Cheese of the Week

Before Thanksgiving dinner, I sent the kids on their merry way to get some last minute items. You know how it is on Thanksgiving Day; you're starving but you don't really want to eat and take away precious stomach room. Anyway, Dominick came back to the house with what is one of my favorite cheeses for a pre-dinner snack, Humboldt Fog. It's goat milk cheese with a line of vegetable ash running through it.


My understanding of vegetable ash is that it was used back in the day as a sort of short-term preservative. So the cheesemaker would put a layer of wood ash over the top of the cheese to prevent it from drying out. Then the next day, more milk would be poured on top.

Another interesting thing about Humboldt Fog is that the cheese ripens from the outside, so let it sit out and come to room temperature. Then you can see the outside becoming runny and utterly delicious, while the inside retains the fresh goat cheese flavor. I also really enjoy the rind; it's got a springy texture that is fantastic.

Speaking of cheese, I went to my mother's house over the weekend and she served Wensleydale with dried cranberries. You may have heard of Wensleydale from the movie Wallace and Gromit, in which they refer to it as their favorite cheese. Now I know why they ate it all the time because it is delicious. It was almost white in color and crumbly, sort of like feta's texture. Except that it had none of feta's tang and was more mild, almost sweet and the dried cranberries really heightened the sweet-tart contrast. Interestingly, this cheese was originally made by Fench monks from Roquefort who came to the Wensleydale region of England. Their process changed over time because they used cow's milk instead of ewe's milk. It's also very seasonal and pretty.