apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Name: Cayuga Blue
Producer: Lively Run Goat Dairy (Interlaken, NY)
Milk: Raw Goat
Age: 60 days
Price: $15.00-$24.99/lb

Despite having been to dairy farms before, I feel that nothing gave me a true feeling for the hard work and dedication that goes into making cheese more than my recent trip to Lively Run Goat Dairy in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

Name: California / Shachat
Producer: Barkanit Dairy (Israel)
Milk: Pasteurized Goat (California) / Pasteurized Sheep & Goat (Shachat)
Age: 2 weeks +
Price: $6.99-$7.99

As we enter the season of the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I thought this would be a good time to address kosher cheeses, and why most cheese isn't kosher.

Name: Brin d'Amour
Producer: Various (Corsica, France)
Milk: Raw or Pasteurized Sheep
Age: 2 weeks -2 months
Price: $25.98-$26.99/lb

I'm not a fan of flavored cheeses. Cumin, lemon and sage are all good things, but please, keep them out of my cheese. There are, of course, exceptions. Young goat cheeses bristling with fresh herbs are such a natural pair, it's hard to dislike it. The same goes for the famous Corsican sheep's milk cheese, Brin d'Amour.

The plaza at Borough Hall seems like it was made for a farmer’s market. There’s ample open space and if you don’t look across the street towards the Duane Reade you’re nearly surrounded by several of Brooklyn's nice municipal buildings.

On a recent rainy Thursday, commuters hurried by, a few of them stopping for refuge under the tents to pick up their favorite produce from one of the few vendors there. It was 8 AM and Tickle Hill winery was quiet, but they were ready nonetheless.

Name: Brillat Savarin
Producer: Various (Normandy, France)
Milk: Pasteurized Cow
Age: 60 days+
Price: $10.99-$16.75

"Tell me what you eat and I'll tell you what you are." It's not just the introduction from Iron Chef, but a quote from one of the original "foodies", 18th century gourmet Brillat Savarin.

In honor of this culinary luminary, cheesemaker Henry Androuët, named this (relatively) new cheese after him in 1930. Highly snackable and likely the first cheese to disappear at a party, I think Mr. Savarin, who believed cheese should be served at every meal, would approve.

Name: Fiore Sardo
Producer: Various (Sardinia, Italy)
Milk: Raw Sheep
Age: 3-6 months
Price: $14.99-$16.99

Pecorino Romano, that Italian cheese of dubious quality whose flavor tune is often sung in the key of "salt", this article is not about that cheese. Instead, we turn to its cousin. Call it Sardo or even Pecorino Sardo, but its true name is Fiore Sardo, the flower of Sardinia.

Name: Constant Bliss
Producer: Jasper Hill
Milk: Raw Ayrshire Cows
Age: 60 days
Price: $8.99 - $10.99

In the universe of artisanal Vermont cheeses, few names stand out as much as Jasper Hill. Since purchasing their farm in 1998, the Kehler brothers, along with their wives, have been producing high quality farmstead cheeses.

Name: Amanteigado
Producer: Various (Portugal)
Milk: Raw Sheep
Age: 2 months
Price: $10.99

There reaches a point in a the formation of a cheese when "rustic" becomes just plain homely. Amanteigado passed that line a long time ago and it takes a brave soul to look past its "science experiment in the back of the fridge" exterior and decide that it would make a good snack.

Name: Roquefort
Producer: Coulet (France)
Milk: Raw Lacaune Sheep
Age: 3 months
Price: $18.99 - $42.00

Roquefort. The name itself invokes elegance, tradition and a taste that's austere and raucous all at the same time. This is helped by the fact that there are only seven producers of Roquefort in the world. It's like an exclusive club, except instead of a dark, steamy basement in Chelsea, it's a dark, humid cave in Roquefort-sur-Soulzon.

Name: Alderbrook
Producer: Willow Hill (Vermont)
Milk: Pasteurized Sheep
Age: 2-3 weeks
Price: $8.99-$9.99

In describing cheese to customers, some adjectives, though accurate, are just not appetizing. Words like "barnyardy", "grassy" and "earthy", usually prompt me to quickly shove a sample into the customer's face, before they have time to think about the last time they ate dirt and grass. Like the smell of Limburger, the build-up is usually scarier than the end result. So, when I tell you that the Alderbrook smells strongly (and tastes slightly) of "caves" or "dank basements", please, don't let that scare you away.

$3.40. That's all I had. After reading review after review declaring how "cheap" the East Village Cheese Shop was, I decided to give it a shot. I would go in there with the change I had in my pocket and see what I could come out with.

As it turns out, I could have bought quite a bit, but not much was anything I'd want to walk away with. As you enter the store, the front windows are covered with specials. Grana Padano for $7.99, 8oz of Brie for $1.50…such deals, it boggles the mind.

How can cheese be that cheap? On the web, I've heard a lot of answers, but quality is rarely one of them.

Name: Queso Mahon
Producer: Various (Spain)
Milk: Raw Cow
Age: 1+ years
Price: $13.99-19.00

"Sharp" means different things to different people. To some, it's just something strong. There are others who, similar to those who love extreme sports, want it to rip the roof off of their mouth. And to some, myself included, it's that harsh bite that comes when a cheese has been matured to the point where the natural acidic flavors in the cheese have developed.

A cheese shop with roots in Massachusetts, Formaggio Kitchen is a new addition to city's specialty food shop scene.

Their proximity in the Essex Street Market had me worry that Formaggio would compete with Saxelby Cheesemongers , I found part of their attraction to be in how the two stores worked in concert with each other. With very little overlap (what cheese shop in the city does not have Jasper Hill's Constant Bliss?), they each work a slice of the cheese spectrum. Formaggio Kitchen handles the European offerings, while Saxelby's takes care of our American farmers

Name: Harpersfield (with Ommegang ale)
Producer: Brovetto Dairy
Milk: Pasteurized Cow
Age: 2+ months
Price: $7.25-$16.99

Even cheesemongers make mistakes. Truth be told, this article was originally about a Spanish cheese from the new Formaggio Kitchen (in the Essex St. Market) called Las Mil Ovejas. As it turns out, when they say "FK Exclusive!", they really mean it. I was unable to find it available in the States except by walking into the FK at Essex St, so I thought would be unfair to our friends around the country to review it. Look for my tasting notes in my review of the store later this week.