It's always nice when my love of foreign languages overlaps with my first love, Cheese. The only catch is that I end up knowing how to say "cow, sheep, goat, young, old, raw, pasteurized, and drunk" in every language, and that's about it. As it turns out there's not a whole lot of casual conversation to be made out of those eight words. There just aren't any good combinations.
In any case today's creative title gives both the Italian and the rough translation, alternatively just drunkard, for another delectable sheep cheese; Ubriacone. There are a number of Italian "drunk" cheeses that carry similar names, but this one is certainly one of the flashier examples thanks to its creative preparation. Standard procedure for wine-accented cheeses is to be washed or at most cured during the aging process, but the makers of Ubriacone needed more than this; new concepts, new tools, even more wine. By piercing the disks with needles during the wine-bathing process they increased the surface area soaked with wine and also solved the pesky problem of a cheese only really tasting like the wine near the rind. The holes created by the needles permeate the cheese, as seen in the cross section below, and distribute the essence of the wine evenly throughout paste
Origin: Veneto, Italy
Milk: Cow, pasteurized
Rennet: Animal
Affinage: 6-8 Months
Notes: This cheese has everything: an oily paste, bright purple colors, and what's that? Dopplewilton. You know, it's that thing where two kinds of wine must are inserted into the holes left by the Stilton-esque needles.
Thoughts: It might seem as though so diminutive a slice of cheese would not be enough to really appreciate the flavor, but fortunately Ubriacone cheese shoots flavor like this guy shoots dialogue-based cult classic fodder. The main tone of the cheese is not actually overly "drunk" at all, indeed the initial flavor is that of a solid but otherwise run-of-the-mill sheep's milk cheese: salty, earthy, and characterized by a rich oiliness throughout. Only partway through the taste does the effect of the wine treatment show up, with sweet and very fruity notes coming through and holding their spot at the top on into the aftertaste. The two competing flavor groups both shine at their respective moments and generally highlight what a versatile thing cheese can be. Truth be told "drunk" isn't the most appropriate term for the cheese as the distinct flavor of wine comes through only very slightly, "tipsy" is really as far Ubriacone goes. Maybe it shouldn't drive home, but it's definitely not ordering bulk pet food on amazon or writing embarrassing emails to old flings. That would just be ridiculous, cheeses can't even have pets. The texture throughout is a little dry but the oily and salty tones make for a cheese that is still a complete experience, and when that glass of Merlot in your hand just isn't enough you can always take a bite of just rind and really cut loose.
Caution
As it turns out a street version of Heroin is commonly referred to as 'Cheese'. I do not condone this variety of addiction, nor should you attempt to purchase curdled milk comestibles from untrustworthy sources.
In any case today's creative title gives both the Italian and the rough translation, alternatively just drunkard, for another delectable sheep cheese; Ubriacone. There are a number of Italian "drunk" cheeses that carry similar names, but this one is certainly one of the flashier examples thanks to its creative preparation. Standard procedure for wine-accented cheeses is to be washed or at most cured during the aging process, but the makers of Ubriacone needed more than this; new concepts, new tools, even more wine. By piercing the disks with needles during the wine-bathing process they increased the surface area soaked with wine and also solved the pesky problem of a cheese only really tasting like the wine near the rind. The holes created by the needles permeate the cheese, as seen in the cross section below, and distribute the essence of the wine evenly throughout paste
Milk: Cow, pasteurized
Rennet: Animal
Affinage: 6-8 Months
Notes: This cheese has everything: an oily paste, bright purple colors, and what's that? Dopplewilton. You know, it's that thing where two kinds of wine must are inserted into the holes left by the Stilton-esque needles.
Thoughts: It might seem as though so diminutive a slice of cheese would not be enough to really appreciate the flavor, but fortunately Ubriacone cheese shoots flavor like this guy shoots dialogue-based cult classic fodder. The main tone of the cheese is not actually overly "drunk" at all, indeed the initial flavor is that of a solid but otherwise run-of-the-mill sheep's milk cheese: salty, earthy, and characterized by a rich oiliness throughout. Only partway through the taste does the effect of the wine treatment show up, with sweet and very fruity notes coming through and holding their spot at the top on into the aftertaste. The two competing flavor groups both shine at their respective moments and generally highlight what a versatile thing cheese can be. Truth be told "drunk" isn't the most appropriate term for the cheese as the distinct flavor of wine comes through only very slightly, "tipsy" is really as far Ubriacone goes. Maybe it shouldn't drive home, but it's definitely not ordering bulk pet food on amazon or writing embarrassing emails to old flings. That would just be ridiculous, cheeses can't even have pets. The texture throughout is a little dry but the oily and salty tones make for a cheese that is still a complete experience, and when that glass of Merlot in your hand just isn't enough you can always take a bite of just rind and really cut loose.
Caution
As it turns out a street version of Heroin is commonly referred to as 'Cheese'. I do not condone this variety of addiction, nor should you attempt to purchase curdled milk comestibles from untrustworthy sources.
No comments:
Post a Comment