Cheese in season
I’ve learned from my years of being a vegetarian the pleasure of eating food that’s in season. Often you have to pay attention or you’ll miss your chance to enjoy delicacies when they briefly appear at the market.
Recently it was Meyer lemons and fiddleheads, and at the end of the summer we can look forward to fresh corn and heirloom tomatoes. But for all my awareness of what’s going on down at the farm, it never occurred to me to look at cheese in a seasonal light.
It seems obvious, right? Animals that produce the best milk are grazing on the new grasses of spring or the lush pastures of summer. The cheese created from this milk is either eaten while fresh, or if the recipe calls for it, after it has been aged a few months. So, a cheese has an optimal time to be enjoyed, just like the summer tomato.
I really didn’t know that.
I thought good cheese was something I could have anytime I wanted, my wallet permitting. Turns out when some items appear in the cheese cooler, you had better grab a piece no matter what state your finances are in.
Take the Burrata that recently showed up at work. It’s an extremely perishable cow’s milk cheese from the south of Italy. It is rarely seen outside of its region, let alone in the Midwest.
Burrata is pulled mozzarella wrapped around fresh ricotta that when cut, oozes and pools little puddles of watery goodness everywhere.
The texture is both chewy from the mozzarella and creamy from the ricotta. It’s mellow, smooth, and meant to be enjoyed the day it is made. In Chicago, the best I could do was buy one as soon as possible to share with Erin and Jared.
Burrata is packaged in a plastic bag adorned with the leaf of an Italian wildflower, the asphodel. To serve, first unwrap then drain off the excess water and slide the cheese onto a cutting board.
I served it with crusty bread and extra virgin olive oil, but Burrata’s mild flavor would also be complimented with roasted red peppers or tomatoes.
If you can find one of these babies, don’t hesitate. Just buy.
I also want to recommend for anyone interested in good cheese that they purchase Cheese Primer by Steven Jenkins. We have a copy kicking around work for reference and I recently purchased my own copy to read at home. I’ve found it extremely useful and instructive.
The information is arranged by country and region, and highlights famous cheeses and ones that you’d be hard pressed to find. Definitely a must have for cheese enthusiasts!
