The Pleasantry of the Oak
One of my first weekends in Michigan, I decided to venture to the Cheese Lady, a cheese shop native to west Michigan. It is only of those places that cut the cheese to order. Knowledgable cheesemongers who know everything about all of these different cheeses and like any good cheese shop should, you can try a few before you buy.
During my visit, I found a spread that sparked my fancy and decided to find some cheese that I had never tried before to pair with this delicious spread.
Spicy Prosciutto Spread
La Quercia, which means the oak in Italian, is an Iowa based company that specializes in charcuterie, cured meats, and one of my favorite things, especially with cheese. They started out making just prosciutto and have since expanded to other cuts of pork. Their products are phenomenal. I had never really noticed them on the market until I moved to Michigan. Now, I see them everywhere.
They take their primary product, add some speck (fat) and spice it up (pun intended) with roasted red pepper. They, then, age this mixture for 9 to 12 months. The aging, spices and slight sweetness of prosciutto in the first place affords this spread to have a lot of umami (one of the five main basic tastes). Literally translated, it means pleasant savory taste. In translation to this spread, it means it adds a bit of sweet and a tad of sour with a mix of saltiness. That aged spicy flavor really pops. For those who do not like spicy, I would not suggest too much. This spiciness and high fat content makes it a versatile piece in the kitchen. Add it to your pasta sauce, on top of your pizza, or even in your burger meat mixture for some added heat.
When pairing this, keep in mind that this flavor is powerful so it must be paired with something just a powerful. If you are going for beer, an IPA or full bodied ale would be a great choice.
As for cheese, it needs something sturdy.
Pleasant Ridge Reserve
This cheese in particular was the one suggested to me to pair with the prosciutto. You can find this cheese's similar counterparts in the Alps. It's basically Italy, right?
Well no, not at all in Cheese world. Through the course of my reading of The Cheese Primer, it has been exemplified to me how much the weather and region play a part in the eventual flavor of cheese, much like wine. Think of it this way, one rainy spring produces wonderful grapes and gives you great wine. Same thing with cheese. A rainy spring gives you lush green grass for which the cows feed, which in turn gives you better milk to be made into cheese. Marvelous, right? Disclaimer, do not go about "aging" or keeping your cheese around for longer than it is ripe. Cheese does not age as well as wine.
Anywho, Pleasant Ridge Reserve comes from Uplands in Wisconsin. The owners of this company actually traveled to Switzerland and France to learn the true technique of such Alpine cheeses. Pleasant Ridge is a unpasteurized cow's milk cheese, made only between May and October when the creamery's cows are eating fresh pasture. Uplands keeps with the mindset if the pasture conditions are bad, the cheese will be too. They depend on the weather for a good batch. If a batch of milk is bad, they do not turn it into cheese.
Being a brine washed cheese, which in a nutshell means a spritzing every so often of brine in order to develop certain bacteria, the flavor that is eventually developed is complex. This cheese is similar to Gruyere and Beaufort. So the flavor will start out a bit fruity and finish with notes of earthiness and nuttiness.
Taleggio
As a cheese head, I am a little upset with myself for not knowing more of this cheese before I stepped into the cheese shop that day. Shows you how much I still have to learn (trust me, there is a ton). This soft Italian cheese dates back to the 9th century. It is brine washed and made in squares. The brine forms a grayish mold on the outside.
The flavor is meaty, nutty with a bit of a fruity interior. I like to equate it as an Italian brie, although Brie is not normally brine washed. I liken to interior texture to be similar, not necessarily taste. Its softness lends itself well to be melted to a perfect gooey consistency one a sandwich. Cough grilled cheese cough. Pairings for this cheese would be best suited from the same region as the cheese - Northern Italy. Because of its tangy flavor, it can be paired well with an assortment of wines.
It was not suggested to pair with the prosciutto but my want to try it outweighed its pairing capabilities. It has now been added to my top list of cheeses, so obviously, it was a good decision.
This was a lengthy post so thank you for bearing with me. Hopefully, you’ve got a bit more cheese knowledge in your artillery the next time you venture to your neighborhood cheese shop. For those of us who enjoy a good slice of charcuterie now and then, what is your favorite?
“The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man without trials.”
