Bark-Wrapped Archives | Cheese Atlas

Driftwood: Australia’s First Bark-Wrapped Cheese

Cheese Atlas — Sat, 02 Apr 2022 01:49:05 +0000

Long Paddock Driftwood is one a kind! Indeed, this soft surface-ripened cheese is Australia’s first and only cheese wrapped in spruce bark.

Read on to learn more about this deliciously complex cheese and its maker, Long Paddock Cheese.

Made in picturesque Castlemaine

Long Paddock Cheese is a small-scale artisanal cheesemaker based in Castlemaine, Victoria. Effectively, it is the brainchild of Australian dairy personality, Alison Lansley, and famous French cheese makers, Julie and Ivan Larcher.

At their little facility at The Mill Castlemaine, Long Paddock Cheese make and sell their small range of fresh dairy products (fresh milk, yoghurt, butter and cheese).

Cheesemaking and education

Their delicious cheeses are all handmade from organic cow’s milk by resident French artisan cheesemakers, Julie and Ivan Larcher.

In addition to this, they also run Victoria’s first accredited cheesemaking education program. Indeed, The Cheese School offers small-class practical and theoretical professional artisan cheesemaking and other dairy training, plus a range of small-scale business-related training.

Inspired by Mont d'Or

Driftwood is one of the first cheeses that Julie and Ivan started making in Castlemaine. As a matter of fact, they drew their inspiration from the most famous seasonal mountain cheese from France, Mont d’Or.

Indeed, their dedication to crafting a unique cheese was such that they import the spruce bark from one of the few remaining sangliers in the Jura mountains.

Also, like Mont d’Or, Driftwood is available as a small format and a large format cheese. While the latter is made for sharing, the former is a great cheese for a party of two (or maybe one?).

What Long Paddock Driftwood tastes like

Undoubtedly, this unique cheese oozes with character and its aroma is reminiscent of a damp forest floor. With its deep earthy notes (thanks to the spruce bark) and its sweet mushroom and grassy flavour, this cheese will not disappoint.

How to serve Driftwood

You will definitely want to wait till the cheese is close to its “Best Before Date” before even considering opening up this little parcel.

When you are ready to eat it, leave the cheese at room temperature for at least two hours. Then, cut off its top rind and scoop out the insides with a wooden spoon.

Having said that, Driftwood can also be baked with rosemary and garlic, just like Vacherin and Mont d’Or.

What to pair with Driftwood

Whether you’re serving this cheese fresh or baking it, a crisp white wine will provide the perfect pairing. Our recommendation here is a Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio.

If you’re feeling a little more adventurous, try a local cider from Harcourt. Or a Victorian Pale Ale.

Thank you for reading

Thank you for reading this post about yet another amazing artisanal cheese. Have you tried this cheese before? Drop us a comment below with your thoughts.

If you enjoy learning about new cheeses, you can subscribe to our newsletter below. You will hear from us about once a week as we share new cheese profiles with you.

Finally, keep scrolling to find some more cheeses and recipes that have been recommended for you. Keep it cheesy!

The post Driftwood: Australia’s First Bark-Wrapped Cheese appeared first on Cheese Atlas.

Winnimere

Cheese Atlas — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 08:05:26 +0000

The American Mont d’Or

Winnimere is an American seasonal raw milk surface ripened cheese made in Vermont, by Jasper Hills Farm. During the winter months, they feed their Ayrshire cows hay to produce a rich, flavoursome milk, which is perfect for cheesemaking.

Inspired by Mont d’Or

Andy and Matteo Kehler use a recipe inspired by the most famous of French seasonal cheeses, Mont d’Or. Furthermore, they harvest spruce bark from Jasper Hill Farm’s woodland and wrap it around the young cheeses. The spruce helps keep the soft cheese together but also contributes to the overall aroma and flavour.

During maturation, they regularly wash the cheese in a cultured salt brine to help even rind development. At 60 days, the rind develops a pink hue and the pâte becomes spoonably soft and tastes of bacon, mushroom, sweet cream and spruce.

The name Winnimere comes from the name of a road that runs along the Eastern shore of Caspian Lake in Vermont. The Kehler’s still have fond memories of their summer escapes to their grandfather’s ice fishing shack in the area.

How to serve Winnimere

Leave at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving. Peel away the top part of the rind and serve with a spoon! A ripe Winnimere will pair brilliantly with a smoky red wine like Syrah or Malbec or a Porter-style beer.

The post Winnimere appeared first on Cheese Atlas.

Le Duc Vacherin: Pasteurised Mont d’Or

Cheese Atlas — Sat, 28 Aug 2021 06:42:42 +0000

Inspired by Mont d'Or

Le Duc Vacherin, selected by Will Studd, is a soft surface-ripened cheese made in the Franche-Comté region of Eastern France. It is inspired by the much-loved seasonal cheese, Mont d’Or.

Whilst very similar in appearance, it differs in 2 main ways. Cheesemakers make Le Duc with pasteurised cow’s milk whilst Mont d’Or has to be made with raw milk. In addition to this, Le Duc is available all year round.

How it is made

Will Studd selects this decadent soft cheese in 2 formats, the featured 200g wheel and Grand Vacherin, a larger 1kg wheel. Artisans hand-make both formats in Eastern France near the Swiss border and wrap them in spruce bark to help keep the soft interior together.

The cheese has a slightly fruity aroma when ripe with the occasional bloom and ripple appearing on the smooth pinkish rind. Furthermore, its texture is very much spoonable and the flavour is rich and creamy.

How to serve Vacherin

Consume close to the “Best Before” date and leave at room temperature for at least 2 hours if serving as a table cheese.

Undoubtedly, your weapon of choice should be a spoon for this one! Moreover, Le Duc also excels when baked!

What to drink with Le Duc Vacherin

Enjoy with a glass of Viognier, Gewürztraminer or a young Riesling.

Substitutes for Vacherin

If you can’t get your hands on this amazing cheese, Winnimere, Driftwood and Rollright are three great substitutes for Le Duc Vacherin.

Thank you for reading

Thank you for reading this post about yet another amazing artisanal cheese. Have you tried this cheese before? Drop us a comment below with your thoughts.

If you enjoy learning about new cheeses, you can subscribe to our newsletter below. You will hear from us about once a week as we share new cheese profiles with you.

Finally, keep scrolling to find some more cheeses and recipes that have been recommended for you. Keep it cheesy!

The post Le Duc Vacherin: Pasteurised Mont d’Or appeared first on Cheese Atlas.

Rollright: The Gloucestershire Vacherin

Cheese Atlas — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 03:38:43 +0000

Little Rollright – NYD – Source

Made in Gloucestershire

Rollright is a soft washed rind wrapped in spruce bark made by King Stone Dairy in England.

Manor Farm in Gloucestershire is home to a small herd of 30 cows and a farmhouse dairy called King Stone Dairy. The dairy run by David Jowett currently makes 4 cheeses, including Rollright and Evenlode.

Wrapped in spruce bark

Inspired by the French classic Vacherin du Haut-Doubs, Rollright is a soft cheese banded in spruce bark.

At the dairy, David uses fresh cow’s milk from the herd of mostly Swiss Brown cows. After adding starter cultures and rennet to the milk, he cuts the curd and moulds the cheese.

After roughly one day, he removes the wheels from the mould, adds salts and wraps them in spruce cambium. Moreover, the spruce will help the cheese keep its shape during the maturation process.

Unique aroma and flavour

Within the first few days, colonies of yeast start to form on the surface. In time, they will make a major contribution to the aroma and flavour of the cheese.

Meanwhile, the affineur turns each wheel of cheese daily and washes them with a brine solution for the next 4 weeks. At 4 weeks, the wheels form a consistent natural rind and their pâte starts to soften.

At this point, Rollright has a gorgeous orange rind and a robust yeasty and forest floor aroma. In addition to this, its straw-coloured pâte is decadently unctuous and has woody and milky notes on the palate with a hint of peanut.

How to pair Rollright

Enjoy with a Saison beer or New World Pinot Noir. While Rollright is fantastic on its own, you can also serve it as part of an all English cheese platter with Stilton and Cornish Yarg.

The post Rollright: The Gloucestershire Vacherin appeared first on Cheese Atlas.

Adoray

Cheese Atlas — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 02:08:53 +0000

There are few pleasures in life that stack up to spooning the soft, oozy insides out of a spruce bark wrapped cheese. And, Canada’s Adoray is about as good as they get!

Established by Alain Boyer

Adoray is a surface-ripened soft washed rind cheese made by Fromagerie Montebello in Canada.

Initially, Alain Boyer established Fromagerie Montebello in the Outaouais region of Québec, Canada in 2011. Drawing from his vast cheesemaking experience, he started making artisanal cheeses using local milk.

A soft oozy centre

Adoray is one of the more recent additions to their range. This cutesy small format cheese is made with pasteurised cow’s milk and wrapped in spruce bark. Moreover, the bark allows the soft oozy centre to keep its shape. In addition to this, the spruce also implements a woody character to the cheese.

Matured for 21 days, it develops a light orange rind that is mottled with bloomy white mould. It smells like a damp forest floor and is buttery, spicy and meaty on the palate.

Indeed, the name Adoray is a tribute to head cheesemaker Alain Boyer’s grandfather ADOrice and father RAYmond. Alain drew his inspiration for the cheese from the passion and dedication of the two men.

How to serve Adoray

You will want to enjoy this masterpiece at or even beyond its “best before date“. Leave it at room temperature for at least an hour and either enjoy with a spoon or spread on a warm crusty baguette.

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