Ollie's celebrates seasonal cheeses

"Gilbert recommends Tulip Tree Creamery's double-cream cow's milk Foxglove. "It will give you that orange-color rind," Gilbert told me. "It's sticky and it's smelly.""

"Gilbert describes washed-rind cheeses as the hamburgers of the cheese world. She eats them unadorned, but for those reluctant to try them she recommends pairing these stinky cheeses with hamburger condiments. "Pickles, onion jam or mustard," she suggested. "Really anything that complements it and will tone it way, way down.""

"At the cheese-pairing classes, Gilbert said she always pairs a washed-rind cheese with mustard and a cornichon. "Ninety nine percent of the time, one person in each class will say, 'This tastes like a picnic,' because the combinations really help each other out," she said."

""The milk type essentially is going to be the biggest indicator of seasonality," Gilbert said. Cows produce milk year round. But small batch artisan goat's and sheep's milk cheeses are made in late February and early March. "We have what's called 'kidding season,' which is when all the baby sheep and baby goats are born," Gilbert said. Thus spring is the best season to buy those fresh, high-quality cheeses."

A washed-rind double-cream cow’s milk cheese is recommended for its orange rind, sticky texture, and strong aroma. Washed-rind cheeses are compared to hamburgers in the cheese world and can be eaten plain or paired with condiments that reduce their intensity, such as pickles, onion jam, or mustard. In pairing classes, mustard and cornichons are used frequently, and many participants describe the result as tasting like a picnic. Cheese availability is seasonal despite year-round supermarket stock. Milk type drives seasonality, with artisan goat and sheep cheeses made around late February and early March during kidding season. Goat’s milk cheeses are bright white with more lactic, fresh, lemony flavors, while cow’s milk cheeses show yellowing and different taste characteristics.

Read at East Bay Express | Oakland, Berkeley & Alameda