CurdNerds

Artisanal announced today that they have begun a same day delivery service in Manhattan. Cheeses are delivered via rickshaw, and, for now, the service is only available in midtown from 34th Street to 63rd Street. Orders must be received by noon for a 5pm same day delivery.

This is a really cool service and I hope it does well so they can add more neighborhoods. Only certain items can be ordered online, but you can place a custom order by calling the toll free order line (1-877-797-1200).

I'm not located in the delivery area, but if anyone is and has tried out the service, please leave feedback in the comments below!

(Caution: contains some adult language.)

From the BBC's That Mitchell and Webb Look, via Steve

I received the following email the other day from Deborah over at the Jersey Cheese Festival:

I am the event co-ordinator for the first World Jersey Cheese Awards, a cheese competition purely for cheese made using Jersey Milk. The competition is due to be held in the island of Jersey on May 23rd. I am looking to contact cheesemakers using only Jersey Milk, would any of your readers be able to help? We do have a website for the awards on www.jerseycheese.com.

Cheese made from the milk of Jersey cows is especially tasty, owing to an unusually high cream content. Of course, you wouldn't want to make a Parmigiano-Reggiano from Jersey milk, but most cheeses really benefit from the extra fat. In fact some cheesemakers, like the folks behind Vermont Shepherd and Nettle Meadow Kunik, add Jersey cream to their sheep and goat cheeses to give them some heft and richness.

The Jersey cow originated in Jersey islands of England, but can now be found all over the world. This is the first I've seen of a cheese contest specific to one dairy breed, and it'll be interesting to see the results.

If you have any leads on Jersey cheesemakers for Deborah, leave a comment here or contact her directly.

This is perhaps the best use I've seen for commodity block cheddar, since of course you wouldn't ever want to eat the stuff. Sure it's a waste of food, and I am utterly opposed to wasting food, but here's an example of a food that just should never have been made in the first place. So you might as well turn it into art, I suppose.

In February, Showtime Networks hired ace cheese carver Troy Landwehr to convert 1200 pounds of cheddar into a likeness of the Statue of Liberty. The process took four days and is condensed into two minutes in the video above. Watch and be amazed...

Via Crooked Timber, a great tip for remembering what cheeses you've bought: Take a picture of the label, and then bring the picture with you the next time you go buy more cheese. Simple! Brilliant!

This week Madison, Wisconsin hosts the 27th Biennial World Championship Cheese Contest where cheesemakers from around the globe show their wares in pursuit of awards in 79 classes of cheeses and butters. Most interestingly, this year's finale will be broadcast live on the internet, tomorrow, March 13th, from 8:30am CST. Be sure to tune in for some exciting, cheesy action!

UPDATE: Results from Cheese Underground:

Cheesemaker Michael Spycher, of Kaserei Fritzenhaus in Wasen, Switzerland, took top honors out of 1,941 entries from 19 countries for his Le Gruyere Switzerland. First runner-up was a Gorgonzola made by CERPL Cheesemakers in Italy, while second runner-up went to an Emmentaler made by Bernhard Naf, of Guntershausen, Switzerland.

This question came in recently via the Forum:

I do have a question as well. Trying to make ricotta today, I used 2% instead of whole milk. Added some citric acid and salt, heated to 195, and couldn't get the curds to separate, save a few lonely stark white ones floating on the top. After a while (since I assumed all was lost, although I wasn't sure why) I added some rennet to experiment. It separated, those curds sinking to the bottom, wispy off-white. I let them sit and then drained into butter muslin, which is now hanging to drain. Not sure what the finished product will be, or where I went wrong. Should I just not have used 2%?

Thanks,
Heather

I don't think a low-fat milk would entirely prevent the proteins from coagulating, it would just likely lead to a drier, less creamy texture. Perhaps the milk was ultra-pasteurized? If you have any further advice for Heather, leave a comment!  read more »

In case you missed it, I was on WNYC--New York City's NPR affiliate --a couple week's back talking to Brian Lehrer about Stinky Cheese. If you follow that link you can listen an mp3 of my segment (also copied below). You can also see the comments that people left, some of which are pretty hilarious.

Head on over to Big Cheese Stories, the Murray's Cheese blog, for a little write-up they did on my recent visit to their underground caves. I had a great time and learned a lot about what sets them apart. It was a great pleasure to meet Murray's affineur Zoe, who showed me around and gave me the low-down on some of the different techniques they use for bringing out the best in the cheeses they sell. If you haven't done so already, leave a comment here for a chance to win two tickets to tour the Murray's caves! (Oh, and don't make fun of my hairnet. The caves have strict sanitary guidelines.)

Did anyone see the cheese-themed Bud Light ad during the Super Bowl tonight? Here's the premise: guy goes with his partner to a "wine and cheese party." Guy brings huge hunk of cheese with him. Takes it into the kitchen where the other guys are hanging out. "Dude, that's some serious cheese." Pulls the top off, and inside is a six-pack of Bud Light, a sight that duly impresses his bros. One of his friends pops open a baguette to reveal another bottle. The punchline? The box of wine is a portable TV set (with a football game playing on it of course). So...is the take-away that wine, cheese and bread aren't for "real men?" Come on.

I actually didn't catch it during the game, but I was in a loud bar rooting for the Giants and could've missed it. I saw it later on MySpace's Super Bowl Ads page, where you can view the whole ad now (look for the section called 1st quarter and click on the Bud Light ad all the way at the right).