Zabar's Blog

New at the Cheese Counter

There, all the way down at the end of our long cheese counter (near the Housewares Mezzanine stairs), is a new self-service cheese case at Zabar's. Now more of the hard to find cheeses that we carry are easier to reach! Stop by for a taste!

The story on "ish"

Next time you're in our store, stop by the cheese department for ish - a wonderful horseradish that's great for more than just gifilte fish. They have some great recipe ideas on their site. I'm going to try the Mashed Potatoes w/ Citrus ISH, wow.

And listen to this article from NPR, an interview with Carolyn Sherman, whose family started ish:

Last Chance Foods: A Family Tradition Built on Horseradish

Listen here:

Cheese Department Weekly Specials now - December 13, 2012

FEATURED CHEESE OF THE WEEK

Young Cantal
While Roquefort and Livarot may be traditional French cheeses, enjoyed for centuries, Cantal has been around longer. Produced using unpasteurized cow's milk. Beneath its ruddy natural rind is a semi-firm cheese with somewhat of a curdy texture. It is almost sharp - like an English farmhouse cheddar - and milky, with hints of an earthy tang. While it's an excellent melter, it shouldn't be overlooked for the table, especially when served with rustic bread and sweet cream butter.
Featured this week for $7.98/LB. Regular $10.98/LB
WE WILL BE SAMPLING THIS CHEESE FROM 3-5pm

Also on sale:
Traditional Aged Irish Cheddar
Sale $4.98/LB

French Mountain Gruyere
Sale $7.98/LB

French Carré Raclette
Sale $6.98/LB

Italian Fontal
Sale $7.98/LB

French Emmenthal
Sale $6.98/LB

Spanish “Aurora” Manchego
Only $11.98/LB

Cheese Department Weekly Specials through December 6, 2012

FEATURED CHEESE OF THE WEEK

French Carré Raclette
This cheese takes its name from the French word for "to scrape" - racler - as that is how this cheese was originally enjoyed: placed over heated rocks and scraped onto boiled potatoes and dry-cured meats. These days, most people don't like eating from the ground, so we have special heating machines called "raclettes" specifically for this purpose. Toaster-ovens will do, too. Heating brings out the best of this fruity, nutty, mildly pungent cow's milk cheese. Look for the luxuriously semi-firm, cheerful yellow paste. Made in the Auvergne, France.
Featured this week for $6.98/LB. Regular $8.98/LB
WE WILL BE SAMPLING THIS CHEESE FROM 3-5pm

More Specials:

President Double Cream Brie
Sale $3.98/LB

French Mountain Gruyere
Sale $7.98/LB

Domestic Vecchio Parmisan
Sale $7.79/LB

Italian Fontal
Sale $7.98/LB

French Emmenthal
Sale $6.98/LB

Spanish “Aurora” Manchego
Only $11.98/LB

Happy Hanukkah from our Cheese Department

Folks of any cheese-loving persuasion will adore this sophisticated selection of cheeses, all certified kosher. We know Zabar’s enormous selection of cheese – kosher and conventional – can be a bit overwhelming, so we’ve chosen varieties that will be a hit for this Hanukkah!

Spanish Manchego Aurora
Spain's most famous cheese, made of sheep's milk, it has a clean, nutty flavor that is both sweet and savory

Beecher's Flagship Cheese
A semi-hard cow's milk with a uniquely robust, nutty flavor

5 Spoke Creamery Raw Milk Cheddars
*Herbal Jack
*Welsh
*Remond

Tnuva
A selection of cheeses from Israel.
*Kashkaval
*Feta
*Cheese Spreads

The Cheese Guy.Com
A selection of cheeses from Italy
*Parmesans
*Aged Asiago
*Pecorinos

Les Petites
*Brie/Camembert
*Mozzarella
*Cheddar
*Havarti
And many more

 

Cheese Counter Specials This Week

Old Amsterdam $12.98 / lb
For those who like the classic flavor of Gouda, but who want a little something extra, Old AMsterdam is an excellent choice. Aged for 18 months and coated in black wax, this pasteurized cow's milk cheese is firm, dark yellow in color and has a robust nutty flavor with a lingering sweet finish.

French St. Andre $3.98 / lb 
From the coast of France to your table, St. Andre is lavish and rich enough for the most special occasions, but merits a place on your daily menu. Rich, creamy and buttery. Perfect on a toasted bagel.

Also on sale this week:
French Young Cantal - $ 7.98 / lb
French Tomme de Savoie - $8.98 / lb
Jarlsberg Lite - $7.98 / lb
English Stilton with Blueberry and Pear & Apple - $7.98 / lb

Sales in store only. While supplies last.

French Young Cantal $7.98/lb

French Tomme de Savoie $8.98/lb

English Stilton with blueberry, pear and apple $7.98/lb

Dutch Old Amsterdam $12.98/lb

This week's Deal of the Week

Get a Free Zabar’s Thick N’ Thin Cheese Slicer with online cheese purchase of $25 or more.

Use coupon code ZCS2 at checkout.
Today through 7/8/12.

Shop our Cheese Department. 

Free tastings at Zabar's Cheese Department Today & This Weekend

Free events Today, June 21
From 1 - 7 PM

* The Taste of Tuscany Cheeses, Belgium Cheeses and Piave 

The Trappist monks in the Belgian Abbey of Chimay produce these cheeses using the fresh and creamy milk of the Chimay country side. Please come and try a taste!

Chimay with Beer: Semi-soft and pliable, its smooth paste is slightly bitter, with a heady nose and moderate pungency; the flavor profile comes from the process of being washe din famous Chimay ale. 

 

Chimay Grand Cru: It has a natural rind and is less pungent than its drunken cousin. Creamy, mellow, and a bit fruity, it makes a pleasant table cheese. Made of pasteurized cow's milk.

 

Also,

Piave Red Label
This is one of our favorite Italian table cheeses, and if you've tried it, you know why! The smooth, firm, straw-yellow paste has a zingy, almondy sweetness - imagine "young Parmigiano-Reggiano" - and the finish is a burst of pineapple-citrus. Wow! Savorthe naturally occurring, crunchy amino-acid "flavor crystals" in the paste. Aged over 12 months. From Italy's Veneto region, made of pasteurized cow's milk. 

 

Free tastings Friday, June 22
From 1 - 7 PM

* The taste of Tuscany cheeses, the Belgium cheeses and the Piave 

* Also 11-3pm
We will have a demo on Sweet Lorens Ready To Bake Desserts.  
Its an all-natural, ready-to-bake cookie dough and brownie batter contain the finest unrefined ingredients. They are made with 100% whole grains and natural sweeteners, and do not contain dairy products or preservatives. Just heat up your oven and in minutes you'll have piping-hot, delicious artisanal cookies and brownies

 

 

Free tastings Saturday, June 23

We will have demo cheeses from Germany

* Mushroom Brie: Chunks of mushrooms are added to the paste of the Brie, filling it with extra mushroomy goodness. The cheese is rich, creamy, tangy, and a little salty, too. Made of pasteurized cow's milk.

* Cambozola Black Label: Imagine soft, aromatic Camembert laced with tiny pockets of Gorgonzola
blue, but with enough cream added to the curds to make it a triple-creme. Nutty, smooth and pungent, with less of a salty taste. Made of pasteurized cow’s milk.

* Rougette: The name informs the appearance: little red cheese. The pretty color comes from washing the rind, then allowing the bloomy, white mold to flourish. While it's a very mild cheese, the buttery flavor has mushroomy hints, and suprising notes of caraway - although there are no caraway seeds to be found. Amazing! Pasteurized cow's milk.

 

Free tastings Sunday, June 24 
From 2-5 PM

* Green Mountain Creamery Yogurt, they strive to balance a history of artisanal yogurt making with today's newest technologies to create the ultimate dairy treat. There product is made from the finest ingredients with no artificial colors, preservatives, additives, artificial sweeteners or high fructose corn syrup. Made right in the Green Mountain State with rBST free Vermont milk.

Green Mountain yogurt will be on special for the month of June just $1.09 - regularly $1.98.

Cheese Tastings This Weekend

In our cheese department this weekend:

Friday, June 1st, 3 - 7 PM
There will be a Cheese sampling at our cheese department. We invite you to come in and have a taste of:

LOU BERGIER PICHIN
Piemonte, Italy

Pleasant and fairly straight forward, with nutty notes and a medium pungency. It's a delicious table cheese, lovely served alongside a salad, rustic bread, and a little dish of your best olive oil. Aged for 60 days. Made with unpasteurized cows milk.

 

 

PAŠKI SIR
Pag Island, Croatia

This is the first Croatian cheese we've ever tasted, and if there are more like it, we say, send them over! Aged for at least 12 months. Not strong or assertive, but it does have a lot of flavor and nuance; expect a balance of salty, sweet, savory, warming, sheepy, nutty flavors and a friendly finish reminiscent of sea salt caramel. Made with pasteurized sheep’s milk.

 

Saturday, June 2nd 10 AM - 7 PM
Come in and taste:

The taste of Tuscany!! This summer, Zabars cheese department is featuring Tuscan cheeses made by Il Forteto, one of the largest producers of Pecorino Toscano cheeses.

Pecorino Toscano aged over 30 days can be enjoyed at nearly any point in its maturity. Lactic, milky,toasty, tangy; it's not strong or sharp. The texture is between semi-soft and semi-firm. Pasteurized sheep's milk. Sale $12.98/LB

 

Stagionato is aged over three months, the paste firms up dramatically, becoming savory, and slightly salty, with warming notes of toasted nuts and chives. Pasteurized sheep’s milk. Sale $13.59/LB

 

Oro Antico, aged for at least 6 months, has a pleasant sheepyness with buttery, sweet notes of toasted nuts. With an aroma of brown butter. Pasteurized sheep’s milk. Sale $18.49/LB

Also,

The Trappist monks in the Belgian Abbey of Chimay produce these cheeses using the fresh and creamy milk of the Chimay country side. Please come and try a taste!

Chimay with Beer: Semi-soft and pliable, its smooth paste is slightly bitter, with a heady nose and moderate pungency; the flavor profile comes from the process of being washe din famous Chimay ale. Sale $16.98/LB

 

Chimay Grand Cru: It has a natural rind and is less pungent than its drunken cousin. Creamy, mellow, and a bit fruity, it makes a pleasant table cheese. Made of pasteurized cow's milk. Sale $16.98/LB

 

Also,

Piave Red Label
This is one of our favorite Italian table cheeses, and if you've tried it, you know why! The smooth, firm, straw-yellow paste has a zingy, almondy sweetness - imagine "young Parmigiano-Reggiano" - and the finish is a burst of pineapple-citrus. Wow! Savorthe naturally occurring, crunchy amino-acid "flavor crystals" in the paste. Aged over 12 months. From Italy's Veneto region, made of pasteurized cow's milk. Sale $12.69/LB

Zabar's Cheese Department Sale & In-Store Event

We invite you to taste our Spring and Summer cheese selections this Friday, May 25th from 10 AM - 7 PM at our Cheese Department.

Featuring:

The taste of Tuscany!!
This summer, Zabars cheese department is featuring Tuscan cheeses made by Il Forteto, one of the largest producers of Pecorino Toscano cheeses.

Pecorino Toscano aged over 30 days can be enjoyed at nearly any point in its maturity. Lactic, milky,toasty, tangy; it's not strong or sharp. The texture is between semi-soft and semi-firm. Pasteurized sheep's milk. Sale $12.98/LB

 

Stagionato is aged over three months, the paste firms up dramatically, becoming savory, and slightly salty, with warming notes of toasted nuts and chives. Pasteurized sheep’s milk. Sale $13.59/LB

 

Oro Antico, aged for at least 6 months, has a pleasant sheepyness with buttery, sweet notes of toasted nuts. With an aroma of brown butter. Pasteurized sheep’s milk. Sale $18.49/LB

Also,

The Trappist monks in the Belgian Abbey of Chimay produce these cheeses using the fresh and creamy milk of the Chimay country side. Please come and try a taste!

Chimay with Beer: Semi-soft and pliable, its smooth paste is slightly bitter, with a heady nose and moderate pungency; the flavor profile comes from the process of being washe din famous Chimay ale. Sale $16.98/LB

 

Chimay Grand Cru: It has a natural rind and is less pungent than its drunken cousin. Creamy, mellow, and a bit fruity, it makes a pleasant table cheese. Made of pasteurized cow's milk. Sale $16.98/LB

 

Also,

Piave Red Label
This is one of our favorite Italian table cheeses, and if you've tried it, you know why! The smooth, firm, straw-yellow paste has a zingy, almondy sweetness - imagine "young Parmigiano-Reggiano" - and the finish is a burst of pineapple-citrus. Wow! Savorthe naturally occurring, crunchy amino-acid "flavor crystals" in the paste. Aged over 12 months. From Italy's Veneto region, made of pasteurized cow's milk. Sale $12.69/LB