Beets + Cheese
Beets
Apple Brandy
This liquor’s cinnamon-nutmeg notes go hand-in-hand with many cheeses, but “the heat from a high-proof spirit can be overwhelming,” says Ben Watson, author of Cider Hard and Sweet (Countryman Press, 1999). However, pleasing options abound. Creamy Camembert and heady Calvados both come from Normandy, France—and are often coupled like this: Make a few slits in the cheese, pour Calvados over the top, bake 20 minutes, and devour. Or, stir an ounce of apple brandy and a few drops of honey into a flute of Champagne and sip alongside a velvety triple-cream wheel. The bubbles will slice through the rich cheese; the brandy will enhance the paste’s sweetness.
Marin French Cheese Camembert + Calvados
Champlain Valley Creamery Organic Champlain Triple + Champagneapple brandy cocktail
Feel the beet—taste them with curds WRIT TEN BY
W
hen the White House vegetable garden was planted in 2009 with over 50
types of produce, beets were omitted. Apparently, both POTUS and FLOTUS despise these divisive root veggies, and they are not alone. But despite the groans of disgust beets elicit from many otherwise
Menu ON THE
AT Fifty First Kitchen & Bar Nashville, Tenn.
Salad of local baby lettuces, red onions pickled in huckleberry vinegar, apples, and crumbled Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese Barren County Bleu, with a huckleberry vinaigrette The flavorful cheddarbased blue has some crystalline structure and fruity notes that “balance the sweetness from the apples and the tart astringency from the pickled onions very well,” executive chef and partner Tony Galzin says.
+ Cheese
veggie-loving eaters, their appearance in juice, baked goods, chips, hummus, and even wine is proof enough that the sweet, earthy bulbs are having a moment.
KRISTINE JANNUZZI
Nutrient-packed beets lend themselves to both sweet and savory preparations: Holley White, owner of Lucky Dog Farm in upstate New York, uses beets in soups and fritters and pairs them with chocolate in muffins and cakes. And Greg Swartz of Willow Wisp Organic Farm in Pennsylvania grates raw beets atop salads or grills them over a low flame to coax out a smoky flavor. Red beets’ striking garnet hue makes for a stunning presentation on the plate. You’ve probably seen them served with chèvre, but other unexpected dairy options can also bring out the best in beets.
Beet Tartare
This crunchy vegetarian play on steak tartare, made with diced raw beets, shallots, capers, olive oil, and red wine vinegar, is full of bright, bold flavors. It blends easily with a subtly funky washed rind spread on toasted rye bread. The mixed-milk Chebris is also a home run with the tartare: The combination is creamy, nutty, and tangy, with satisfying textural contrast.
Cellars at Jasper Hill Von Trapp Oma + beet tartare
Onetik Chebris + beet tartare
La Tur–smeared toasts float atop borscht.
Roasted Beets
This preparation brings out beets’ sweetness, for sure, but when they’re well seasoned and accented with saltier or more potent cheeses, savory, meaty qualities also emerge. A pecorino rubbed with juniper berries and balsamic vinegar is a worthy companion, its flaky paste a crumbly foil to the tender taproot. Roasted beets also up the richness of an alreadydecadent stinky washed-rind goat cheese such as Paymaster from Crown Finish Caves; plus they intensify the chocolate flavor of the whiskey this wheel was bathed in.
TWIST ON A CLASSIC Iconic cheese accompaniments, reimagined
Chocolate The obvious dairy mate for Jeni’s Extra-Bitter Hot Fudge Sauce is ice cream, but—trust us—try the ganache-like elixir over Gorgonzola Dolce for a bite that touches all the taste receptors. jenis.com
Paolo Farabegoli Pecorino Ginepro + roasted beets
Crown Finish Caves Coach Farm Paymaster + roasted beets
Borscht
This vibrant red soup is a culinary staple across Eastern Europe and Russia—an estimated 70,000 gallons were served at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. The “right” way to make it is passionately debated, but there is some consensus around a variation made from meat stock, red beets, potatoes, carrots, onions, and plenty of dill (you can leave it chunky or puree it). Luciana Villanueva, cheese manager at Gus’s Community Market in San Francisco, suggests a dollop of buttery, tart crème fraîche over the soup instead of the usual sour cream for added complexity. Or try La Tur, a three-milk bloomy rind that has the creaminess from the cow, the tangy notes from the goat, and the nuttiness from the sheep in every bite. Slathered on mini toasts floating on the borscht, it’s a luscious match for the hearty soup.
Bellwether Farms Crème Fraîche + borscht
Caseificio dell’Alta Langa La Tur + borscht
Kristine Jannuzzi is a food and travel writer based in New York City.
18
culturecheesemag.com
CHEESE+ 2016
Apple Brandy
This liquor’s cinnamon-nutmeg notes go hand-in-hand with many cheeses, but “the heat from a high-proof spirit can be overwhelming,” says Ben Watson, author of Cider Hard and Sweet (Countryman Press, 1999). However, pleasing options abound. Creamy Camembert and heady Calvados both come from Normandy, France—and are often coupled like this: Make a few slits in the cheese, pour Calvados over the top, bake 20 minutes, and devour. Or, stir an ounce of apple brandy and a few drops of honey into a flute of Champagne and sip alongside a velvety triple-cream wheel. The bubbles will slice through the rich cheese; the brandy will enhance the paste’s sweetness.
Marin French Cheese Camembert + Calvados
Champlain Valley Creamery Organic Champlain Triple + Champagneapple brandy cocktail
Feel the beet—taste them with curds WRIT TEN BY
W
hen the White House vegetable garden was planted in 2009 with over 50
types of produce, beets were omitted. Apparently, both POTUS and FLOTUS despise these divisive root veggies, and they are not alone. But despite the groans of disgust beets elicit from many otherwise
Menu ON THE
AT Fifty First Kitchen & Bar Nashville, Tenn.
Salad of local baby lettuces, red onions pickled in huckleberry vinegar, apples, and crumbled Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese Barren County Bleu, with a huckleberry vinaigrette The flavorful cheddarbased blue has some crystalline structure and fruity notes that “balance the sweetness from the apples and the tart astringency from the pickled onions very well,” executive chef and partner Tony Galzin says.
+ Cheese
veggie-loving eaters, their appearance in juice, baked goods, chips, hummus, and even wine is proof enough that the sweet, earthy bulbs are having a moment.
KRISTINE JANNUZZI
Nutrient-packed beets lend themselves to both sweet and savory preparations: Holley White, owner of Lucky Dog Farm in upstate New York, uses beets in soups and fritters and pairs them with chocolate in muffins and cakes. And Greg Swartz of Willow Wisp Organic Farm in Pennsylvania grates raw beets atop salads or grills them over a low flame to coax out a smoky flavor. Red beets’ striking garnet hue makes for a stunning presentation on the plate. You’ve probably seen them served with chèvre, but other unexpected dairy options can also bring out the best in beets.
Beet Tartare
This crunchy vegetarian play on steak tartare, made with diced raw beets, shallots, capers, olive oil, and red wine vinegar, is full of bright, bold flavors. It blends easily with a subtly funky washed rind spread on toasted rye bread. The mixed-milk Chebris is also a home run with the tartare: The combination is creamy, nutty, and tangy, with satisfying textural contrast.
Cellars at Jasper Hill Von Trapp Oma + beet tartare
Onetik Chebris + beet tartare
La Tur–smeared toasts float atop borscht.
Roasted Beets
This preparation brings out beets’ sweetness, for sure, but when they’re well seasoned and accented with saltier or more potent cheeses, savory, meaty qualities also emerge. A pecorino rubbed with juniper berries and balsamic vinegar is a worthy companion, its flaky paste a crumbly foil to the tender taproot. Roasted beets also up the richness of an alreadydecadent stinky washed-rind goat cheese such as Paymaster from Crown Finish Caves; plus they intensify the chocolate flavor of the whiskey this wheel was bathed in.
TWIST ON A CLASSIC Iconic cheese accompaniments, reimagined
Chocolate The obvious dairy mate for Jeni’s Extra-Bitter Hot Fudge Sauce is ice cream, but—trust us—try the ganache-like elixir over Gorgonzola Dolce for a bite that touches all the taste receptors. jenis.com
Paolo Farabegoli Pecorino Ginepro + roasted beets
Crown Finish Caves Coach Farm Paymaster + roasted beets
Borscht
This vibrant red soup is a culinary staple across Eastern Europe and Russia—an estimated 70,000 gallons were served at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. The “right” way to make it is passionately debated, but there is some consensus around a variation made from meat stock, red beets, potatoes, carrots, onions, and plenty of dill (you can leave it chunky or puree it). Luciana Villanueva, cheese manager at Gus’s Community Market in San Francisco, suggests a dollop of buttery, tart crème fraîche over the soup instead of the usual sour cream for added complexity. Or try La Tur, a three-milk bloomy rind that has the creaminess from the cow, the tangy notes from the goat, and the nuttiness from the sheep in every bite. Slathered on mini toasts floating on the borscht, it’s a luscious match for the hearty soup.
Bellwether Farms Crème Fraîche + borscht
Caseificio dell’Alta Langa La Tur + borscht
Kristine Jannuzzi is a food and travel writer based in New York City.
18
culturecheesemag.com
CHEESE+ 2016
