Feb 13

Written by: Kristin
2/13/2009 11:56 AM

There are a few things in life that contribute to my personal happiness: my family, my work, good wine, good food… and cheese. For me, cheese is a food group in and of itself. I have friends who share this need. They are favourite mealtime companions.

I grew up among cheese lovers. My parents lived in Switzerland for a time. I blame that living experience for the beginning of my slide. Cheese fondue was a bi-weekly winter staple in our house and remains our Christmas Eve tradition; good chevre a pantry essential and  great blue with port a common weekend treat.

I then spent a year living in Switzerland. This time spent in a tiny village, living among cows and ski bums alike sealed my fate as a cheese addict.

I seem to go through phases with my addiction. Maybe it has to do with the seasons, maybe it has to do with which new wines we are currently importing. I’m not really sure… I went through a chevre phase most recently. I ate my way through Chevre Noir, Crottin de Chavignol, Valençay, Chabichou, Bleu Juliette… The list goes on. It may have been that I was tasting a lot of Sauvignon Blanc these last few weeks. The best of the bunch was the 2007 Nautilus from Marlborough New Zealand ($24.95). Mmmm.

Last week I had a minute to spare while downtown, so I ran into the St. Lawrence Market to pick up a couple of cheeses for dinner. Just to be clear, not for after dinner. For dinner.
A huge round of a burnt-orange hue caught my eye as the cheese guy was wrapping up a piece of  Cantal for me. Sometimes a cheese slips off my radar, and I am overjoyed to discover it once again. Such was the case with this massive wheel of aged Beemster XO, a Gouda type cheese. It is produced in North Holland, by a cooperative of 550 farmers, established in 1901. It is a hard cheese, with a consistency like Parmesan Reggiano, aged for 26 months. Its flavour is full, but not pungent. It has a sweet nuttiness, a little crunch from the naturally occurring protein crystals, a rich mouthfeel and a buttery caramel finish. One can consume a LOT of this cheese. I bought a huge chunk of it, knowing it would not go to waste at my house.

Next question was what to drink with it…
We have just begun importing some of the best sherries and sherry vinegars I have ever tasted from a renowned producer in Spain, Toro Albalá. Luckily I had sampled some of the Pedro Ximinez (Don PX)  the previous day, had a little leftover and knew it would be perfect. Another option would have been a dark beer with nutty caramel flavours or an Oloroso sherry.

The Don PX sherry was pretty perfect. A tiny bit sweet for the cheese, but a very good match nonetheless. The caramel and nutty flavours in the cheese were mirrored by those same aromas and notes in the wine. The acidity was just high enough to lift the flavours of the cheese, cut through a little of the fat, but the wine was still soft enough to allow the creaminess of the cheese linger. So good…
Best of all, both are affordable indulgences. The Toro Albalá Don PX sherry is coming in at under $35 a 750ml bottle (100% Pedro Ximinez grapes), and the cheese costs about the same as Parmigiano Reggiano. The sherry can be found through B&W Wines (www.bwwines.com) or you can contact me (Kristin@foodincorporated.ca). The aged Beemster at any great cheese shop in the GTA. I recommend either the Cheese Boutique or About Cheese for serious cheese shopping. If downtown however, Alex Farms and Chris’ Cheese in the St. Lawrence will do just fine.

Cheers,

Kristin

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