Back in the cheese day… The Lady discovered a cheese blog, The Cheese Chronicles, written by Sarah Marcus, an Oregon Cheesemaker and Owner at Briar Rose Creamery. Sarah writes about her journey making cheese in Dundee, Oregon. While at the Oregon Cheese Festival, The Lady was delighted to meet Sarah and her husband, Jim Hoffman.
Sarah has an easy smile which welcomes you into her world of chevre. Her enthusiasm and passion for her cheeses is evident the moment she begins to tell you about her “babies”.
Starting in the spring of 2005, Sarah worked behind the counter at Cowgirl Creamery in San Francisco’s Ferry Building, selling and learning about some of the world’s finest cheeses. It was only a matter of time before her love affair with curd was in full bloom, sending her on the road to fully embrace what she calls her ultimate love, cheesemaking.
After taking a cheesemaking class at California Polytechnic University, Sarah returned to San Francisco to serve as a cheesemaker’s apprentice at Cowgirl Creamery, followed by apprenticeships in England and North Carolina as well as additional classwork at the University of Vermont and Oregon State University. She also worked at the Cheese School of San Francisco, buying cheese and coordinating cheese appreciation classes. All of which culminated with the launch of Briar Rose Creamery in 2010.
Sarah buys her milk from Tideland Dairy Goats. Tideland’s goats come from a line of dairy stock that have been awarded grand champion ribbons generation after generation. The herd enjoys the sweet life surrounded by lush, green pastures, tidewater marshes, and ample dairy barns to shelter the herd from the morning fog and Oregon rains.
The Lady bought two of Sarah’s fresh Chevre Spreads and brought them home for The Man and moi, your humble feline foodie, to taste and for me to review.
First on the plate was Sarah’s Classic Chevre, which recently won a coveted Good Foods Award. Sweet, creamy and smooth with a little citrus at the end, this cheese can be your “Go To” Chevre for bagels, fruit and honey or crumbled on salads. We enjoyed it on Urban Oven Crackers.
Along with the Classic Chevre, The Lady served the Spicey Chipotle Chevre. The heat comes after the the first taste and it’s quite a hit for a few seconds, but it leaves just as quickly and your palette is ready for more. The grapes were a perfect pairing for this spicy spread.
I give both of these Chevres another “coveted award”… my4 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).
Serving Suggestions: Spreading these cheeses on your favorite bread is always a winner. You can crumble both of these on a salad. The Chipotle would work well in a quesadilla. Let your imagination run wild…
Source: pasteurized goat milk.
Read Sarah’s Q&A for my 2015 Cheese Professional Series.
My thanks to everyone participating in my 2015 Virtual Q&A with Cheese Professionals. I hope all of you, my loyal readers, are enjoying this as much as I am…
Interviews with All Cheese Professionals: Cheesemakers and Cheese Professionals
Interviews will continue throughout 2015… sometimes, they will be “stand-alone” and sometimes they will be presented as round-table discussions with several Cheese Professionals answering the same question. Those participating includeCheesemakers, ACS CCPs™, Cheesemongers and Cheese Professionals and Experts who contribute to this Wonderful World we call “Cheese”.
List of all Interviews from 2013: Cheesemakers, Cheesemongers.
List of 2015 Cheese Professionals.
List of all Cheese Professionals Bios.
Please “Like” MarcellaTheCheesemonger Page on FaceBook.
Taking the 2015 Exam? Please see my page on Tips for Studying for the Exam. Want support? Come join our 2015 Cheese Study Group.
Follow me on:
You must be logged in to post a comment.