I just happened to stop in at Goose the Market today for a sandwich (the delicious Lemmy, made with pork belly and fois mustard) and got a chance to talk with cheesemonger Vinnie Salas about his recent trip to the American Cheese Society conference in Sacramento.
It’s become a tradition, he said, to bring back some cheeses from the judging. The only problem is that they weren’t labeled for the tasting, so he doesn’t know the producer or the exact type of cheese. Which means that he’s offering them at the bargain price of $10 a pound. Try a sample, be surprised and pick out one you like.
And that’s exactly what I did. I got a quarter pound of the cheese in the photo — the one with the judging sample core removed — and plan to do something with it tonight. It’s hard, crumbly and a bit strong…I’m going to grate it over pasta with browned butter. — Jolene Ketzenberger