Halloween isn't a particularly cheese-centric holiday, but if you're planning a celebration of the caseophilic persuasion on Saturday, this is the cheese to serve. It's just about as classy as it gets, as far as creepy foods go.
Morbier (pronounced "more-bee-AY") is a semi-soft cow milk cheese made in the Franche-Comte region. It's characterized by a pencil-thin layer of vegetable ash that runs through its middle, traditionally meant to distinguish between the evening (bottom) milking and the morning (top) milking. Today, the cheese is made from just one milking, but the ash remains as a nod to its original recipe, when ash was used not only to prevent a rind from forming before the morning milk was added, but also to protect the fresh curd from flies and other insects.
Morbier melts beautifully. It's made in one of the best regions of the world for fondue, after all. There's a bit of a pungency that comes from the washing of the rind with a salt water brine. And it has that pleasant pudgy-creamy-sticky texture, which comes from the fact that the cheese is pressed for just about a day, and it's only aged for about 45-60 days. (Although, since it's made from raw milk, what we find in the States will be aged the mandatory 60 days.)
It's equally impressive on its own on a cheese plate. A black plate would be nice. Or, as one reader in the comments of this post suggests, melted on sourdough bread with cashew butter and fig jam. Hm. We might need some convincing about this particular suggestion.
• Find it: Morbier is available for $12.50/lb from Artisanal Cheese.
Nora Singley is an avid lover of cheese, and for some time she was a Cheesemonger and the Director of the Cheese Course at Murray's Cheese Shop in New York City. She is currently an assistant chef on The Martha Stewart Show.
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(Image: Artisanal Cheese)
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Cheese, George... CHEESE!!!
(I love cheese)
A local cheesemaker here in Wisconsin makes his own twist on a Morbier and it's delicious. Carr Valley Mobay - it's a sheep's milk & goat's milk cheese separated by ash... very nice. I know we're discussing Morbier, but I felt it was worth mentioning.
does anyone know whether morbier falls into the safe-for-pregnancy category? I know that hard cheese and aged cheeses are generally fine (as are pasteurized ones), but since you say this is soft I am a little suspicious.
I'm pretty sure it's a raw milk cheese, so I'd steer clear for now. I missed tasty cheese when I was pregnant. *sigh*
Oh - I love finding fun food for halloween. I'll have to get some of this. I just picked up some red chili pasta and some black squid pasta as well as some Elephant Heart Plums and Buddha's Hand Citrons. So fun! I'll have to add this.
Morbier is indeed generally made with raw milk. It's entirely up to you whether or not you'd like to consume raw milk cheese when you're pregnant, so do with this information as you will!
I love Morbier, but why is it creepy?
This part of the world (Geneva, Switzerland) is so awesome (food-wise) -- on a Sunday drive in the direction of the French Juras, we drove through Morbier (hard not to miss the big cheese sign!). Until then, I didn't realize it was right in my own back yard.
BTW, they do sell a pasteurized version of Morbier here; not sure if it is available state-side.
Ah yes, I love the Carr Valley Mobay...yum.
Love me some Morbier!
but, IMO (in case anyone wondered, or has tried it and didn't like it), the Morbier sold at Trader Joe's tastes nothing like the real thing. I was excited to find it sold there, but it's not worth buying. Pay the big bucks at a real cheese shop ;o)
I love that thin blue line! It is similar to a cheese made in Quebec, Canada called Douanier. Also delicious.
Actually I get it at our little local cheese shop named which is named after it - called of course... The Thin Blue Line.