Cheeses for the Perfect Picnic

Time to pack that cooler and picnic basket and head to a park, a beach, or your backyard. Doesn’t everything taste better outside?

This Saturday, we’re (figuratively) packing up the picnic basket and bringing it to the store. Summer is the time for picnics, and we’ve got everything you need for a successful outing:

Cheese? (check)
Olives? (check)
Baguette? (check)
Crackers (check)
Charcuterie? (check, check!!)
Sandwiches (check)
Prepared Salads? (check)

See below for three great picnic cheeses. We’ll have pre-cut pieces wrapped and ready for you. And if you’d like us to construct a personally tailored picnic cheese platter for you, give us a call!

Youngsters First Milk Gouda

The first spring milk is used to make this rich, flavorful Gouda. This creamy cheese boasts the flavor of spring, after the goats have been released from the winter barn and allowed to feast on the green grasses and flowers of Holland. Because it is the first milk following the birth of new kids, the cream content of the milk is about 50%. No wonder it is so rich and delicious.

The cheese is available for a limited time, and Tastings is thrilled to have snagged a couple of wheels for our customers. This is the cheese we’ve been waiting all year for!

Origin:   Holland
Producer: Artikaas
Milk: Pasteurized goat
Rennet type: Animal
Rind: Natural, wrapped in wax
Age: 2 months
Look: Light colored
Feel: Smooth, pliant, creamy texture
Smell: Lactic
Taste: Rich, sweet, buttery
Pairs well with: Melt it on a burger, serve with fresh fruit
Tastes good with: Soft reds

Beehive Beevino

Leave it to Beehive to make another unique cheese. This is a brand-new offering, and we’re among the very first stores to carry it. A cheddar aged to perfection, it is hand-rubbed with wine must to give it a sweet wine flavor. Your picnic basket will be happy with a nice chunk of Beevino inside!

Beehive Cheese Company prides itself on using only the creamiest milk in Utah and then lovingly handcrafting it into delicious artisan cheese. Beehive Cheese is named after Utah, the Beehive State, in homage to the industry and cooperation needed to make a superior product.

Origin: Utah
Producer: Beehive
Milk: Pasteurized cow
Rennet type: Vegetarian
Rind: Rubbed in must from wine
Look: Dark purple rind, rich creamy center
Feel: Semi-firm
Smell: Musty
Taste: Notes of wine and fruit, sweet
Pairs well with: Sliced filet mignon, dark chocolate, raspberries, plums
Tastes good with: Sea Breeze cranberry and vodka cocktail, tawny port, porter, caramel-tasting beers

Fromager d’Affinois Bleu

Is it Brie? Or is it a Blue? It’s both! This cheese is a silky smooth combination of the two. Perfectly sublime.

If you’re not sure you like blue cheese, try this one. With just a sprinkle of blue, the sweet butteriness will win you over. Think of it as “light blue.” And if you like Cambozola, you’ll love d’Affinois Bleu!

What makes Fromager d’Affinois different from Brie and unique in the world of double crèmes is that it mains a firm paste in the center as it ages. It is made using a process called “ultrafiltration,” which breaks down the fat molecules and removes water from the milk. By concentrating all the other components, it accelerates the cheesemaking process and provides the cheese with a luscious texture and higher amounts of protein and calcium. The result is a cheese that is thicker and creamier than Brie with a taste as rich as most triple-crèmes.

Origin: France (Rhône-Alpes)
Producer: Fromagerie Guilloteau S.A
Milk: Pasteurized cow
Rennet type: Animal
Rind: Bloomy
Age: 2 months
Look: Made in 4.4 lb. wheels, the paste is butter yellow with flecks of blue. And you must eat the rind: it is gorgeous and adds sweetness to the cheese.
Feel: Super soft, satiny texture. Think buttercream icing.
Smell: Milky, slight vegetal odor
Taste: Mildly blue with a lingering sweet-blue buttery aftertaste
Pairs well with: Fig jam, Marcona almonds, Effie’s oatcakes, crusty baguette
Tastes good with: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier, Champagne

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