Here are three great cheeses perfect for the holidays. These holiday delights will please your family and friends.
Mt. TamMt Tam is made with a combination of organic milk and cream from local, grass-fed cows, and is Cowgirl Creamery’s signature cheese. It is named after the Northern California landmark: Mt. Tamalpais. With its bloomy rind and buttery taste, it’s a real crowd pleaser. A mild triple crème, Mt Tam will delight anyone who wants a little decadence in his or her life.
Origin: Petaluma, California
Producer: Cowgirl Creamery
Milk: Pasteurized cow
Rennet type: Vegetarian
Age: 3 weeks
Look: 10 oz. disk; a triple crème encased in a snowy-white bloomy rind
Feel: Soft but firm, smooth and dense textured, melts in your mouth
Smell: Grassy, mushroom, rich
Taste: Buttery, creamy, mellow earthy flavor with hints of mushrooms, grass, and hay
Tastes good with: A warm, crispy baguette; jams
Pairs well with: Champagne or other bubbly, Sancere
Kapiti KikorangiKapiti Kikorangi, meaning “sky blue” in Maori, is an intense and decadent triple crème cheese from New Zealand. Milk from 100 percent grass-fed cows gives it a golden color and buttery texture, and its river of blue veins will excite your taste buds and please your eyes. The savory flavor is the perfect balance of acid and sweet that grows more intense with age. It compares well with Stilton and Cambozola Blue with Its creamy finish and piquant flavor. And its beauty cannot be denied.
Kikorangi is less pungent than most blue cheeses, and that’s because it has a high butterfat content. It makes an excellent peach and blue cheese salad. Or a fabulous addition to your cheeseboard.
This artisan cheese is new to the U.S. but has long been loved in New Zealand. In fact, it is New Zealand’s most awarded blue cheese and was recently honored with the “Champion of Champions” at Cuisine NZ Champions of Cheese Awards.
Origin: New Zealand (Manurewa region)
Producer: Fonterra Foodservices
Milk: Cow
Rennet type: Animal
Rind: Bloomy
Look: Blue-veined, straw-colored pate, velvety dark rind
Feel: Semi-soft, creamy, smooth
Smell: Intense
Taste: Buttery, savory, complex, earthy
Tastes good with: Dried fruit, fig jam, cured meats
Pairs well with: Hefeweizen beer, sparkling wines, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir, Ruby Port
This is a young pecorino flavored with the famous pistachio from Italy. Pistachios from Bronte, Italy, near Mount Etna, are sweet, rich, and emerald green in color. Both beautiful and tasty, it’s an excellent addition to any holiday party platter!
Origin: Italy (Tuscany Region)
Milk: Pasteurized sheep
Rennet type: Vegetarian
Age: Young
Look: Small, bright white with green bits
Feel: Semi soft
Smell: Earthy, milky
Taste: Sweet, harmonious and balanced. with pleasant hints of milk and pistachio.
Tastes good with: Honeycomb
Pairs well with: Italian wines — Marzemino, Nero D’Avola Sicilia
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