Explore a world of cheeses with Cheese Traveler, Trevor Thomas, CCP
Cooking, Pairing, Education
Hello Cheese Enthusiast!
According to the National Day Calendar(R), July is National Grilling Month. No argument here!!....I love grilling foods and need little or no excuse to fire up the barbeque.
While I am warming up the grill in preparation for tonight’s dinner, I thought I would take a few minutes to look at “Grilling Cheeses”. Americans may love their Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, but the rest of the world has been into grilling cheese for quite some time.
Read MoreHello Cheese Enthusiast!
Shortly after being elected president for a fourth term in 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was asked what he would like to do when he retired. “I would like to open a cheese shop in Hyde Park like that kept by my friend, Monsieur Pierre Androuët in Paris,” he replied.
So who was this man that our 32nd President of the United States admired so much?....and more importantly, what was so special about his cheese shop??
Read MoreOh what a year it’s been!...I started this cheese blog 1 year ago (54 weeks ago) and since then, I have flown dozens of flights, traveled to 16 different states (not including Canada), and have written about 100 of my favorite cheeses (truth is…they all might be my favorite!)
I don’t think anyone could have predicted how 2020 was going to have turned out…and try as they might, I do not think anyone will be able to predict where this is all heading and if (and when) we will ever return to normal…whatever normal will look like.
Read MoreHello Cheese Enthusiast!
Love…It starts with the perfect pairing!...and nothing loves cheese more than honey…except maybe wine, but that is a story for another day.
I work in the cheese industry and I can tell you from firsthand experience that people are always asking about the perfect cheese pairing, what item to pair with what cheese, what things don’t go together, the list could go on and on.
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This week’s entry is/was part of a cheese and wine event that I was supposed to teach in the Spring.
The plan was to talk about five different cheeses and how the cheesemaker used nature to overcome the problem at hand.
Let me better explain by using an example from my fellow ACS CCP, Reed Pattison – “One can complement nature, or contrast it…Take the example of a river…One could simply build a bridge over it and complement it, or contrast it by diverting the river to another area”. The more I thought about it, he was totally right and I was reminded of the stories of my grandfather and great grandfather who worked on the construction of the Hoover Dam. These 21,000 man had to stop the flow of the mighty Colorado River and divert the water into diversion tunnels, all before the construction of the dam could begin. That is a contrast!
Read MoreHello Cheese Enthusiast!
As I am entering my third month of no travel, I find that while I may not be able to get on a plane, my mind is free to travel at will…no TSA, no lines, no tickets needed, I just close my eyes and settle in to ‘first class’, as my mind circles the globe….Join me!...I saved you a seat!
Nine years ago, I had the pleasure of traveling to Switzerland for ten glorious days.
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The subject of rennet is one that I have wanted to share for some time…Why?...Well, when I got my first job behind a cheese counter, my boss Randy told me it would be one of the first (and most consistent) questions that I would be asked while working behind the counter (other than ‘Can I freeze cheese?’)
He spent the rest of the morning trying to explain what rennet was, why is was important in cheese making, and more importantly which cheeses contained animal rennet. While he did the best job he could, I learned over the years that there was much more to the story than he shared. Cheese education and research was difficult back then, as there were only a few books out on the market (mostly for home cheese making) and the internet was years away from becoming a reality.
Read MoreHello Cheese Enthusiast!
The inspiration for this week’s post came from my Aunt Jeri…She has always been an inspiration to me, so it was not a surprise when she shared a new recipe with me, that it might just make a great story to share with you…
The recipe that she found in her local paper was for Gougères. Not familiar with them??...Let me share a little background on them and the “secret ingredient” that makes them SO good!
Read MoreHello Fellow Cheese Lover!
I just came back from a visit to my three local supermarkets…just trying to pick up a few essentials. I am not sure how the grocery store conditions are near your home, but they are still pretty rough where I live. While it may not surprise me that people are hoarding some pantry stocking items, it does surprise me as items that are abundant as black pepper are out of stock. Hmmmm…that is a head scratcher! Well, while in the spice aisle, I decided to look closer through…
Read MoreHello Fellow (soon to be?) Travelers!
As a Californian, our “Stay-at-Home” orders were declared on March 19th by our County, and by our Governor.
On April 28th, our County announced that it would be letting these orders expire on April 30th. So what does this mean?...Do I still need a mask to go to the store?...Can I enjoy a sit down dinner at my local family restaurant?...and more importantly, can small businesses across the State (and Country) open back up?... I have dear friends that are so deeply impacted by these closures, and I pray that they are able to hold on until America can safely come out of hibernation from The Great Pause.
Read MoreHello Fellow Cheese Lovers!
This is one cheese that I have been wanting to write about for the longest time…It is the story of a cheese that could have been found in my first cheese counter, but I only fell in love with this cheese once we started selling Girolle® units and could truly taste this cheese the way that it was meant to be enjoyed (more on that later).
If this cheese is new to you, this raw cow’s milk cheese was developed in a monastery in Switzerland in the 1100’s. These little 1.5 lb. to 2 lb. drums have a washed rind and have been lovingly aged on Spruce boards from 75 to 180 days.
Read MoreHello Fellow Non-Travelers!
Two weeks ago I asked my fellow readers to take part and rally around the “Support our Cheesemakers” event on Facebook and Instagram, as well as the live stream on Facebook to kick it off.
I am happy to say that I participated in this event, along many friends, family, and coworkers across the country.
The “live stream” was hosted by Nathan Aldridge of Gourmet Foods International (or just simply GFI), an Atlanta based specialty foods and cheese distributor. Nathan heads up their Cheese Education efforts.
Read MoreAfter last week’s post, I could not stop thinking (and reading) about the current state of the dairy market. It got me thinking about this majestic animal that can be found (and utilized) on nearly every continent on the planet. Some for dairy, some for meat, or sometimes as a draught animal.
So, for inspiration for this week’s post, I simply turned to my camera roll and scrolled through the 1000’s of photos until I was reminded of this one from 2016.
Read MoreHello Fellow Non-Travelers!
As I am entering my fourth week of “Shelter in Place”, I am reading around the country as both dairies and cheesemakers alike are struggling. Unlike a manufacturing plant or a small business, dairies do not have the ability of just “stopping” the milk from flowing. Dairy cows can produce up to 20 quarts of milk per day and they need to be milked. Many of these dairies are in contracts with cheesemakers, so again, it is hard to stop this locomotive, especially when you understand that this situation could turn around quickly and that the demand could then outweigh the supply. Not an easy (nor quick) fix.
So both dairies and cheesemakers need your support!
Read MoreHello Fellow Non-Travelers!
These last few weeks, while difficult, have also been filled with gratitude as I reconnect with family and friends over the phone and computer.
This “Shelter in Place” order has slowed life down, and I can better appreciate the small things in life that sadly were overlooked in our previous “hurried lives”.
I have also used this time to get creative and try several new things that I have been wanting to do, but could never seem to “find the time”. Two weeks ago, my work asked me if I could create a video to show some recipes that I have been doing at home in my kitchen. Today’s “Video Post” is one of those video entries.
Read MoreHello Fellow Non-Travelers!
The world sure has changed an awful lot since my last week’s post. Many across the country are experiencing “Shelter in Place” orders, or “Essential Travel Only”…only to find that when you get to the store, many store shelves have been picked clean and retailers are doing the best they can to keep shelves stocked, while trying to keep an unsettled public fed and happy.
When last week’s post came out, we had already been house bound for several days.
We did a lot of cleaning and organizing those first few days, then settled into catching up on a good book, as well as catching up with some good friends and family by phone.
By week two, we had enjoyed some great home cooked meals and had started catching up on some movies/series on Netflix….But what to snack on while watching these? If you are at our house, it’s…..
Read MoreHello Fellow Cheese Travelers!
Many people across the country are finding themselves homebound this week. A great time to finish some projects, cook, catch up with family and friends, and of course, pick up a good book.
This week’s reading selection has been on my “TO READ” list for some time: Cheddar: A Journey to the Heart of America’s Most Iconic Cheese by cheesemonger extraordinaire, Gordon Edgar. I had read his book Cheesemonger: A Life on the Wedge years before and thoroughly enjoyed it, so I knew this book would be a great read.
Read MoreHello Fellow Cheese Travelers!
In looking for inspiration for this week’s post, I looked no further that my note book and my photo files…page after page of hundreds of cheeses that I have enjoyed across the country and the thousands of photos that accompany them.
This story was meant to be told closer to last Christmas, but just like many people, I was swept up in shopping, family dinners, etc. and this story sat patiently upon my desk, waiting until I dedicated the time to sit and tell such an important story.
Read MoreHello Fellow Travelers!
I often am asked what my favorite cheese is…a difficult question to answer, but not impossible. I would have to answer by saying the classic French Bleu cheeses…Roquefort, Fourme de Montbrison, Bleu de Gex, Bleu des Causses, Saint Agur, just to name a few. Of all of these French Bleus, my current favorites are from the region of Auvergne-Rhone Alps…..
Read MoreHello Fellow Travelers!
Truffle Turophobia?? (Fear of Truffle Cheese?)…Not in this household!!...But what I have learned about Truffles is that people either love them, or hate them with little middle ground if any.
I had been considering writing a blog post on Truffles for some time, but as soon as the most recent issue of Sacramento Magazine showed up in my mailbox, I just knew that the time was now to write the story.
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