Blog
Our Beloved, Rita: A Life of love and a Legacy of Hard Work and Extraordinary Customer Service To Her Community
It all started 70 years ago in the town of Linz, Austria where our beloved, Rita Shisler opened her eyes to see the world in front of her for the very first time. Rita was born on August 12th, 1946 to her parents, Ludwig and Henrietta Baumgartner. Rita spent the earliest years of her life in a Displaced Persons camp in Ebelsberg, Austria. Her father Ludwig, worked for the American soldiers in Ebelsberg while her mother, Henrietta, went to nursing school. Having lived in Ebelsberg for 6 years, Rita had run into a major health scare as a child, developing Diptheria, a serious infection of the nose and throat. The infection had become grave to a point where doctors questioned her survival because of it. Rita went on to say, “During the Diptheria outbreak, there was a large room where children with the infection would stay, eat, sleep and receive their medications. During the night, several kids were shipped out because they had gone to heaven.” Later on, Rita was sent to another camp for food and medications in an effort to battle this infection. Miraculously, Rita pulled through and conquered the odds.
In 1952, Rita and her parents moved to Germany when her sister, Minnie, was born. Following their stay in Germany, her father thoroughly enjoyed the work he did for the American soldiers back in Ebelsberg that he wanted to bring his family to America. In an effort to come to America, they applied through the Catholic Church and eventually found a sponsor in New York. Growing up, Rita’s time was dedicated to school while taking care of the children, the cooking and the cleaning at home, while somehow managing to carry on her duties at work at Akron City Hospital. Rita belonged to the German Club after coming over from Germany, where she participated in youth group events such as singing and dancing.
A time later, as a senior high school girl, Rita tested out of the Akron City Rubber Company. The Akron City Rubber Company was testing senior high school girls in office practice for shorthand and typing. From there, Rita was placed with the BF Goodrich program, but instead decided to move to Defiance, Ohio, where she continued her collegiate education as she had wanted to go to law school. As part of her collegiate resume, Rita continued classwork at The University of Akron and Kent State University in the years following. She also worked for the Holiday Inn where she was sent to the Culinary Arts program at Cornell University. Soon, thereafter, Rita met Dan Shisler, and it was a match made in heaven and the beginning of the marriage of Rita and cheese.
THE BIRTH OF A CHEESE HOUSE
Shisler’s Cheese House was originally owned by a gentleman named Fred Biery and was then called Biery Cheese. Dan’s father, “Grandpa Shisler” bought the cheese store from Fred Biery when he retired from the railroad, after Biery traveled with his wife to Switzerland to convince Grandpa Shisler to do so. Eventually, Dan bought the cheese store from his father, and Shisler’s Cheese House stands today at the corner of Kidron Rd and US-30.
As the cheese store was in its infancy stages, Rita didn’t quite have that firework passion for cheese that she has today, and rightly so with anyone that is initially put into foreign waters. But, overtime, Rita developed a passion for business, customer service and of course, a burning passion for cheese as Shisler’s Cheese House has become her livelihood. The work, the customers and the cheese keeps her coming back for more. As Rita said “I am too old to start a new career” and why should she tamper with something that isn’t broken. Never mess with a good thing, or in this case, a great thing! More importantly than the cheese she sells to her customers, are her customers themselves. She treats them like royalty, because they are royalty. She has built rapports and lifelong friendships with countless customers over the years and they continue to come back knowing that they will have a personalized touch to their purchase, and more importantly, their visit with Rita. “I feel like I have an audience when I’m out there”, as Rita always delivers for her customers, no matter the day or time. She always has room, in what seems like an unending schedule, to talk with her customers and make them apart of her family, something you cannot find these days.
Last Christmas, the store was overflowing with customers, as is the norm for that time of the year for the store. Rita noted that it was the greatest thing seeing three generations of Shislers working in the store that day… herself, her son Dennis and her granddaughter, Natalia.
Wishing you a wonderful, beautiful, Happy 70th Birthday, Rita! May the day, the smiles and the cheese be amazing on your birthday and every day that follows!
Pip Pip Cheddar-io: England, the Birthplace of Cheddar.
Cheddar
The most widely eaten cheese on this planet, Cheddar originated in Somerset, England around the late 12th Century and took its name from the Gorge or caves in the town of Cheddar that were used to store the cheese. The constant temperature and humidity of the caves provided a perfect environment for maturing the cheese. The town also gave its name to a unique part of the cheese-making process – known as “Cheddaring” – which is the process of turning the slabs of curd and piling them on top of each other in a controlled way to help drain the whey.It also stretches the curd. The process helps to create a harder cheese with firm body and is unique to Cheddar making.
Some History
Cheddar making in Somerset goes back more than 800 years with records from the King of England’s accounts (the so-called “Great Roll of the Pipe”) noting that in 1170 the King purchased 10,240 lbs (4.6 tonnes) of Cheddar cheese at a cost of a farthing a pound. The king at the time- Henry II – declared Cheddar cheese to be the best in Britain and his son Prince John (who reigned between 1199 and 1216) clearly thought the same as there are records of him continuing to buy the cheese for the great Royal banquets. In the reign of Charles 1 (1625 to 1649) parliamentary records show that the cheese made in Cheddar was sold before it was even made and indeed was only available at the court.
In 1724 Daniel Defoe devoted a chapter to Cheddar and its cheese in his book “A tour of the Islands of Great Britain”.
Today
Today Cheddar cheese is still made in Somerset but also all over the world. It is made on farms in the West Country and 14 makers are licensed to use the EU Protected Designation of Origin “West Country Farmhouse Cheddar”. The cheese must be made on a farm in the four counties of Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset from locally produced milk and using traditional Cheddar making techniques – including hand Cheddaring. West Country Farmhouse Cheddar is matured in the region and sold at a minimum age of 9 months and is subject to regular grading throughout its life.
Larger dairies throughout the UK also make Cheddar and this is sold at different ages. Mild Cheddar is typically sold at about 3 months of age; medium matured Cheddar at 5 to 6 months; mature Cheddar at around 9 months, Extra Mature at around 15 months and Vintage at 18 months or more.
As Cheddar matures so its taste develops from the young creamy taste of mild Cheddar to complex, lasting, slightly nutty flavours of mature Cheddar and beyond.
Major brands include Cathedral City, Pilgrims Choice, Colliers and Seriously Strong whilst many supermarkets will now include the creamery or the farm in which the cheese was made. For example, Davidstow, Taw Valley, Lake District, Caledonian Pembrokeshire, Lockerbie and Isle of Man in the case of major creameries and Alvis, Gould, Denhay, Parkham, Brue Farm, Quickes, Goodwood Estate or Keens, in the case of farm made cheeses. Cheddar is made in most areas of the country often as a balancing cheese when milk supply from a farm peaks.
Traditionally made Farmhouse varieties, which may be cloth bound, become significantly harder as they age; the texture becomes drier and the flavours generally more complex than their creamery counterparts. Some of the farm-made Cheddar uses unpasteurised (raw) milk which will tend to have rather more complex and stronger flavours, whilst others will use pasteurised milk. Cheese flavour will also vary depending on the time of year it was made and what the cows may have been eating at that time.
Creamery made Cheddar is increasingly being sold at a longer age in response to changing consumer tastes for tastier cheese. These more mature (extra mature or vintage) Cheddars often have a characteristic sweet, nutty flavour with a very long finish. Mild Cheddar remains popular as an every day cheese and is characterised by a gentle, creamy flavour and has the added advantage of slicing easily.
So whatever your preference there will be a Cheddar for you depending on its age, how it was made, where it was made and the time of year that it was made.
Tips when buying
If you can, try before you buy because every Cheddar will be slightly different. Find the one that you like and try to remember its name and its age (as defined by mild, medium mature etc). For a difference try one of the smoked or smoke flavoured Cheddars which many cheese shops now offer or the blended Cheddars where ingredients such as herbs, spices, Marmite© or fruits may have been blended with the matured cheese to produce a whole range of different taste sensations.
Feta Cheese vs. Goat Cheese: Quite the Cheesy Argument
Ever wonder where the differences lie between feta and goat cheese? While many people refer to feta as a goat cheese, feta actually has a higher sheep’s milk content than goats’ milk content. According to the regulations surrounding the official name ‘feta’, no more than 30% of a feta cheese’s milk can come from goats; at least 70% of the milk has to be sheep’s milk. If a feta cheese has more than 30% goats’ milk in it, it is not, officially speaking, a feta cheese.
Goat cheese, as can be inferred from the name, is made from goats’ milk. Therefore, the difference between feta cheese and goat cheese is that goat cheese is 100% goats’ milk, and feta cheese is made up of sheep’s milk, plus some varying amount of goats’ milk, up to, but not exceeding, 30% of the total milk used to make the cheese. Despite this difference in content, there are good reasons why feta and goat cheese often get mixed up.
Feta Cheese
Feta cheese has a long tradition of being made in Mediterranean countries, where it is required that feta be aged at least three months. Just like the milk content is checked to make sure that the cheese can be classified as feta, the amount of time the cheese has been allowed to ripen is also checked in order to ensure that it can accurately be called a feta cheese.
The actual name ‘feta’ comes from Greek, meaning ‘a slice or a morsel’, and feta cheese is closely associated with many Greek dishes. Many recipes calling for feta cheese are variations on Greek salads, which often feature feta and olives, or variations on cooked feta, such as what has come to be known as Spanakopita, a Greek puff pastry filled with feta cheese, spinach, and spices.
Goat Cheese
Unlike feta cheese, goat cheese is traditionally made from 100% goats’ milk. Most common in France, goat cheeses are usually aged for a shorter period of time than feta cheeses. While fetas must be aged at least three months, many variants of goat cheese are ready for consumption very soon after the cheese has been formed and salted during the goat cheese making process. Other variants of goat cheese can be aged much longer, with some being aged for a month and others having three months or more to mature.
Generally speaking, the longer the goat cheese is aged, the stronger the flavor of the cheese becomes. When in France, it is a delight to explore the many varieties of goat cheese that are some of the favorite French cheeses. Trying both young and aged goat cheeses provides a very different experience of the taste of goat cheese; if you’re buying goat cheese in a shop where there is no shopkeeper to advise you on flavor, remember that the outside rind of a goat cheese becomes progressively darker with age. If you’d like a young goat cheese, choose the whitest rind you see; the darker rinds have more mature goat cheeses inside.
Difference Between Feta Cheese and Goat Cheese Tastes
While both of these cheeses are white in color and on the ‘soft’ side of the cheese spectrum, their flavors are actually quite different from one another. While the dominant flavor most people experience in feta cheese is a salty taste, goat cheeses are usually experienced as soft and sweet in flavor. Of course, different varieties of goat cheese (aged different lengths of time) have different flavors; however, aging goat cheese will not make it taste saltier. Instead, the flavor will become stronger in aged cheeses, but stronger in complexity, not in saltiness.
Both feta and goat cheese can be eaten cold or hot. Experiment with different types of recipes for these two delectable cheeses and you’re sure to find ways that you enjoy both types of cheese!
The “hole” story behind Swiss Cheese… Get it?
For more than a century, the holes in Swiss cheeses such as Emmental have been attributed to carbon dioxide given off by bacteria. But that’s not the whole story, and now the Swiss have determined exactly why the holes form the way they do.
The culprit? Hay.
A Taste Of Heaven: Sharp Cheddar Mac N’ Cheese with Bacon
Cooked bacon adds smoky flavor to the cheese and bread crumb topping in this flavorful and creamy macaroni and cheese casserole. Feel free to make it without the addition of green onions. I thought they went well with the bacon flavor, but if you’re not a fan of onions, you can leave them out. Serve this macaroni and cheese with sliced tomatoes or a tossed salad for a satisfying family meal.
INGREDIENTS
- 8 ounces elbow macaroni, about 2 cups dry
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- dash garlic powder
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 6 slices bacon, cooked, drained, crumbled
- 2 cups (8 ounces) sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
- Topping
- 1 cup soft bread crumbs
- 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons butter, melted
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 Servings
PREPARATION
Cook macaroni in boiling salted water following package directions. Drain the macaroni in a colander, rinse with hot water, and set aside.
Heat oven to 350° F (180° C/Gas 4). Lightly grease a 2 1/2-quart baking dish.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the 3 tablespoons of butter. Add the green onions and garlic powder. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Add the flour and stir until well blended and smooth.
Continue cooking, stirring, for 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk and cook, stirring, until thickened. Stir in salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
Set 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese aside and stir the remaining 1 1/2 cups of cheese into the sauce. Continue cooking and stirring until the cheese has melted.
Combine the cheese sauce with the drained macaroni and then spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle bacon evenly over the casserole and then top with the reserved 1/2 cup of cheese.
Toss the bread crumbs with 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of melted butter and sprinkle over the casserole. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until lightly browned and bubbly.
Stop by Shisler’s Cheese House and let us help you make this tasty lunch or dinner creation with our supply of smoked bacon and sharp cheddar!
5 of the Healthiest Cheeses You Never Knew About… or Did You?
Cheese gets a might bad rap for clogging arteries and packing on the pounds. But just because you shouldn’t eat an entire platter of Paula Deen’s cheese balls doesn’t mean you have to avoid cheese altogether.
Cheese can be both delicious and a great source of lean protein, calcium, phosphorus, and other health benefits — if you choose the right varieties. Here are five cheeses that belong on any shopping list.
1. Feta
A key component of Greek cuisine, feta is lower in fat and calories than most cheeses, says Natalie Caine-Bish, an associate professor of nutrition and dietetics at Kent State University. A one-ounce serving — enough to make a Greek salad lover happy — has 4 grams of protein and only 74 calories.
Caine-Bish says feta’s characteristic strong flavor means you can get away with using less cheese without feeling cheated. Feta’s salty flavor makes it a good choice to crumble on salads and soups. It also pairs well with sweeter produce, like watermelon or sweet potatoes.
Tip: Although domestic feta is often made with cow’s milk, Greek feta is made from sheep or goat’s milk, which makes it a good choice for someone with problems digesting bovine dairy products. Keep in mind, though, that unpasteurized feta and other soft cheeses have a higher risk of containing the Listeria bacteria than other cheeses — so be sure to buy pasteurized feta if you’ll be serving it to a pregnant woman or someone with a compromised immune system.
2. String cheese
Seriously. String cheese, that favorite kid snack, is a great choice for adults too.
For starters, if you choose string cheese made of part-skim mozzarella, it’s low in calories and high in protein (a one-ounce serving has 71 calories and 7 grams of protein).
What’s more, string cheese isn’t actually a processed cheese — mozzarella naturally behaves in that stringy way, so it counts as a whole food. (Just make sure to buy string cheese that’s 100 percent mozzarella.)
Tip: String cheese is “quick and easy — grab and go, and already portioned out for you,” says Silvia Veri, the nutrition supervisor at Beaumont Health System’s Weight Control Center in Royal Oak, Michigan. The fact that it’s prepackaged makes it handy for healthy snacks at work, between errands, or at home.
3. Parmesan
Like feta, Parmesan is a great choice because just a little packs a potent, nutty punch.
Parmigiano-Reggiano comes from the Parma area of Italy, and its strong flavor has inspired a lot of buzz throughout history: Samuel Pepys famously buried his Parmesan cheese to keep it safe during the Great Fire of London, and Boccacio, in The Decameron, imagines a mountain of Parmesan inhabited by macaroni and ravioli makers.
Parmesan is relatively low in calories (110 in a one-ounce serving), but it’s high in sodium (449 milligrams for the same serving size), so be sure to use it in moderation.
Tip: Try shaving pieces onto a salad or eating small slices with ripe apples or pears, in addition to grating it over pasta and pizza.
4. Swiss
Swiss is another strong cheese that’s good for you. What we call Swiss cheese is often Swiss Emmentaler (or Emmental), though other cheeses with a similar taste and hole-studded texture are sometimes lumped in as well.
Swiss is a popular cheese, and Caine-Bish likes it specifically for that reason. Since it comes in a number of varieties, including low-sodium or low-fat, it’s easy to find a version that fits your dietary needs.
As a hard cheese, Swiss is also richer in phosphorus than nearly all soft cheeses. According to Caine-Bish, “Calcium and phosphorus are key to bone formation and to maintaining bone density” — important for women of any age.
Tip: Try adding a slice to your sandwich or grating a few ounces into scrambled or baked eggs. Small slices or cubes make a great snack, especially with fruit instead of crackers.
5. Cottage cheese
There’s a reason dieters love cottage cheese: It’s high in protein, low in fat (if you buy a low-fat variety), and versatile enough to add to most any meal or snack.
“You can eat it with almost anything,” says Veri. “You can eat it with veggies and make it savory, or add fruit and cinnamon and make it sweet.”
A one-ounce serving of low-fat cottage cheese has 3 grams of protein and only 20 calories. Like all cheeses, it’s also high in calcium.
Indian paneer, Mexican queso fresco, and other types of farmer’s cheese are simply pressed versions of cottage cheese. If you are the DIY-type, this cheese and its firmer derivatives are some of the easiest cheeses to make at home.
Tip: Cottage cheese can have a lot of sodium, especially when it’s low-fat or nonfat. Be sure to check the nutrition label on the container before buying it. Some companies, such as Lucerne and Friendship Dairy, make no-salt-added versions.
Gouda: Over 7,000 Years in the Making!
Vintage Gouda may be aged for five years while even some cheddar could be aged for as long as a decade. They’re both under-ripe youngsters compared with yellowish clumps – found on the necks and chests of Chinese mummies – now revealed to be the world’s oldest cheese.
The Chinese cheese dates back as early as 1615 BC, making it by far the most ancient ever discovered. Thanks to the quick decay of most dairy products, there isn’t even a runner-up. The world’s best-aged cheese seems to be a lactose-free variety that was quick and convenient to make and may have played a role in the spread of herding and dairying across Asia.
“We not only identified the product as the earliest known cheese, but we also have direct … evidence of ancient technology,” says study author Andrej Shevchenko, an analytical chemist at Germany’sMax Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics. The method was “easy, cheap … It’s a technology for the common people.”
The cheese, like the mummies, owes its existence to the extraordinary conditions at Small River Cemetery Number 5, in northwestern China. First documented by a Swedish archaeologist in the 1930s, it sits in the fearsome Taklamakan Desert, one of the world’s largest. A mysterious Bronze Age people buried dozens of their own atop a large sand dune near a now-dry river, interring their kin underneath what looks like large wooden boats. The boats were wrapped so snugly with cowhide that it’s as if they’d been “vacuum-packed,” Shevchenko says.
The combination of dry desert air and salty soil prevented decay to an extraordinary degree. The remains and grave goods were freeze-dried, preserving the light-brown hair and strangely non-Asian facial features of the dead along with their felt hats, wool capes and leather boots. Analysis of the plant seeds and animal tissues in the tombs showed the burials date to 1450 to 1650 BC.
Some of the bodies had oddly shaped crumbs on their necks and chests. By analyzing the proteins and fats in these clumps, Shevchenko and his colleagues determined that they’re definitely cheese, not butter or milk. It’s not clear why people were buried with bits of cheese on their bodies, Shevchenko says, though perhaps it was food for the afterlife.
The analysis also showed the mummies’ cheese was made by combining milk with a “starter,” a mix of bacteria and yeast. This technique is still used today to make kefir, a sour, slightly effervescent dairy beverage, and kefir cheese, similar to cottage cheese.
If the people of the cemetery did indeed rely on a kefir starter to make cheese, they were contradicting the conventional wisdom. Most cheese today is made not with a kefir starter but with rennet, a substance from the guts of a calf, lamb or kid that curdles milk. Cheese was supposedly invented by accident when humans began carrying milk in bags made of animal gut.
Making cheese with rennet requires the killing of a young animal, Shevchenko points out, and the kefir method does not. He argues that the ease and low cost of the kefir method would have helped drive the spread of herding throughout Asia from its origins in the Middle East. Even better, both kefir and kefir cheese are low in lactose, making them edible for the lactose-intolerant inhabitants of Asia. The new results are reported in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Scientists have found fragments of cheese-making strainers in Poland that date back more than 7,000 years, and there are Danish pots from 5,000 years ago that hold what may be butter or cheese, says bioarchaeologist Oliver Craig of the University of York in Britain. But he agrees that Shevchenko’s team has good evidence that their cheese is the record-holder for age.
Craig is more cautious about the new study’s suggestion that the cheese was made with kefir starter rather than rennet. That’s harder to prove, he says, because the proteins could have decayed too much to provide a definitive answer. He thinks a study of animal bones or pottery is needed to confirm that the cheese at the cemetery was part of a technological spread across Asia.
Whether the cheese was common in its day, it’s exceptional now. Usually if a dairy product is left to its own devices, “bacteria will get in and start to eat it away, liquefy it,” Craig says. “It’s just amazing it survived.”
The Top-15 Most Highly-Touted Cheeses In The World
There’s so much more to the wonderful world of cheese than your typical grocery store brick would suggest. Thousands of artisan cheeses around the world are produced via their own intricate and labor-intensive processes, which create complex and stunning flavor profiles. There are many wonderful American-made and imported fine cheeses that won’t break the bank … but none of those are going to appear on this list. Below are 15 of the world’s most expensive cheeses. Many are incredibly rare; their decadent ingredients make them a fromage fiend’s dream (but your wallet’s worst nightmare), and give the term “indulgence” a whole new meaning.
1. BEAUFORT D’ETE – $45 PER POUND
Also known as the Prince of Gruyères, this alpine hunk is the stuff that fondue dreams are made of. Produced from raw cow’s milk, this melts perfectly on anything and has a hazelnut finish. It’s also been around for centuries.
2. GORAU GLAS – $20 TO $40 PER POUND
This won a Gold British Cheese award in 2002 and was acknowledged as the priciest British cheese out there. It’s a soft, small batch blue that is made using a labor-intensive process in Wales.
3. ROGUE RIVER BLUE – $40 TO $50 PER POUND
Truly the crown of Oregon, Rogue River Blue is a smoky, creamy blue that’s been aged in pear brandy-soaked grape leaves. Not only are its ingredients divine, it is also very seasonal as it’s made from raw summer’s milk (hence its hefty price tag).
4. WINNIMERE – $30 TO $45 PER POUND
This highly-desired cheesed wonder won Best of Show at the 2013 American Cheese Society conference. When it comes to expensive cheese, this one is actually relatively affordable. One spruce-wrapped wheel costs about $45 and includes the wintry seasonal flavors of berries, smoked meat, and forest.
5. CACIO BUFALA – $45 PER POUND
Buffalo’s milk has around twice the fat of cow’s milk, so it produces some of the creamiest cheese in the world. This cheese is made with time-tested techniques and aged 8-12 months in the caves of Casa Madaio. It has a delicate, buttery flavor and melts in your mouth.
6. JERSEY BLUE – $40 TO $45 PER POUND
Originally from the UK, Jersey cows produce milk with a very high level of butterfat content, which makes this cheese, manufactured in Switzerland, especially fudgy and creamy in texture. The blue bite is balanced out by the raw milk’s earthy flavor.
7. EPOISSES BY GERMAIN – $45 PER POUND
It might be one of the stinkiest cheeses on the planet, but it’s also one of the most famous. Don’t let the stench fool you: inside the orange-washed rind is a runny masterpiece that tastes like the earth it was made from. This particular wheel is rinsed with Marc de Bourgogne, which is a brandy made from nearby vineyards in France.
8. LORD OF THE HUNDREDS – $15 TO $20 PER POUND
Lord of the Hundreds hails from East Sussex and is made from local sheep’s milk. Like many sheep’s milk cheeses, it is slightly dry and sharp, but has an overall nutty flavor. It is rustic, approachable, and made by people who really know their cheese.
9. OLD FORD – $50 PER POUND
This firm, earthy beauty has elegant floral notes and just the right amount of bite. Since goats yield far less milk than cows do, their cheese is often made fresh and young. However, Old Ford is aged and pressed to perfection by hand. It’s time and labor-intensive, but totally worth it.
10. CACIOCAVALLO PODOLICO – $50 PER POUND
Though the name translates to “Horse Cheese” in Italian, it’s actually made from the milk of avery rare breed of cow called the Podolica. The cows also happen to munch on wild strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and more, which give the cheese its distinct flavor.
11. EXTRA OLD BITTO – $150 PER POUND
China is the place for some of the world’s most expensive and oldest cheeses. The Bitto was purchased by a Hong Kong importer and was made in 1997. Since most Bitto is aged for 10 years, this particular stock is extra rare.
12. WYKE FARMS CHEDDAR – $200 PER POUND
Cheddar is a classic, a staple of any pantry. It makes sandwiches taste better, pairs perfectly with most beers and wines, and is the perfect snack. Wyke Farms turned one of the most traditional cheeses into something extraordinary by infusing it with gold leaf and white truffle.
13. WHITE STILTON GOLD – $450 PER POUND
This is as opulent as it gets. The folks at Long Clawson Dairy first made this cheese for the Christmas season, and it’s now a favorite among celebs. It’s made with real gold flakes and gold liqueur.
14. MOOSE CHEESE – $455 PER POUND
To find cheese that’s worth nearly $500/lb, you’ll have to go to Bjursholm, Sweden and visit the Elk House, which is the only place in the world that makes moose cheese. In fact, the cheese is made from three domesticated moose named Gullan, Haelga, and Juna. Together they yield about 600 pounds of cheese per year.
15. PULE – $576 PER POUND
This crumbly delicacy comes from Serbia and isn’t made from the milk of a cow, goat, sheep, or buffalo … it comes from a donkey. It takes 25 liters of donkey milk just to make one kilogram of cheese.
Did You Know: Average American consumed over thirty-eight pounds of cheese and still growing as per International Dairy Foods Association.
Healthy Eats: Bocconcini Salad With Figs & Pears
Making cheese is a simple process. Take some fresh milk and heat it up to 45-50 °C, add an acidic component like lemon juice to curdle the milk, strain the off the liquid whey and you have cheese. This process has remained unchanged since the beginning of cheese-making time.
Scientists have analyzed the residual fatty acids found in unglazed pottery discovered from around Europe. The results showed that humans have been making and consuming bovine based cheese products for more than 7,000 years. The pottery, which is perforated, is believed to have been used as a cheese sieve or strainer.
Seven thousand years ago we were beginning to smelter metal, invented the wheel and for the most part the human populace was lactose intolerant. Lactose intolerance happens when the small intestine does not make enough of the enzyme lactase. This enzyme is essential in the digesting of lactose, a naturally occurring sugar present in all dairy products.
Somehow we had discovered that the cheese-making process allows for maximum nutrient absorption from the milk while drastically reducing its lactose content, allowing the lactose intolerant populace to consume it without getting sick.
True mozzarella cheese is made from buffalo milk curds kneaded and pulled while repeatedly dipped in hot whey. They are hand shaped into tennis-ball sized bals. This process yields a cheese that has a spongy texture that easily absorbs the flavours of other ingredients.
These cheese balls are then packaged in salted whey to preserve them. Clearly I’m not speaking about the rubbery blocks of North American, factory produced mozzarella. When the mozzarella is shaped into smaller balls it’s known in its singular as bocconcino or its plural as bocconcini, which translates to little mouthfuls in Italian. In essence, bocconcini are small pieces of fresh mozzarella.
Goat’s milk is slowly becoming more popular in Canada, mostly due to the increase in those individuals who are lactose intolerant. Although goat’s milk is not free of lactose, it does have less than cow’s milk, making it easier to digest.
As well, goat’s milk forms a softer curd and does not need to be homogenized, as the fat globules are small and well-emulsified, which means the cream remains suspended in the milk instead of rising to the top, as in raw cow milk, once again making goat milk easier to digest.
So what happens when we make bocconcini from goat’s milk? We get a soft textured cheese that is easy to work with and has an exceptionally reduced amount of lactose, and who better to make this cheese than the Kawarthas’ very own Crosswind Farm?
I suggest trying this week’s recipe provided by Judy Filion, a Crosswind Farm employee and up-and-coming area chef.
Baked Bocconcini with Fig and Pear Salad
- 1 pound Crosswind Farm Bocconcini
- 1 ½ cups bread crumbs
- 10 roasted figs, cut in half
- 2 pears, cored and sliced in thin wedges
- 2 lbs arugula or mixed greens
- ¼ cup toasted almonds
Drain the bocconcini of its excess oil and liquid. Place bocconcini and bread crumbs into a plastic bag and gently massage the bread crumbs into the bocconcini. Spread the bocconcini onto a parchment lined baking sheet and let them rest in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours.
In a preheated oven, bake the bocconcini at 450°F oven until lightly browned, about 7-10 minutes. Remove cheese from oven and allow it to cool down. While the cheese is cooling prepare the remaining salad ingredients by gently grilling the figs on a barbecue or roasting them in the oven. In a medium-sized bowl toss the leaves with a bit of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Dress the top of the salad with bocconcini, figs, pears and almonds and serve immediately.
Yields: 4-6 portions
Mozzarella: The Papa Of Fresh Cheese!
Mozzarella is a very famous fresh cheese, made from goat’s milk, cow’s milk or in some cases, buffalo’s milk by means of an intricate and complex process by the name of “pasta filata method”. Originally from southern Italy, its name is quiet common for many different types of Italian cheeses made using “spinning” and then “cutting” this original pasta coming from milk : The Italian verb “mozzare” means exactly “to cut”.
Some common and famous types are:
- Buffalo mozzarella made from domesticated buffalo milk;
- Mozzarella fior di latte (or simply Fiordilatte) is made from fresh pasteurized, or also unpasteurized, cow’s milk:
- Low-moisture mozzarella, which is made from whole or part skimmed milk, and widely used in the food-service industry;
- Smoked mozzarella (affumicata) called in this way for the treatment that is receives which gives it a very particular and special smell and taste;
Fresh mozzarella is usually white in its common visual expression, but this colour can vary seasonally to a very mild yellow depending on the specific diet with which the animal is fed. It is a semi-soft cheese and traditionally served the day after the production, but can be kept “in brine” for a week or even more if sold in vacuum-sealed packages. Low-moisture mozzarella can also be kept refrigerated for up to a month. It is also used for many types of pizza and many very famous and tasty pasta dishes (Cooking Mozzarella) but it can be also served with slices of tomatoes and basil in the very typical “insalata caprese”.
History
A bufala is a female water buffalo. Hers is the milk – rare and expensive – from which mozzarella is traditionally made. These days, however, you’re more likely to find a version made from cows’ milk, which is more readily available and much less costly.
The history of mozzarella is closely linked to that of the water buffalo. How and when did the animals arrive in Italy? Some say it was Hannibal, others talk about Arab invasions and still others say that India was the source. What we do know is that they began to be raised in the 12th century, at a time when many peasants, fleeing war and invasions, abandoned their land. That land turned marshy, which is exactly what water buffalo like. Several centuries later, northern Italy became concerned about cleaning up the marshlands, and in 1930, the south began a massive agrarian reform. The herds of water buffalo, the “black mine” that produced “white gold,” dwindled. Cow’s milk began to replace bufala milk in the recipe. Then, in 1940 the Nazis destroyed the remaining herds. After the war, water buffalo imported from India were reintroduced to Italy, but the cheese introduced to North America by Italian immigrants in New York at the turn of the 20th century and in Canada around 1949 was made with cow’s milk.
Aside from the milk, mozzarella’s other distinguishing feature is its stringy texture. After the whey is discarded, the curds are “strung” or “spun” to achieve the characteristic pasta filata. The cheese is then cut (in Italian, mozzare means to cut), immersed in water to firm it up, then covered in a light brine, in which it is kept until it is eaten.
Etymology of the name
The name was mentioned in a cookbook witten by Bartolomeo Scappi in the 1570: “milk cream, fresh butter, ricotta cheese, fresh mozzarella and milk” (…).
The name comes from the Neapolitan dialect (from Naples, the capital of Campania) and it is the diminutive of “mozza” which, as we saw, means “cut” or, if you want from the verb “mozzare” (to cut) and it rappresents the technique of working the pasta coming from milk.
A very similar cheese is “Scamorza” which probably derives from scamozzata which leterally means “without a shirt”, reffered to the appearance of these cheeses “without” hard surface covering typical of many other dry cheeses.
Types
“Mozzarella di bufala campana” as mentioned before is a specific quality made from the buffalo’s milk: these are raised in specific areas of the territory of the regions of Lazio and Campania (Italy).
Unlike other types, that can derive from non-Italian milk and often semi-coagulated milk, the buffalo mozzarella holds the status of “Denominazione di Origine Protetta” (protected designation of origin – PDO 1996) under the European Union, While in 1996 mozzarella was recognized as a Specialità Tradizionale Garantita (STG) which translated means “Traditional Speciality Guaranteed”.
Fior di latte or simply Fiordilatte is a mozzarella made only from cow’s milk (not from buffalo). The quality of this product is inferior compared to the one from buffalo and as consequence also the price of this type of mozzarella is lower. It is for this reason that is always important the certification of the label because, especially abroad it is not unusual to find “mozzarella” not clearly labeled as deriving from buffalo made instead from cow’s milk.
Composition
You can find two type of Mozzarella: fresh or partly dried.
- The fresh one is usually shaped into balls that weigh 80-100 grams, for a diameter that usually is not more than 5- 6 centimetres. Specific brands can nevertheless make balls that can reach 1 kilogram for or about 10-12 centimetres in diameter. This fresh version is usually soaked in salt water (brine) or whey, rarely with the addition of citric acid;
- The partly dried mozzarella is more compact and dense, usually used to prepare dishes cooked in the oven, such as “pasta al forno”, pizza, etc.
It is possible to twist the “pasta filante” with the result that the final shape is a plait: this type of mozzarella is called “Treccia”. and it can have many length according to the final destination: Sunday 13 of June 2006 after 6 hours of work, Avellino won the Guinness World Record with the longest Mozzarella Treccia in the world – 106,16 meters. But usually the dimension is from few centimeters to few decimeters.
An other interesting and very typical type is the so called “Mozzarella affumicata” which is a is smoked varietes, very tasty and with a light brown collor due to the smoke that is on the surfice of the cheese.
“Nodini” is an other type of mozzarella: the term means little knots and in fact he shapes is made by weaving once the “pasta filante” and the dimension is typically around 3-4 cm. Similar to bocconcini, but a unique knot shape, this cheese gives a nicer texture and ability to expose more surface with about the same volume.
“Mozzarella Sfoglia” , literally “mozzarella sheet” is a cheese inspired by traditional puff pastry; especially in Puglia, it is the traditional base for the preparation of sweet and savoury recipes, stuffed to create original hot and cold dishes.
Several variants of mozzarella are specifically formulated for pizza: “Cooking Mozzarella” is a low-moisture Mozzarella cheese: as you can understand it contains less water than real one”.
Mozzarella can be shaped in very particular ways and artistic shapes such as elephant, pig, dummy, which are widely produced in Southern Italy: the aim of this idea is to distract where possible kids from eating junk food/candies and so for snacks and focusing on high calcium and healthy cheese instead but keeping the fun and interest high.
“Burrata” meaning “buttered”: it is a dreamy fresh cheese that consists of a Mozzarella pouch, rather than a ball, filled with a delicate milky-mousse. When you bite into it, the fillinggently oozes out. Delicious!
Stop into Shisler’s Cheese House and pick up some of your own Mozzarella!
