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I’ve been writing this monthly blog since February 2013 – theoretically this ought to be cheese of the month number 115 – and amongst the very first stars of the small Heinzelcheese universe, in May 2013, was Blühende Landschaften or flowering landscapes, my absolute favourite from Capriolenhof, which back then still called itself Schleusenhof Regow. More than eight years later, allow me to entrust another Capriolenhof gem to your turophile hearts: Regowtaler.
It too is a somewhat aged lactic cheese made from the unheated, raw milk from the beautiful Toggenburg goats, of which Sabine Denell and Hans Peter Dill who back in 1992 started the farm from scratch, now milk around 180. It too is liquid and soft under the thin rind, problematic from a transport and cutting point of view, and far from perfect technology wise. As if that wasn’t enough, it’s got a „topping“ – and it too, just as Blühende Landschaften, is fingerlickingly GOOD.
The pink peppercorns and rosemary needles not only look beautiful, but also supplement – just as the Blühende Landschaften’s lavender seeds – the tremendously flavourful, aromatic (but by no means overly strong or pungent) milk, similar to how a talented lighting specialist can work out undreamt-of facets of a painting or a stage. The Capriolenhof goats still keep the Schorfheide area free of young trees and bushes to allow hair-grass and heather to breath and flourish, and you can taste that, because milking is done with as much care as the cheesemaking. This cheese really melts as weightlessly on your tongue as these pictures suggest…
And before you even ask: no, you can’t order Capriolenhof cheese online, and if you can’t make it at the right moment to the remote farm on the Havel river (a lovely day trip from Berlin), to the Capriolenhof-Fenster weekly sale on Bochumer Straße in Berlin’s Moabit, or to the Saturday Farmers Market at Domäne Dahlem, or be in a ton of luck at Fritz Blomeyer or Goldhahn und Sampson, your chances will be slim. But, that’s life: some stuff is rare, and that’s probably a good thing. Small consolation: from time to time I’m including one of the Capriolenhof gems at the Heinzelcheesetalks, as for this upcoming one. Cheesio!