Is it better or worse than other, similar cheeses? Is it unique or would something have to be discontinued in order for it to have a space on the shelf? Usually something else will have to go if I bring a new cheese in so I ask: is it local? Is it US-made? What’s The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills’ weekly cheese special

some of the more fun and interesting rinds found

Rouge et noir triple creme Brie from California

one of the simplest and best parings for cheese is fruit, fresh or dried will work dont be affraid of a strong scent, be adventurous, you never know when you might find that perfect cheese dont always choose the most notorious cheeses, try varites from smaller

the size of the operation? Do they have a policy on the use of bovine growth hormone? What’s the wholesale cost? Does it have some kind of special niche? I’ll add all these things up in my head and assess whether I will buy it or not.If a cheese is small-production, made in the US, and I haven’t had to deal with any obnoxious sales reps or brokers, it will definitely have a leg-up. CJK – Tell us about the cheese world. If you had your way, what would this world look like in 10 years? JMB – I would hope that every region would have its own favorite, local cheesemakers producing a diverse array of cheeses. Like co-ops and punk scenes, a strong local community of mutual support can really help bring out people’s talent and creativity and help create momentum. That’s happening already. A decade ago not many people would have pointed to Oregon as a center of great cheesemaking but there’s no denying it now. I think the growing popularity of cheese is sowing seeds right now that we won’t see for a few years, but when

Blue Gorgonzola from northern California

A selection from the cheese of the month club at the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills. Rouge et Noir Brie, Humbolt Fog, Sage Derby, Petit Basque, Mineshaft Blue, Irish Cheder, Smoked Mozzerella.

preserve rural communities. I mean, if you can afford to regularly make mac and cheese for your kids out of the Cabot Clothbound Cheddar that’s aged in the Cellars at Jasper Hill (one of my favorite cheeses) that’s great. It is just not reality for most people. There’s a reason that our (rBGH-free) Mild Cheddar that’s made in a factory is our biggest seller in terms of volume. Depending on the price on the Cheddar Block Market, we sell it between $3-$4/lb. Artisan cheese is almost by definition more interesting. It can vary depending upon the season or the whim of a small producer. If the animals graze, the cheese flavor is locked into a community based on the local grasses and flowers. It’s also a great way for small dairies to make a living because, while the price for milk is often controlled elsewhere, an individual can control their price for a finished product like cheese. we do, watch out! CJK – If you could create your own “perfect” cheese, how would it taste and how would it be made? JMB – The best thing about cheese is exactly that there is no one perfect cheese. Or rather, that many cheeses are perfect in their own way. No one cheese can fulfill every need. CJK – And finally, what’s your take on factory-made versus artisan cheese? JMB – Factory-made cheese is all about producing the exact same product every time. I’m not here to put down factory-made cheeses like some snobby foodies out there. Factory cheese feeds people, provides jobs, and helps

Wisconson Cheder, Smoked Mozzarella, Swiss, Dutch Gouda, and a hard Manchego. John’s special selection for the week.

Its All About How You Cut the Cheese the world of cheese: broken down and examined

Cheese

is a generic term for a diverse group of milkbased food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms. Cheese consists of proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. It is produced by coagulation of the milk protein casein. Typically, the milk is acidified and the addition of the enzyme rennet causes coagulation. The solids are separated and pressed into a final form. Some cheeses have molds on the rind or throughout. Most cheeses melt at cooking temperature. Hundreds of types of cheese are produced. Their styles, textures and flavors depend on the origin of the milk (including the animalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diet), whether they have been

above: Humbolt Fog, Chamonix Brie, Sage Derby, and Manchego opposite page: (top to bottom) Parmigiano Regiano rind, Manchego Rind, Just cut Mineshaft Blue, Pre cut Mineshaft Blue

pasteurized, the butterfat content, the bacteria and mold, the processing, and aging. Herbs, spices, or wood smoke may be used as flavoring agents. The yellow to red color of many cheeses is from adding annatto. For a few cheeses, the milk is curdled by adding acids such as vinegar or lemon juice. Most cheeses are acidified to a lesser degree by bacteria, which turn milk sugars into lactic acid, then the addition of rennet completes the curdling. Vegetarian alternatives to rennet are available; most are produced by fermentation of the fungus Mucor miehei, but others have been extracted from various species of the Cynara thistle family. Cheese is valued for its portability, long life, and high content of fat, protein, calcium, and phosphorus. Cheese is more compact and has a longer shelf life than milk. Cheesemakers near a dairy region may benefit from fresher, lower-priced milk, and lower shipping costs. The long storage life of some cheese, especially if it is encased in a protective rind, allows selling when markets are favorable.

The main factor in the categorization of fresh, whey and stretched cheese is their age. Fresh cheeses without additional preservatives can spoil in a matter of days. For these simplest cheeses, milk is curdled and drained, with little other processing. Examples include cottage cheese, NeufchĂ˘tel (the model for American-style cream cheese), and fresh goatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s milk chĂ¨vre. Such cheeses are soft and spreadable, with a mild taste.Whey cheeses are fresh cheeses made from the whey discarded while producing other cheeses. Italian Ricotta is an example. Most whey cheese are eaten fresh but a select few can be aged.

Traditional pasta filata cheeses such as Mozzarella also fall into the fresh cheese category. Fresh curds are stretched and kneaded in hot water to form a ball of Mozzarella, which in southern Italy is usually eaten within a few hours of being made. Stored in brine, it can be shipped, and is known worldwide for its use on pizzas. Categorizing cheeses by firmness is a common but inexact practice. The lines between “soft”, “semi-soft”, “semi-hard”, and “hard” are arbitrary, and many types of cheese are made in softer or firmer variations. The factor that controlls cheese hardness is moisture content, which depends on the pressure with which it is packed into molds, and aging time.Semi-soft cheeses and the sub-group, Monastery cheeses have a high moisture content and tend to be bland in flavor. Some well-known varieties include Havarti, Munster and Port Salut. Cheeses that range in texture from semi-soft to firm include Swiss-style cheeses like Emmental and Gruyère. The same bacteria that give such cheeses their holes also contribute to their aromatic and sharp flavors. Cheeses of this type are ideal for melting

and are used on toast for quick snacks. Harder cheeses have a lower moisture content than softer cheeses. They are generally packed into molds under more pressure and aged for a longer time. Cheeses that are semi-hard to hard include the familiar Cheddar, one of a family of semi-hard or hard cheeses (including Cheshire and Gloucester) whose curd is cut, gently heated, piled, and stirred before being pressed into forms. Hard “grating cheeses” such as Parmesan and Pecorino Romano—are quite firmly packed into large forms and aged for months or years. Some cheeses are categorized by the source of the milk used to produce them or by the added fat content of the milk from which they are produced. While most of the world’s commercially available cheese is made from cows’ milk, many parts of the world also produce cheese from goats and sheep. Sometimes cheeses of a similar style may be available made from milk of different sources - Feta style cheeses, for example, are made from goats’ milk in Greece and from sheep and cows’ milk elsewhere. There are two main categories of cheese in which the presence of mold is a significant feature: soft ripened cheeses and blue cheeses. Soft-ripened cheeses begin firm and rather chalky in texture,

but are aged from the exterior inwards by exposing them to mold. The mold may be a velvety bloom of Penicillium candida or P. camemberti that forms a flexible white crust and contributes to the smooth, runny, or gooey textures and more intense flavors of these aged cheeses. Brie and Camembert, the most famous of these cheeses, are made by allowing white mold to grow on the outside of a soft cheese for a few days or weeks. Goats’ milk cheeses are often treated in a similar manner, sometimes with white molds (Chèvre-Boîte) and sometimes with blue. So-called blue cheese is created by inoculating a cheese with Penicillium roqueforti or Penicillium glaucum. This is done while the cheese is still in the form of loosely pressed curds, and may be further enhanced by piercing a ripening block of cheese with skewers in an atmosphere in which the mold is prevalent. The mold grows within the cheese as it ages. These cheeses have distinct blue veins, which gives them their name and, often, assertive flavors. The molds range from pale green to dark blue, and may be accompanied by white and crusty brown molds. Their texture can be soft or firm. Some of the most renowned cheeses are of this type, each with its own distinctive color, flavor, texture and smell. They include Roquefort, Gorgonzola, and Stilton.