#murrays cheese

Murray’s CHEESE CAVES TOUR & Tasting – July 9

THIS IS THE FIRST PUBLIC CHEESE CAVES TOUR OFFERED IN MURRAY’S NEW FACILITY!

See for yourself why Conde Nast Traveler named Murray’s Cheese Caves one of the 50 Coolest Places to see in the world as they introduce you to the world of affinage (The Art of Aging Cheese).

Everyone  will meet at the Distribution Center in Long Island City, Queenswhere you’ll be greeted with tasty mimosas! From there…

Murray’s Cheese 75th Anniversary

Happy Birthday to Murray's Cheese! In honor of their 75 years as one of the top cheese shops in New York City (and also one of the oldest), Murray's shared a couple of their CaveMaster Reserve beauties with us, aged with care in their affinage facilities in Long Island City, Queens. The two wheels were the Hudson Flower, their "riff on a Corsican classic", and Little Big Apple, a decadent, apple brandy infused triple-cream. 

Murray's was founded in 1940, by Murray Greenberg, a Jewish veteran of the Spanish Civil War, who opened the first Murray's location on Cornelia Street in Greenwich Village. In the 70's the shop was sold to one of Mr. Greenberg's clerks, Louis Tudda, an immigrant from Calabria, Italy, who ran the business for the next couple decades, moving it to it's current Bleecker Street location along the way. It was in the early 90's that Rob Kaufelt, son from a family of grocers in New Jersey and a recent transplant to the neighborhood, heard that they were losing their lease and decided to buy the business. The timing was kind of perfect, as America was then in the early stages of the cheese revolution that has only grown exponentially into the present day, and Murray's had the experience, quality products and the reputation to tap right into that.

Under Kaufelt's leadership, the shop expanded their portfolio of both European and domestic cheeses, built out the caves under the store, developed the educational programs, expanded to other markets inside and outside the city, and much more, all the while bringing in an ever expanding and impressive line of cheeses, charcuterie, beers and other gourmet culinary items from around the world. For many native New Yorkers (especially those who grew up below 14th street in the years before cheese counters started popping up like mushrooms) Murray’s was their first introduction to great cheese and an essential stop on any grocery trip. 

Murrays has also become one of the unofficial boot camps for cheesemongers in New York City and beyond; step into almost any of the top cheese shops in Manhattan or the boroughs and you're more likely than not to cross paths with a Murray's alum, still slinging cheese after getting a taste for the lactic arts at the Bleecker Street counter.

Hurricane Sandy hit Murray's hard, as it did many cheese shops in the city, but the silver lining to that rather large storm cloud was that it led to moving their affinage facilities to a larger space in Long Island City, where they have been able to improve and refine their processes, with space to allow for greater variability in aging conditions and controls. Under the guidance of a dedicated team of cavemasters, Murray's has expanded their affinage program steadily, working with many domestic and European cheesemakers, including Old Chatham Sheepherding Company, who make the cheese for the Hudson Flower, and Champlain Valley Creamery, who make the triple cream for the Little Big Apple.

The Hudson Flower is inspired by the Corsican classic Fleur du Maquis, also known as Brin d'Amour. "Maquis" refers to the dry shrublands that are the trademark of the Corsican hills, a dusty landscape that is known for the herbs and plants that give it a trademark scent, which infuses into the milk of the sheep and goat that graze on it. Old Chatham provides Murrays with young wheels of rich sheep's milk cheese, which is then enrobed in a thick coating of a secret herb blend that includes rosemary, thyme, marjoram, elderberries and hop flowers, and then aged until the interior paste has gone fudgy and a little creamy at the rind, and the herbs, now coated with a jacket of white molds, have infused into the wheels. Flavors are milky, citric and bright, with the aroma of the herbs and piney, slightly tart notes enveloping the mouth.

For the Litle Big Apple, cheesemaker Carlton Yoder starts with his Organic Champlain Triple, a soft-ripened triple créme bloomy rind (Silver Medal Winner, 2007 American Cheese Society Conference). Murray’s then takes the cheese, and wraps it in hand-picked apple leaves which have been macerated in Warwick Valley’s Bourbon Barrel Aged Apple Liqueur. These little packages are then aged in Murray’s Caves, allowing the Liqueur to infuse the cheese with the a complex blend of flavors and aromas. The buttery, mushroomy flavors of the the Triple blend with the sweetness of apple, with vegetal notes from the leaves and a slightly fermented, yeasty, earthy essence, especially at the rind, with a bit of bite from the alcohol. The paste is oozing at the creamline, but firmer and creamy in the center.

Via Business Insider, a look at 7 common mistakes people often make with cheese:

Whether it's in a sandwich, topping pasta, or simply on it's own, cheese is one of America's favorite foods. We reached out to Sydney Willcox, formerly the head cheese monger at Murray's Cheese in Greenwich Village, and asked her what even true cheese connoisseurs get wrong about their favorite decadent treat. Keep reading to see what everyone gets wrong about cheese. Mistake No. 1: Wrapping cheese with plastic wrap. Mistake No. 2: Throwing out cheese with mold on it. Mistake No. 3: Lactose intolerant people can’t eat cheese.

Check out the full list. 

Say hello to Cornelia, the latest wheel from Murray’s Cheese’s Cavemaster Reserve program! A collaboration with California’s Point Reyes Farmstead in Point Reyes Station, CA, Point Reyes is also well known for their blue cheeses, and their Bay Blue won 2nd Place Best of Show at this year's ACS Competition in Sacramento. 

The diminutive wheels start as pint-sized versions of the Point Reyes Toma before coming to the Murray’s Caves in Long Island City while still "green" (the term for a young cheese). Toma's (similar to the french word Tomme), are a class of simple (in technique although not in flavor), rustic cheeses, sometimes translated as “cheese made by the farmer himself”. Subtle variations in recipes, cutting times, pressing weights, temperature, washing and aging environments result in a rainbow of distinctive personality traits, so don’t make the mistake of thinking that if you’ve tasted one Tomme you’ve tasted them all. Indeed, although there is a “tomme appearance” that is somewhat common, there are also many tommes and tomas that come in different formats and rinds, depending on the cheesemakers approach.

The Cornelia is actually named in honor of the address where the original owner, Murray Greenberg’s, little shop on Cornelia Street was located, in Greenwich Village, before they moved to their more expansive location on Bleecker. 

The Cornelia was developed over the last several months in Murray’s caves, by their Cavemaster, Brian Ralph and his team of affineurs (under the code name "Tiny Toma Project" — it even has a #tinytomaproject hashtag), eventually settling on an affinage plan that begins in the warm and humid washed-rind caves, where the wheels get brine-washed regularly, and then getting moved to the cooler natural-rind caves to finish out their aging. In this way they develop some of the characteristics of a washed rind (the reddish rind with a slightly gritty texture, some of the aromatic and flavor notes) but without pushing it into the more pungent and runnier traits one associates with that style normally (You can read all about the caves at Murray's here).

The rind is orangey-pink, with a frosting of white mold, and a light layer of crystalline accretions from the washings. The paste is smooth and rich, with a scattering of eyes, lightly bulging and oozing as it warms. The aroma is a bit musty, carrying over from the aging caves; the flavor is beautifully buttery, with a silky, melting mouthfeel (reminiscent of a higher-fat sheep’s milk cheese even though it’s made from cows milk), with notes of roasted peanut and buttered toast, earthy and a bit brothy once it comes to room temperature. This is an easy-eating cheese, and I wouldn't expect too many Cornelia's halves to make it back into the fridge once they've been put out on the board. 

Like your cheeses on the pungent side? Or maybe you're a bit leery of them but hoping to step up your stinky game? Murray's has the class for you: 

DON'T FEAR THE REEKER: EXPLORING STINKY CHEESE WED OCT 16 6:30-8:00 PM Tickets 

When we say "You stink!" we mean it as a compliment, as some of our very favorite cheeses are the meaty, funky, creamy washed rinds. Besides being downright delicious, stinky cheeses have a history full of monasteries and monks and affinage full of brines and brushings. As Halloween nears, join us for an evening of cheeses that some may consider scary but we consider some of the yummiest specimens Murray's has to offer. Don't fear the reeker! He just might be your tastiest companion.

First Stop in New York City was Murray's Cheese Bar! A perfect way to start a weekend getaway!

We selected the Cheesemonger's Choice board and it included:

Blanc Bleu Tambour (which was our favorite) Sweet Grass Green Hill (perfectly ripe!) Ossau-Iraty Vieille (a classic sheep's milk cheese from France)

I cannot recall the last one at the moment, maybe Murray's can help me out! The rind tastes like boiled peanuts!