In mid-July, Tara Sabatini and Swiss American donated two square “wheels” for the Bastille Day Celebration I co-hosted at Blue Haven Bee Company and Southern Origin Meadery. In addition to the Saint Angel, we paired five other French cheeses with French wines and mead made at Southern Origin Meadery in Canon, Georgia.
We used one wheel of the Saint Angel that evening and this past Saturday, we had another tasting of the Saint Angel at Blue Haven and paired it with their 2019 Limited Edition Sourwood Honey. Unfortunately, due to the heavy rainy season here in NE Georgia, the Sourwood Harvest was smaller than 2018 but the rain also created a more buttery flavor, making it come complex than the 2018 edition. The Sourwood trees only bloom a few weeks each years, making Sourwood a much desired honey. Due to the smaller harvest, order it now before its sold out.
The first wedge on July 18th was just starting to create its creme line but the last month had created a riper triple creme that reminded every one of a rich, thick, spreadable butter. One customer, Andrew Powell, had never tasted a triple creme and kept returning for another taste. He finally declared “There’s no going back to brie.” Exactly the response every respectable triple creme producer wants to hear.
As you can see from the picture above and the picture to the right, the aging has created a cheese that resembles butter more with age.
French brie contains “double” the butterfat in dry matter as milk generally contains bringing the percentage of butterfat to 60%. Triple cremes traditionally contain more cream, as much as 15% more raising the butterfat to 75%. Saint Angel contains 72% butterfat in the dry matter. Butterfat in dry matter (FDM) is what is left when all the moisture (water) is removed from the cheese. Bries and triple cremes contain a large percentage of water, so the percentage of butterfat isn’t quite as decadent as it sounds and tastes. Due to aging and removal of moisture, which leaves mostly protein and fat, Parmigiano Reggiano actually has a similar percentage of fat as found in most bries. The denser (harder) a cheese becomes, the less moisture and what is left is mostly protein and butterfat.
If you’re planning a get-together with friends, or just want to indulge yourself, step up your cheese game from double creme brie to a triple creme. You’re welcome!!
Save the date: This Saturday, August 25th join me from 2pm to 5pm at Blue Haven Bee Company as Southern Origin Meadery rolls out their new Legacy Red Mead. I’ll be offering a complimentary tasting of Manchego, the iconic Spanish Cheese made from sheep milk and mentioned in The Man of LaMancha as Don Quixote’s favorite cheese. Half pound wedges will be available for purchase along with a menu of specialty cheeses you can order for delivery the week of August 28th.
In addition to being an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, I am a Certified ServSafe Food Production Manager with certifications that also include ServSafe Certified Instructor and Proctor. I am available for cheese events, cheese program development, cheese training, food safety training and 3rd party food safety auditing. See my About Me and Resume pages for more details or call me at 360 921 9908 to discuss availability.
Pardon our dust… we’re remodeling the website and over the next few weeks, you will see old files moved to new places and some old files may be gone. If you can’t find something you need, just send me an email and I’ll locate it and send you a link… the new site should be complete by end of September to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the website. (Marcellathecheesemonger at gmail.com)
Latest updates and additions include: Updated About Me page and a new Availability page.
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