Ursula Heinzelmann, Wein- & Essenschreiberin
The category of sparkling sake is still a young one, and possibly that’s the reason it is more popular abroad than in Japan. However there is a traditional context to it. » Weiterlesen…
Which country is top of the list for cheese producers by volume worldwide? Not Switzerland, not France and not Italy either, but the USA. Makes sense, seen its size. However, who is number two and ranks as number one for cheese exports worldwide? Germany! Which makes it utterly frustrating how difficult it is to find good German cheese abroad. » Weiterlesen…
There is enough going on in this world, close by and far away, to get the blues, big way – we really need all potential antidotes. Cheese helps, says Heinzelcheese… and in case of the blues, it should be bleu. Y’all who immediately wrinkle their nose, because “you know, blue cheese…” – hang on. Some things, when considered and experienced without any preconceptions and prejudices, turn out to be very different than in your imagination and actually not half bad (idiot politicians and certain kinds of virus excluded). Therefore: Bleu d’Auvergne, the gentle, smooth blue from central France. » Weiterlesen…
“Die Wälder sind schon schwarz, der Himmel ist noch blau” – das ist Marcel Proust, der in seinem von Geschmacksinteressierten vielzitierten Roman “Auf der Suche nach der verlorenen Zeit” (Madeleine! Lindenblütentee!) einen Absatz später dann tatsächlich auch schon wieder beim Abendessen ist. Heinzelcheese fällt dazu natürlich sofort blauer Käse ein, der zum Winter gehört wie Weihnachtsmärkte und lange Spaziergänge im Schnee. Vor allem in Form von Stilton, dem englischen Klassiker, der traditionell zum Jahresende zu Bestform gereift ist – und perfekt zu Portwein paßt, mit dem es sich nach dem Schnee hervorragend aufwärmen läßt. » Weiterlesen…
July was a wonderfully full month in Heinzelcheese land, and it’s spilling into August. That’s why I’d like to present you one of the great finds from my travels as cheese of the month for this August: Shana Miller’s Grey Baby from Naramata in the beautiful Okanagan Valley in Canada. » Weiterlesen…
The Blue Cornflower is my cheese of the month in May, this wonderful month between (finally!) winter and summer, with the sun shining from a blue sky, birds chirping happily, flowers flowering… Because again and again, it achieves that small wonder to convince even declared blue cheese haters to look beyond their perceived horizon.
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The Heinzelcheese Network is growing constantly, and that makes me very happy. Because this is how I (and therefore you) get to know about cheeses and cheese makers in corners of the world I had no clue even existed. The Young Buck from Michael Thomson reached me courtesy of my Berliner food and wine friend Florian Minzlaff who right now is studying in Belfast. Would I be interested in Northern Ireland’s only raw milk cheese? You bet… » Weiterlesen…
A blue cheese, yet again. Not because I’m feeling blue (the opposite!), but because this cheese is fascinating, delicious, full of character – and makes me want to jump on a train immediately and travel to its origin! Which is: Mazuria, in the northeast of Poland. Sylwia Szlandrowicz and Ruslan Kozynko live amongst the rolling verdant hills on which their sheep graze. They called their isolated farm Frontiera, border, and their wonderful cheese very simply Frontiera Blue. » Weiterlesen…
We all have those films in our head which are triggered unintentionally by certain keywords. Take blue cheese: shouldn’t you have sweet wine with that? The Roquefort people have told us so many times about Sauternes being the perfect match with its sheeps’ milk sweetness and penicillium spicyness, and for obvious reasons the Sauternes producers never contradict them… Well, my cellar isn’t exactly overflowing with Sauternes, and really good Roquefort is a rarity (so much of the stuff tastes overly salty and sharp)… » Weiterlesen…