Join us every week at Zabar's Cheese Department on Thursdays at 3 PM and 5 PM for weekly cheese tastings and lessons in four new cheeses.
Learn more about: Zabar’s Cheese Plate of the Week 3
Spring Cheese Plate: Mountain Collection
The signs are everywhere! Spring is here! And nowhere is that more evident than in the mountains where winter kept everything covered in a blanket of snow for so long it is hard to remember what green grass looks like. But as spring transforms the landscape, great cheeses are being released from their dark caves and we at Zabar’s are proud to have them. From the Alps of France comes Fleur Des Alpes with its creamy texture reminiscent of velvet. Then from Tuscany comes a young pecorino that is so refreshing it will remind you of the fresh flowers blooming outside your window. From the French Pyrénées comes a rare, raw milk tomme made from goat's milk. A fine example of farmhouse cheese with everything from milking to production to aging of this cheese being done at the farm. And although it is not exactly mountains, the rolling hills of Wisconsin give us Buttermilk Blue that is powerful yet friendly. We are so grateful for these wonderful Mountain cheeses and we want to share them with you.
Fleur Des Alpes
If you're missing your friend Reblochon, meet Fleurs des Alpes; they are nearly identical. This oozing, unctuous wheel of delectable cow's milk cheese comes on like a velvet hammer: it's not the most pungent washed-rind, but the grassy notes of hay and caramel crescendo into a robust, yeasty experience, leaving a lingering pungency on your palate. It ripens beautifully and needs nothing more than a Zabar's baguette. So good! Pasteurized; made in France's Rhone-Alpes.
Pecorino Toscano Fresco
Pecorino Toscano can be enjoyed at nearly any point in its maturity, and we like the "young" one (aged 20-40 days) because of its gentle nature. Lactic, milky, toasty, tangy; it's not strong or sharp but it's delicious for snacking, especially alongside a little dish of Cerignola olives. The texture is between semi-soft and semi-firm, mostly solid, white, and appears to be rindless, but there's a very thin wax coating there. Pasteurized sheep's milk. DOP.
Vallée d'Aspe Chèvre
From the French Pyrenees - land of aged sheep's cheeses - comes this aged goat's milk tomme. This raw milk goat cheese is made at the farm where the 100% untreated milk is collected. In the summer, the cheese is still made in the "cayolar" (the shepherd's mountain hut), just as they have been for the last 1000 years in the Bearnais and the Basque Mountains. Aged for three months, this cheese is gentle and fairly straightforward, it is lightly sweet and nutty, with a semi-firm, oily paste and a rustic natural rind. A rare treasure.
Buttermilk Blue Affineé
This raw, (mostly) Jersey cow milk blue has no buttermilk in it; however, the dominant lactic flavor of this cheese may remind you of that rich, tangy dairy product. As assertive blue, it is tongue-shockingly good, with a texture perfect for the table, or for crumbling over a salad or melting on a burger. Made in Wisconsin by Roth Kase.
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