I apologize for the lack of blogging in past months, due to work, writer's block, lack of motivation, taxes, my newfound addiction to old episodes of "21 Jump Street"... I shall try my damnedest to be a better blogger for you, and some recent turn of events will hopefully fuel that motivation - but more on that in the future. Sooooo...in mid-April I made a trip out to Point Reyes Station for the first bi-annual Mollie Stone's Cheese Managers' meeting. For those of you who don't know where Point Reyes is, it is here, tucked away between the lush forests and breezy coastline of West Marin. The most direct way to get there is to take Sir Francis Drake Blvd from Highway 101, and what starts out as a main thoroughfare, turns into a two-lane road weaving its way around the hills of Marin County. The morning was cool but sunny, the leftover fog hanging over the trees before burning off with the warming temperature - a perfect day for cheese tasting!
Everyone met at the Cowgirl Creamery in the center of town, which also includes a quaint cheese shop and cafe. This was the first time all the Cheese Managers were together, so it was really nice to finally meet all the Cheese Ladies of Mollie Stone's. We were here to learn about the cheeses and history of the Cowgirl Creamery, as well as the Marin French Cheese Company, Laura Chenel's Chevre and Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company - all lovely and local! Now, each presentation was chock full of information to accompany the delicious tastings - so much that I will try to stick to the most intriguing facts. If you'd like me to elaborate, send me an email or come into Mollie's and have a chat with me...I don't bite.
Cowgirl Creamery
The Cowgirl Creamery opened in 1997 by Peggy Smith and Sue Conley in Point Reyes Station. To this day they still use organic milk from Straus Family Creamery to make their signature Mt. Tam and Red Hawk. The Mt. Tam is modeled after St. Andre, but because the cheesemaker brought in to help with the development of the cheese was from the Netherlands, he wanted to create a gouda. The result - a silky, bloomy rind triple cream with a firm center, made using the gouda method.
Their Red Hawk was a happy mistake. One day, Sue had a batch of Mt. Tam where the mold (candidum) was not developing properly, so she reinoculated it by spraying the cheese with the mold culture. Still, the mold was not doing what it was supposed to be doing. Instead, it was taking on a pinkish hue. She would later discover that this pinkness was created by B. linens, a bacteria strain special to the Point Reyes air. Thus, the pungent, washed rind meatiness of the Red Hawk was born!
Marin French Cheese Company
The Marin French Cheese Company was founded in 1865 by Jefferson Thompson, a native of Illinois who came out West to find some gold in them thare hills. Well, when the Gold Rush hype died out (along with the gold), Thompson settled down in West Marin and started a dairy, creating fresh cheese to be shipped down to the saloons in San Francisco. This cheese would later be known as their Breakfast Cheese, a soft, un-aged cow's milk cheese made with brie culture. As demand increased, and to help support neighboring dairies, they purchased milk instead of milking their own heard, and completely focused their company on cheesemaking. Now they have a variety of handmade cheeses, from the bloomy Brie & Camembert to the intensely pungent (and frankly, bacony tasting) Schloss.
Laura Chenel
Laura Chenel's Chevre began in Sebastopol with a herd of goats and extra milk to make cheese with. After traveling to France to learn their technique of goat cheesing, Laura came back to share her knowledge with the States - a fresh, creamy, tangy, well-balanced chevre. Unlike many cheesemakers who sell in the retail market, Laura Chenel's Chevre made its name through caterers and restaurants - most notably, Chez Panisse. In 2006, the company sold to the Rians Group, a French cheese corporation that controls a number of artisan dairies. Many felt this transaction would negatively affect the quality of the chevre, but I have to say, in this recent tasting the quality is truly far from lacking...and I'm not a goat cheese fan. In addition to the milk from the original herd, milk from local goat dairies (with the exception of two in Nevada) is also used. This has certainly increased production, but has also made way for a couple aged cheeses - the Melodie and Tome.
Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company
The Giacomini Family had been selling the milk from their closed Holstein cow herd in 1959. It wasn't until 2000 that Point Reyes Original Blue was created. The idea was to make a cheese that none of their neighbors were making, and so became the raw, punchy blue that goes from udder to cheese vat within 12 hours. Interestingly enough, this blue is not just organic, but also gluten free. Typically, traditional blues are made with mold grown from wheat. But with the magic of modern technology, penicilium roqueforti can be manufactured without the use stale bread. In 2010, Original Blue got a sister - Point Reyes Toma, a semi-hard, buttery, slightly grassy cheese made in a gouda style. This table cheese was meant to satisfy those non-blue fans, and it certainly did its job!
Everyone met at the Cowgirl Creamery in the center of town, which also includes a quaint cheese shop and cafe. This was the first time all the Cheese Managers were together, so it was really nice to finally meet all the Cheese Ladies of Mollie Stone's. We were here to learn about the cheeses and history of the Cowgirl Creamery, as well as the Marin French Cheese Company, Laura Chenel's Chevre and Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company - all lovely and local! Now, each presentation was chock full of information to accompany the delicious tastings - so much that I will try to stick to the most intriguing facts. If you'd like me to elaborate, send me an email or come into Mollie's and have a chat with me...I don't bite.
Cowgirl Creamery
The Cowgirl Creamery opened in 1997 by Peggy Smith and Sue Conley in Point Reyes Station. To this day they still use organic milk from Straus Family Creamery to make their signature Mt. Tam and Red Hawk. The Mt. Tam is modeled after St. Andre, but because the cheesemaker brought in to help with the development of the cheese was from the Netherlands, he wanted to create a gouda. The result - a silky, bloomy rind triple cream with a firm center, made using the gouda method.
Their Red Hawk was a happy mistake. One day, Sue had a batch of Mt. Tam where the mold (candidum) was not developing properly, so she reinoculated it by spraying the cheese with the mold culture. Still, the mold was not doing what it was supposed to be doing. Instead, it was taking on a pinkish hue. She would later discover that this pinkness was created by B. linens, a bacteria strain special to the Point Reyes air. Thus, the pungent, washed rind meatiness of the Red Hawk was born!
 |
| Clockwise from the cup of Cowgirl Creamery Creme Fraiche, Cottage Cheese, Mt. Tam, and Rustic Bakery Olive Oil & Sel Gris Flatbreads covering up the St. Pat's and Red Hawk...oops. |
Marin French Cheese Company
The Marin French Cheese Company was founded in 1865 by Jefferson Thompson, a native of Illinois who came out West to find some gold in them thare hills. Well, when the Gold Rush hype died out (along with the gold), Thompson settled down in West Marin and started a dairy, creating fresh cheese to be shipped down to the saloons in San Francisco. This cheese would later be known as their Breakfast Cheese, a soft, un-aged cow's milk cheese made with brie culture. As demand increased, and to help support neighboring dairies, they purchased milk instead of milking their own heard, and completely focused their company on cheesemaking. Now they have a variety of handmade cheeses, from the bloomy Brie & Camembert to the intensely pungent (and frankly, bacony tasting) Schloss.
 |
| Clockwise from bottom: Breakfast Cheese, Petit Dejeuner, Brie, Triple Creme Brie, Petit Creme, Yellowbuck Camembert, Petit Bleu and Schloss in the middle. |
Laura Chenel
Laura Chenel's Chevre began in Sebastopol with a herd of goats and extra milk to make cheese with. After traveling to France to learn their technique of goat cheesing, Laura came back to share her knowledge with the States - a fresh, creamy, tangy, well-balanced chevre. Unlike many cheesemakers who sell in the retail market, Laura Chenel's Chevre made its name through caterers and restaurants - most notably, Chez Panisse. In 2006, the company sold to the Rians Group, a French cheese corporation that controls a number of artisan dairies. Many felt this transaction would negatively affect the quality of the chevre, but I have to say, in this recent tasting the quality is truly far from lacking...and I'm not a goat cheese fan. In addition to the milk from the original herd, milk from local goat dairies (with the exception of two in Nevada) is also used. This has certainly increased production, but has also made way for a couple aged cheeses - the Melodie and Tome.
 |
| Clockwise from top left: Plain Chevre, 4 Peppercorn Chevre, Melodie and Tome. |
Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company
The Giacomini Family had been selling the milk from their closed Holstein cow herd in 1959. It wasn't until 2000 that Point Reyes Original Blue was created. The idea was to make a cheese that none of their neighbors were making, and so became the raw, punchy blue that goes from udder to cheese vat within 12 hours. Interestingly enough, this blue is not just organic, but also gluten free. Typically, traditional blues are made with mold grown from wheat. But with the magic of modern technology, penicilium roqueforti can be manufactured without the use stale bread. In 2010, Original Blue got a sister - Point Reyes Toma, a semi-hard, buttery, slightly grassy cheese made in a gouda style. This table cheese was meant to satisfy those non-blue fans, and it certainly did its job!
 |
| Toma on top and Blue on the bottom. |
