Lori Rice, freelance writer for cidecraftmag.com, invited me to share a hard cider and cheese pairing for an upcoming article. A total of ten cheese pros were invited and responded. Here is a link to the online article.
I decided to do an intimate tasting with The Man (“Intimate” doesn’t mean naked; it means just the two of us; keep you minds out of the gutter… although a naked cheese tasting might be on the horizon sooner than later). Lori had requested choosing “local” cider if possible. I couldn’t find any “commercial” cider made in the immediate area (think: I found several local ciders but the makers preferred to remain anonymous… imagine that). My favorite Wine Bar, Blue Haven Bee, had ciders made in North Carolina by Bold Rock. Less than two hours from The Manse… close enough… I chose Carolina Draft and Carolina Apple.
The four cheeses for the pairing tasting were ones already in the cheese fridge, favorites around The Manse and ones I felt would pair well with the two ciders. (I wasn’t wrong.)
I always have cheeses on hand to use on a regular basis; some have been sent as samples. (A few years back Spaulding Gray wrote an article titled “Everyday Cheeses”; the cheeses you can always find in our fridge.) The four I chose for this tasting:
- Cabot Clothbound Aged Cheddar – I buy this cheese at Costco and always have a block of it on hand to use from “soup to nuts”. This amazing, traditionally-crafted cheddar is made at Cabot Coop and aged in the Cellars at Jasper Hill Farm. It is made with pasteurized cow milk. In addition to Costco, you can also find it at your local specialty cheese shop and Whole Foods Market. Cheddar is my Cheese Utility Player; it’s a great snacker and a ubiquitous ingredient in most any recipe that calls for cheese, especially mac n cheese (combined with an Alpine for better melting) and pimento cheese.
- Schuman Cheese‘s Non-GMO Parmesan sent to me as a sample from good friend and fellow ACS CCP, Tara Harmon of Schuman Cheese. This American parm is nutty with slight salty note similar to what you find in all quality parmesans.
- Beecher’s Handmade Cheese‘s No/New Woman, Spaulding Gray’s favorite cheese and the first cheese he reviewed on this website in August 2008 – sent as part of a gift basket from the good folks at Beecher’s. My biggest surprise is that somewhere from 2008 to 2018 the name went from “No” to “New”, probably the result of some jackass calling the name non PC. Obviously that person didn’t understand that the Jamaican jerk spices in the recipe inspired the cheesemakers to honor Bob Marley’s reggae hit, “No Woman”. SG is rolling over in his grave that Beecher’s bowed to public pressure… sheesh… but I digress…
- Sartori’s Raspberry BellaVitano – This cheese also came from Costco. Sartori started with BellaVitano Gold and then the “mad scientists”, Wisconsin Certified Master Cheesemakers Mike Matucheski and Larry Steckbauer, began experimenting in their second floor lab rubbing and soaking Bella with anything that might pair well with the cheese (they make eight versions year-round and offer limited editions other times of the year). This edition is soaked in a local raspberry tart ale adding a raspberry tartness near the rind to the hazelnut notes of this proprietary original cheese that starts with cheddar and parm cultures.
I purposely chose two flavored cheeses and two with no added flavors. I wondered if the flavors would affect the pairings success. They did not. All four cheeses paired well with each of the two ciders. The Man had his choices which were different from mine; but since I was the one asked to contribute a pairing choice, I made the final decision.
Both ciders had notes that paired better with different cheeses and not surprisingly, I found the flavored cheeses paired better with the Carolina Draft. The Carolina Apple paired better with the cheeses that had no added flavors. It was a tough decision to choose a perfect pairing and required enjoying quite a bit of cider to make the final “best pairing” but I did pick one… and the winner was… well you’ll have to read the article to see what my favorite pairing was.
Check out my cheese pairing “rules”. My number one rule is “If it tastes good to you; then it’s a good pairing.” However, I do have a few other suggestions when pairing cheese.
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.
Full FDA disclosure: Some of the cheeses I featured in this article were provided by the producers without expectations that I will review them. Of course they hope I will but there is never any quid pro quo; if I like, I share. If I don’t like, I keep my mouth shut. I am here to praise cheese.
Follow me on:
You must be logged in to post a comment.