Ursula Heinzelmann, Wein- & Essenschreiberin
With 20 to 35 kilograms Pecorino Romano is a whopper of a cheese, the largest of its kind. At the same time this Roman sheep’s milk cheese – because that’s all his name literally means – is a real underdog. When did you last buy this hard, crumbly buddy freshly cut from a large cylindric wheel? Exactly, I can’t remember either. Possibly in Sardinia, but even there I’m not so sure. » Weiterlesen…
Parmesan, really, you might wondering feeling somewhat disappointed, what an old hat, can’t she come up with something more exciting? No, because this is exciting! Finally I was once again at a real, big cheese fair, the wonderful Slow Food Cheese in Bra in Piedmont (honestly, I’m not overdoing it – it truly was gorgeous, and on the way back my trolley case once again, finally, was stuffed with cheesy substances for upcoming tastings!). And the parmesan experience really was one of the most amazing ones during those days. » Weiterlesen…
June 21st is the beginning of summer. The beginning of summer! The great outdoors, the warm sun, water, greenery, patios, balconies, picnics… friends! How I’m longing for all this. In terms of cheese, mozzarella is our best and most reliable summer friend, without any doubt. » Weiterlesen…
Since quite some time London has been a constant fixture of the Heinzelcheese universe, and my cheese steps almost automatically lead me in direction of Neal’s Yard Dairy and their wonderful store on Park Street at Borough Market whenever I’m over in England. But this time I never even made it to Neal’s Yard Dairy because suddenly I found myself in front of a small paradise, like a small child before a Christmas tree. » Weiterlesen…
Most of Piemont’s traditional cheeses‘ originated in the mountains, as the animals gave more milk when summer-grazing on the higher pastures, and people needed to make those riches last for the rest of the year, using whatever methods were possible under the given conditions. Arguably the most spectacular and most original of all Piemontese cheeses is Castelmagno, a natural blue whose name rings a bell with many, while only few have actually tasted it. » Weiterlesen…
It wasn’t easy to settle on a candidate for this month, after a whole row of wonderfully packed weeks traveling from cheese to cheese! But I’ll be working on that long list, promised. For October, let’s go south, once more, to Abruzzo, between the Gran Sasso mountains and Pescara on the Adriatic Sea, for a lesson on rennet: Pecorino di Farindola. » Weiterlesen…
It’s December, Advent, the time to open one little door after another every morning, light another candle every week, the air sweet and heavy with cinnamon stars, Stollen cake and Hutzelbrot fruit bread. Strange to remember amidst all this Hygge, Gemütlichkeit und deliciousness that the four weeks before Christmas are actually fasting weeks. Stollen cake originally was an austere affair… How do I get from Stollen to cheese? My cheese of the month similarly represents an act of renunciation: Pannerone Lodigiano is made without any salt. » Weiterlesen…
Even if the sun still has a real burn, September sounds like autumn to me, sounds like a certain golden glow, a quietness in the air… and it sounds like squash! And such a bright orange squash calls out for risotto. Which finally brings us to cheese: Castelmagno, that cave ripened, ancient original from the Piemontese Alps. » Weiterlesen…
Location: the Cheese Festival in Sand/Taufers in the Valle Aurina in Alto Adige (a very inspiring event – go, if you can). Recommendation from: Dominik Flammer, Swiss food scout and enthusiastic fan of all good things from the Alps. Therefore: top priority, first tasting stop, the Eggemoa table. From Mühlwald, a small village a few minutes drive from Sand in the direction of Lappach. On that table, a small selection of small cheeses, most of them soft. Love at first sight (and taste): Silva!
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Heinzelcheese takes German and Austrian mountain cheese as well as a selection Rhine Riesling down to the Slow Food Cheese fair in Bra/Piemont, and promises to return with the finest, most unusual cheesy stuff, just for you. Sounds good? Will be good. We’ll discuss why there are two different words for cheese in Italian, formaggio and cacio, how a cheese gets drunk (no, not in your stomach, way before!), and much more I don’t know about yet. » Weiterlesen…