I.... I don't know.
Hello dear reader.
To be totally honest I'm a little surprised that I haven't already posted about this cheese, as it is both decadent and delightful. Both enticing and exquisite. Both om and nom-worthy.
Some time ago I posted about a truffle cheese, Caciotta al Tartufo, and if any of you aspiring and accomplished cheese sleuths managed to track some down then I have good news for you. There is something ever better to tickle the tongue and overwhelm with umami; Sottocenere.
Made in the Veneto area of Italy, which is to say way up North for us lay-folk, it is a one-of-a-kind cheese. Using quality truffles and a solid paste to back them up, this cheese is a little slice of cheese indulgence. Alternatively it's a large slice of cheese indulgence, but then who's counting calories here anyways.
Origin: Veneto, Italy,
Milk: Cow, pasteurized
Rennet: Animal
Affinage: ~4 months
Notes: The rind is covered in the ash of cinnamon, licorice, nutmeg, cloves, and fennel, giving it an enticing texture as well as a complex and mysteriously dark sweetness.
Thoughts: This is one of those cheeses that you really don't need too much of to really enjoy. Get a small sliver and what you'll find is a taste both decadent and deliberately well balanced, bursting with flavor and yet not overbearing. The semi-soft paste gives way with a mere suggestion and melts even more easily on the tongue, every worthy bite a full and nuanced display of carefully pasteurized cow's milk. Let's see, there was something else hereOH! Truffles, yeah this cheese has some of those too. Like the shavings so nicely visible in yonder photo. For those of you following along at home, those are hand selected black truffles that are thinly sliced and mixed in with the curd before aging. It's like when you're eating a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie; the cookie itself is great and full of flavor and you really wouldn't complain too much if that was all there was BUT.... what was that?
Chocolate chip flavor explosion.
In all seriousness, though, the truffle slices are not just for decoration in this cheese, they take their flavor-enhancing duties very seriously and the dark savoriness is the perfect foil for the mild but full creaminess and airy sweetness of the cow's milk.
Trust me. I've eaten a lot of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies in my day.
Hello dear reader.
To be totally honest I'm a little surprised that I haven't already posted about this cheese, as it is both decadent and delightful. Both enticing and exquisite. Both om and nom-worthy.
Some time ago I posted about a truffle cheese, Caciotta al Tartufo, and if any of you aspiring and accomplished cheese sleuths managed to track some down then I have good news for you. There is something ever better to tickle the tongue and overwhelm with umami; Sottocenere.
Made in the Veneto area of Italy, which is to say way up North for us lay-folk, it is a one-of-a-kind cheese. Using quality truffles and a solid paste to back them up, this cheese is a little slice of cheese indulgence. Alternatively it's a large slice of cheese indulgence, but then who's counting calories here anyways.
Milk: Cow, pasteurized
Rennet: Animal
Affinage: ~4 months
Notes: The rind is covered in the ash of cinnamon, licorice, nutmeg, cloves, and fennel, giving it an enticing texture as well as a complex and mysteriously dark sweetness.
Thoughts: This is one of those cheeses that you really don't need too much of to really enjoy. Get a small sliver and what you'll find is a taste both decadent and deliberately well balanced, bursting with flavor and yet not overbearing. The semi-soft paste gives way with a mere suggestion and melts even more easily on the tongue, every worthy bite a full and nuanced display of carefully pasteurized cow's milk. Let's see, there was something else hereOH! Truffles, yeah this cheese has some of those too. Like the shavings so nicely visible in yonder photo. For those of you following along at home, those are hand selected black truffles that are thinly sliced and mixed in with the curd before aging. It's like when you're eating a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie; the cookie itself is great and full of flavor and you really wouldn't complain too much if that was all there was BUT.... what was that?
Chocolate chip flavor explosion.
In all seriousness, though, the truffle slices are not just for decoration in this cheese, they take their flavor-enhancing duties very seriously and the dark savoriness is the perfect foil for the mild but full creaminess and airy sweetness of the cow's milk.
Trust me. I've eaten a lot of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies in my day.
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