We are ready to say goodbye to 2020 and toast to the new year in style. An impactful snack can be as simple as buying one standout cheese, putting it on a plate, and if you’re in the mood, adding a few crackers or accompaniments. If you’re toasting with the traditional bubbles, like Champagne, Prosecco, or Cava, try one of these luscious cheeses alongside your wine. The effervescence of the wine will cut through the creaminess of the cheese and we think you’ll find it’s a lovely pairing, and very festive. Make sure your first bite of the new year is one you’ll remember.
The addition of sheep’s milk and cream to this pudgy soft-ripened cheese takes the Taleggio profile and makes it even more rich. A pungent aroma belies a sweet, fruity, and slightly meaty paste. Riper wheels will develop a pudding-like texture, making it a splendid pair with your sparkling wine of choice.
Aged just 21 days, this goat/sheep’s milk log is fluffy in its interior, with a thick creamline that gets stronger in aroma and flavor over time. Both have a clean and bright flavor with no intense aftertaste. Put out a slice of each and try them side by side (with a flute of cava, of course).
Leonora a Fuego® is much more than the sum of its parts: dense, crumbly paste, velvety, complex creamline, and soft-ripened rind dusted with smoky Spanish paprika. These elements come together to create something transcendent. The cheese is lush and lemony with flavors of fresh goat’s milk that is cut by the smokiness of the pimentón. It’s a new cheese that will bring you out of even the deepest year-end funk.
This is the classic washed-rind cow’s milk cheese from the mountains of Val Taleggio. Though it may smell pungent after its 45 days of aging, the flavor is much more subdued. The creamy paste is just mildly funky and appealing to most palates. Your Prosecco will cut through the mouth-coating fat and make all things right in the world for a little while. And when it’s the morning after, throw your leftovers into a melty egg strata and enjoy it all over again.
