Brie's, Gouda's and Feta's OH MY!

So in my newest foray into my culinary education, I've given the politics a rest for a minute and taken to the service industry again by beginning working the Wine, Beer and Cheese department at Sac Natural Food Co-op, and have drawn at least a couple of conclusions. 

 

1) My feet hurt. All. The. Time. 2) There are some very passionate and well-educated people willing to make crap pay to enjoy what they do = teach, educate, and enlighten their customers/friends on food/cheese/wine/meat/spices/herbs etc.. 3) Most jobs will never be as rewarding as the ones that cost you the most to keep...and on to the cheese talk. 

In embracing this new endeavor I've had many teachers, but the cheese education has been the most exciting, and will fill a fair amount of my future posts. This one in particular is devoted to a couple of the most recent cheese's I've had the privilege to try from Cowgirl Creamery. Now before anyone get's their knickers in a twist about my opinions please remember that's just what they are my opinions, nothing more. 

MT TAM
Just North of the San Francisco Bay, Mt. Tamalpais rises like a monument to Northern California's natural beauty. In deference, Cowgirl Creamery named its signature cheese MT TAM. It's a smooth, creamy, elegant, 10-oz, triple-cream - made with tasty organic milk from the Straus Family Dairy. MT TAM is firm, yet buttery with a mellow, earthy flavor reminiscent of white mushrooms. (9-ound round)

 

Tasting notes: all butter and slightly sweet cream flavors, no waxyness, a mild and creamy flavor with no pungent nose - one of the finest triple creams I've ever had

RED HAWK 

Cowgirl Creamery captures the essence of West Marin with its Red Hawk, a triple-cream, washed-rind, fully-flavored cheese made from organic cow milk from the Straus Family Dairy. Aged four weeks and washed with a brine solution that tints the rind a sunset red-orange, Red Hawk won Best-In-Show at the American Cheese Society's Annual Conference in 2003 and a Gold Ribbon and 2nd Best-in-Show in 2009. (10-ounce round)

Now this cheese has a very loyal cult following and I can see why, it has a very specific market due to it's pungent taste 

Tasting notes: very creamy texture, but a strong pungent nose of BAND-AIDS! Yes you heard it right, it's got strong medicinal flavor to it that comes from what they wash-rind it to taste like - now keep in mind theirs a cheese for everyone, and this one just isn't mine, but it's like tasting a hospital - the actual name of this smell is chlorophenols - it's also sometimes seen in wines and some beers, just like brett it's a small niche of a loyal customer base - I'm just not one of those people, but it merits a taste as you never know what you'll like till you try it.

and the Pièce de résistance, my new favorite and truly insprired, game changing cheese...

SF DRAKE

What is Sir Francis Drake cheese? Once in a while the culture goes awry with Mt. Tam. When this happens, Cowgirl Creamery will wash this delightful mistake in a dessert wine like sauterne. Macerated currents are sprinkled on top and the resulting cheese is called Sir Francis Drake.

Technically: it's a triple-crème pasteurized cow’s milk cheese washed in Beaumes de Venise and topped with macerated currants. Made from organic whole milk from the Straus Family dairy. It has a medium soft creamy paste with a buttery consistency and a subtle, earthy slightly nutty flavor.

 

"Smells like wet seashells and dirty feet," I thought with a sigh as we unwrap it. But don't let that put you off. I like to think of it as a cheese not unlike the man himself (Sir Francis Drake) -- a salty old seafarer that nevertheless hasn't quite lost the refinements of the Old World. It tastes distinctly of briny, sandy air and the Pacific Ocean. For real -- I'm not kidding!

  Tasting Notes: creamy, velvet, and when it's perfectly ripe it just gushes out of the rind with cream when opened, and you can taste the dessert wine and currents all over the palate - insanely good, and very hard to find! Don't pass up on a taste if your lucky enough to encounter it