Cutting the Curd

Latest Episodes:

Episode 213: France in Montana: Poor Orphan Creamery Mar 09, 2015

Show notes

On today’s episode of Cutting the Curd, Greg Blais talks with Lark Gilmer-Smothermon, shepherd and cheesemaker at Poor Orphan Creamery in Laurin, Montana. Tune in to hear Lark’s journey from photographer to shepherd, and how she is putting Montana on the U.S. artisan cheese map. She also tells us about her upcoming Cheese Making Workshop from March 27 – 30. This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

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Episode 212: Dolce Valle Dairy in Trinidad, Nate McElroy, & Ellen Cronin Mar 02, 2015

Show notes

In today’s episode of Cutting the Curd host Greg Blais chats with Piero Guerrini of Dolce Valle Dairy on the island of Trinidad. Piero – an Italian expat and former photographer – produces cheeses inspired by his Italian roots on an island that is home to one of the most diverse cuisines in the world, with East Indian, African, Amerindian and European influences. The cheeses are produced from the milk of cows grazing in the lush fields of Grande Riviere, an area best known for nesting leatherback turtles. Unfortunately, due to phone troubles the conversation with Piero is cut short, but friends Nate McElroy of Bedford Cheese Shop and Ellen Cronin of Food Matters Again join the show, straight from the Roberta’s Pizza dining crowd! This program was brought to you by The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

“What we discovered was that the availability of buffalo milk was not on the island, so since we invested so much money in this machine we started to do cow milk and that has been our main line of cheese for the last 2 years here in Trinidad.”

—Piero Guerrini on Cutting the Curd

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Episode 211: Book Review: The Cabot Creamery Cookbook Feb 23, 2015

Show notes

On today’s “Book Review” edition of Cutting the Curd, host Diane Stemple reviews “The Cabot Creamery Cookbook,” which features recipes and stories from members of the Cabot Creamery cooperative – 1,200 dairy farm families located throughout New England and upstate New York. Diane is joined by New England Emmy award-winning host of Neighborhood Kitchens on PBS, Margarita Martinez, and Craig Gile, cheese grader for Cabot. Both Margarita and Craig contributed their own stories and recipes to this heartwarming and mouth-watering book and tell Diane about how they were recruited before both give their thoughts on recent cheese related issues as well as how they found themselves working in cheese in the first place. This program was brought to you by The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

“I’ve always been a fan of Cabot products and their cheese and also the heritage of the cooperative, so I heartily agreed to come onboard and collaborate.” [2:40]

—Margarita Martinez on Cutting the Curd

“We are a farmer owned coop but we do have pretty high standards what we expect from our farmers, so there’s an application process [to join the Cabot cooperative].” [6:55]

—Craig Gile on Cutting the Curd

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Episode 210: Cheese R&D: Jacobs & Brichford Farmstead Cheese Feb 16, 2015

Show notes

Continuing the discussion from last week about developing new cheeses, this week on Cutting the Curd host Greg Blais chats with Matthew and Maize of Jacobs and Brichford Farmstead Cheese. J&B currently produces three outstanding cheeses that have become standards at counters across the country – Ameribella, Everton and Briana. The R&D process continues, as they are developing a new cheese to round out their selection. Tune in to hear about what it takes to make and market new cheeses, and how the cheese community supports the research and development process. This program was brought to you by The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

“There really is a holistic approach to the way we make cheese.” [13:10]

—Maize Jacobs-Brichford on Cutting the Curd

“Knowing where your food comes from is so important and it’s the only way to trust what you’re getting is to do your homework and know who’s producing it and where it comes from.” [14:50]

—Matthew Brichford on Cutting the Curd

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Episode 209: Cheese R&D: Sugarhouse Creamery & Crown Finish Caves Feb 09, 2015

Show notes

The R&D process for creating a new cheese can be a long and expensive one for new artisan cheesemakers, but it is also a labor of love. On this week’s episode of Cutting the Curd, host Greg Blais sits down Benton Brown and Sam Frank of the Crown Finish Caves – a cheese aging facility in Crown Heights, Brooklyn – and New York cheesemakers Margot Brooks of Sugar House Creamery and Jos Vulto of Vulto Creamery. While Sugar House ages most of their cheeses in a cave on their farm, they have also worked with Crown Finish to create some spectacular variations on the same small format cheese. Tune in to hear about what it takes to make new and exciting cheeses, and how cheese friendships and community support the R&D process. This program has been brought to you by The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

“We knew we wanted to do the cave age process. We really like that part of the cheesemaking process. We are very passionate about that aspect of cheesemaking and we think it attributes a lot to the flavor of the farmstead cheeses.” [6:30]

—Margot Brooks on Cutting the Curd

“I like the aging process, I think that’s the most exciting part of the cheese making process… but there’s no necessity to turn any of my cheeses over to an outside facility [to cave age]. That being said, if in the future I needed it, no, I would certainly do it.” [28:50]

—Jos Vulto on Cutting the Curd

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Episode 208: Book Review: One Hour Cheese Feb 02, 2015

Show notes

On today’s “Book Review” edition of Cutting the Curd, host Diane Stemple reviews “One Hour Cheese” by Claudia Lucero, owner of Urban Cheesecraft – a DIY cheesemaking company. With 16 recipes for making cheese in under an hour – from “creamy and spreadable” to “firm and chewy” to “melty and gooey” – Claudia very clearly and concisely describes the science and essentials needed to make simple and delicious cheeses at home. This program was brought to you by The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

“I kept thinking we need a true beginner’s book and we need a lot of photos. I think people really enjoyed seeing the steps and seeing if the curd is right, what does whey really look like, what’s normal.”

“If you are skeptical, stop right now, make this really simple cheese. You’re going to have a snack within a half an hour!”

—Claudia Lucero on Cutting the Curd

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Episode 207: Life Changing Moments in Cheese Jan 19, 2015

Show notes

For many of us working in the cheese business, cheese is a lens through which we view the world and our place in it. With New Years resolutions still on the top of our minds, on today’s episode of Cutting the Curd, Greg Blais talks to two professionals who made the decision to work with cheese, and proactively sought out their current roles. Jeanine Dargis tells us of her amazing uphill journey to becoming a cheesemaker at Valley Shepherd, while Matt Reilly talks to us about his recent victory at the Cheesemonger Invitational in San Francisco. This program was brought to you by The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

“[Cheesemaking] is a brain exercise. Everyday is a challenge.” [16:25]

—Jeanine Dargis on Cutting the Curd

“It was exhilarating, but a strange combination of emotions because it’s a personal experience every time you get together with cheese people. It’s not like any other business I’ve been involved with. It’s a community of people supporting farmers and creameries that are doing it because they love it.” [31:10]

—Matt Reilly on Cutting the Curd

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Episode 206: 2014 in Review with Anne Saxelby Jan 12, 2015

Show notes

This week Cutting the Curd host Greg Blais kicks off the new year with all-star guest Anne Saxelby, first catching up about the crazy cheese holidays before getting into their 2014 year in review. The duo discuss fondness for the Spring Brook Reading Raclette before deeming 2014 as the year of regulations in cheese. Revisiting the Food Safety Modernization Act and what it meant for imported and domestic cheeses, Anne points out that American cheeses have never been better and that by not being able to import certain cheeses anymore, it encourages domestic cheeses to step up. They go on to point out other regulations that came to fruition in the past year and how it has affected the industry. After the break, the chat turns to the very recent winner of the Cheesemonger Invitational, Matt Reilly, who is an alum of the NYC Eataly branch, trained by none other than Greg. Anne gets the scoop on how Eataly has trained Matt as well as the previous winner, Emily Acosta, and brainstorms an idea for a ‘Senior’ Cheesemonger Invitational. Closing out the show, Greg and Anne share what they are looking forward to in 2015 and great cheeses to look forward to. This program was brought to you by The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

“You can’t treat a dairy farm with ten cows the same way you’d treat a giant, industrial farm in Wisconsin or California. Of course you need good practices across the board… but what it looks like is different from operation to operation.” [8:00]

—Anne Saxelby on Cutting the Curd

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Episode 205: Book Review: The Science of Cheese Dec 22, 2014

Show notes

On today’s “Book Review” edition of Cutting the Curd, Diane Stemple review “The Science of Cheese” by Michael Tunick. In an engaging tour of the science and history of cheese, Michael Tunick explores the art of cheese making, the science that lies underneath the deliciousness, and the history behind how humanity came up with one of its most varied and versatile of foods. Dr. Tunick spends his everyday deep within the halls of the science of cheese, as a researcher who creates new dairy products, primarily, cheeses. He takes us from the very beginning, some 8000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent, and shows us the accidental discovery of cheese when milk separated into curds and whey. This stroke of luck would lead to a very mild, and something akin to cottage, cheese-deemed delicious enough by our traveling cheese maker that he or she did it again another day. Today we know of more than 2,000 varieties of cheese from Gorgonzola, first noted in year 879, to Roquefort in 1070 to Cheddar in 1500. But Tunick delves deeper into the subject to provide a wide-ranging overview that begins with cows and milk and then covers the technical science behind creating a new cheese, milk allergies and lactose intolerance, nutrition and why cheese is a vital part of a balanced diet. The Science of Cheese is an entertaining journey through one of America’s favorite foods. This program was brought to you by The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

“Mozzarella is more popular than Cheddar in the United States at this point.” [23:00]

–Michael Tunick on Cutting the Curd

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Episode 204: Drunken Cheese Stories Dec 15, 2014

Show notes

This week on Cutting the Curd, host Greg Blais is talking drunken cheese stories with guests Charlotte Kamin and Nate McEllroy of Bedford Cheese Shop, and Matt Rubiner of Rubiner’s Cheesemongers & Grocers. Kicking off the show trying to pry some crazy stories from the guests, Greg recalls a few times working slightly hungover and successfully encourages tales from there. Tune in for a fun episode and hear thoughts on the best, worst, and funniest cheese shop customers, as well as the guests’ favorite cheese and alcoholic pairings. This program was brought to you by The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

“My favorite demographic of customer is the arguing couple… and then all of a sudden you’re a relationship mediator!” [14:50]

—Nate McEllroy on Cutting the Curd

“The best alcohol/cheese pairing I ever had was… vintage port and Montgomery’s Cheddar.” [23:10]

—Matt Rubiner on Cutting the Curd

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