Dubliner White Cheddar

If all the imported cheeses we are privileged to to be able to consume in this country, Dubliner, a white cheddar from Ireland seems to be the only Irish cheese to make it across the pond, with the exception of Cashel Blue. Luckily Kerrygold is a large enough operation to manage and satisfy the terms of the export contracts. Kerrygold, the same people that bring us fresh, Irish butter, both sweet and salted, certainly makes a case for more Irish dairy imports. Out of the imported cheddars, Dubliner is more robust and flavorful than the cheddars from Canada, Britain or Whales that I’ve personally tried. I recently used it in a macaroni and cheese recipe I was developing and it was the only option I had considered.

Not bad for a first try. I used grated parmigiano on top because I knew it wouldn’t melt well and decided to use it for crunch and forgo the breadcrumbs.

Ferry Plaza Market

Of all the farmers' markets I attend regularly, Ferry Plaza has got to be the very highest in quality. The vendors seem to save their best produce for this market. How do I know? Many of them also sell at other markets in the immediate area and sell at lower prices reflecting the grade of the produce. I've seen them and made purchases.

But for the most part Ferry Plaza attracts small producers that are content to sell exclusively at the Saturday or Thursday market. The Thursday market is much smaller than the one on Saturday, and it's seasonal, not year round. New vendors are allowed to sell on Thursdays until they graduate to the Saturday market.

Some of the small producers sell specialty produce, much of it organic, not usually seen elsewhere.

But the market is not limited to fresh produce. There are meat and poultry producers

Bakeries

Several dairy operations providing yogurt, cheese, and butter

Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar producers

Flower growers and pizza vendors

Ranchers marketing preserves, nuts, candies and dried fruit

Smoked fish producers who also sell sandwiches

There are vendors selling fresh and dried herbs as well as flavored salt

The list goes on and on, but since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll be posting a slide show of Ferry Plaza Farmers Market soon.

Burrata

I have been on the hunt for this cheese, since it first crossed my path and lips in Puglia Italy, the region where it originated. I was visiting family of a close friend and since they had invited us to stay for lunch, I wanted to bring along something we could all share. Having read about it, it was hard to resist when I found it.

Water buffalo milk is used to make this cheese, similar in taste to fresh, water packed mozzarella on the outside. On the inside it's another story entirely; the liquid center is thick cream that thickens further with excess bits and pieces of mozzarella from the cheese pouch that is formed to hold the cream during the making of the cheese. It has a very buttery, milky taste and is traditionally wrapped in leek leaves.

Since it has to be eaten within 48 hours of manufacture, it's not exported here to the U.S. often and rarely if ever to the West Coast, so it is starting to be made domestically with cow's milk. The above photo shows a Burrata I purchased in Boston, but more about that later. Officially, Italians would refer to these two cheeses as fior di latte, because of the cow's milk. It's a major breakthrough to have even an "inferior" version available locally.

I have yet to try the two pictured above from Corti Brothers in Sacramento, but they have the distinction of being the least expensive I have found (under $9). Cowgirl Creamery sells the product I tried and enjoyed from Gioia Cheese ($13.50) out of Southern California, depicted in the second photo. Close, but no cigar. As you can see, although extremely soft in the center, the Gioia Burrata is not oozing with cream. I ate it happily and it was delicious, buttery, milky, but I suspect it too was past it's prime. A- for taste, C+ for texture.

It's the closest I've had thus far in my personal tasting journey. The Burrata from Boston was indeed Italian, but far too old and by the time I cut it open, the center had dried out and was like the outer walls of the cheese except the center was falling apart. It lacked the characteristic buttery taste and was for all intents and purposes, a failed mozzarella.

Keeping with Italian tradition I served it with tomatoes and olive oil. I added Murray River salt flakes and a basil flavored oil too.

Leyden Cheese

If you're a cheese aficionado who also craves the spicy nuttiness of cumin, this is the perfect marriage for your taste buds. A medium density and slightly salty cheese, Leyden has kept the Dutch happy for a long time. It melts well without separating, so it would be fun to work with this cheese in casseroles. With a bit of finesse it might enhance macaroni and cheese and take it to another level. I recently melted and combined it with pear chutney on a baguette for a vegetarian sandwich.

Cooleeney...Cool

It is very lucky to be able to travel and see and taste what other cultures produce, but some of us don't have that luxury. KerryGold Butter and Dubliner Cheddar cheese have made a favorable impression in America and we are fortunate to be able to find them in more and more stores. They are a clear indication of the quality of Irish dairy products. I have wished for many years that we could import their milk, since it has been the very best I have ever tasted. Now after a trip to Ireland last year, I can add Cooleeney cheese to that wish list. It must be the Irish answer to brie or camembert as it is creamy, rich and unctuous, so very buttery on the tongue.

www.cooleeney.com

Country Cheese

Tucked away mid block on Hopkins St, in the middle of Berkeley's "gourmet ghetto" is a small store with an amazing collection of high quality products. Country Cheese is not just a cheese store. I stumbled upon it as I walked between Monterey Market where I purchased dirt cheap produce and Berkeley Horticultural Nursery, where I intended to adopt some tomato plants for my garden.

Cheese, teas, coffees, spices, chocolates, condiments and much more pack this small 3 aisle store. It has become a most valuable resource for finishing salts because their prices are excellent. Fume De Sel is the most expensive at $60 per pound, but who needs a pound? At $3.75 per ounce it's affordable to everyone. The Salish alder smoked salt is one of my favorites of the smoked salt group and is priced lower here than anywhere I have seen it on the Internet. At $12 per pound they are giving it away. For texture it's difficult to resist the black lava salt with it's square, concave crystals.

Besides the 3 salts listed above, they also sell Murray River pink salt from Australia, one of the most popular finishing salts of all, as well as Hawaiian Alea salt. But we can't stop at the salt... the cheese selection is commendable, but fairly small for a store that has cheese in its name. I did expect more. the selection is nice and many were perfectly ripe and ready for immediate use, a big plus in my estimation.

This small purveyor of comestibles also had a very broad range of exceptional chocolates including Vosges of the bacon/chocolate, wasabi/chocolate, pink peppercorn/lemon chocolate fame. It's worth a trip there just to see what boutique chocolates are currently on the market. One Easter, instead of a dessert, I supplied my guests with a tasting of Vosges chocolates and we all had a wonderful time guessing the ingredients.

(510) 526-1333
1578 Hopkins St

Berkeley CA 94707

Mascarpone

What's not to like? Tastes like butter, but much fewer calories; creamy and smooth; a major componant of Tiramisu. For "all of the above" reasons I love this cheese. Even though each manufacturer has a slightly different spin on their product, it all tastes good to me.

Besides mixing it with other cheeses for "spreads", adding it to mashed potatoes has been a very satisfying use for me, in an effort to maintain a buttery flavor without using as much pure fat in the recipe. I also love it sandwiched between 2 amaretti cookies for a quick, no fuss dessert. Not traditional by any means, but Italian all the way.