Is it a cheese, or is it a tiger?! This cheese is looking FIERCE! Just look at that rind- a perfect reminder that wheels of cheese are each like a piece of art in their own right! So, let's cover the deets (we've talked about a cheese from Springbrook Farm before- Tarentaise. Tarentaise Reserve actually took best of show at ACS in Sacramento this year!). I present to you: Reading Raclette!
Country of Origin: USA- Vermont, in particular (and actually, the cheese's name is taken from the town where they are based!)
Milk type: raw cow milk
Rennet type: Animal (sorry, vegetarian friends!)
Springbrook Farm, the company that makes Reading and Tarentaise, is a really neat organization. They started a foundation, called the Farms for City Kids Foundation (we've talked about this before!), who's main goal is to bring underprivileged inner city children to the farm for a week, where they can learn about farm life, and get a break from their own routines. Talk about giving back to the community! You know, the more research that I do about particular farms, companies, and distributors, the more drawn to Vermont I am. With Springbrook Farm, and Jasper Hill Farm, Vermont is lucky enough to have multiple residents who REALLY give back to the community. I love seeing that!
But I digress- back to the cheese! It's no secret that winter is my least favorite time of year (cold! ack!), but I do secretly love it because melty, gooey cheese dishes and meals become so much more commonplace. Raclette is one of my favorite things- and a lot of people don't realize that not only is the CHEESE called Raclette, but the machine on which you melt the cheese (whether you have a handheld one that works over flames, or a huge electric one that melts half wheels at a time) is also called a raclette! So, you melt your Raclette (or other alpines) on your raclette! And that is exactly what I plan on doing with this cheese when I get home tonight. The only decision- whether to melt it atop a baguette with cornichons, or to melt it over steamed veggies and steak!
I keep going on tangents, don't I? Well, let's talk a little bit more about Reading and Springbrook Farm. Both Reading and Tarentaise are American originals that were modeled after Alpine greats (for Reading- Raclette; for Tarentaise-Beaufort). The cheesemakers actually contracted out a European cheesemaker to come and show them the ways of Alpine cheesemaking, to end up with the best product possible. This explains why the milk is raw, and the rennet animal- European traditions! The milk for Reading is drawn from a single herd of about 40 Jersey cows (which explains the yellow color of the paste!), and the end product is a semi soft, creamy, melt on your tongue cheese with a little bit of funk. When doing a raclette demo in store, I will almost always get at least one scrunched up nose at the scent- melty cheese can have a LOT of funk sometimes, but don't let that discourage you from the deliciousness that is molten Reading Raclette! After all, it is the perfect season for raclette!
