Crème Fraîche, 7.5 oz

Our classic French-style cultured cream has a rich, nutty flavor with an appealing tart edge. A basic pantry item traditionally found in French cooking, this ingredient has spread throughout America’s kitchens. Crème Fraiche is very versatile. Use it for topping off your favorite soup, chili or spoon it over your favorite seasonal fruit. With the depth and richness Crème Fraiche brings to every bite, we find ourselves reaching for it in place of sour cream. Explore this complex flavor in your simplest food preparations.

Ricotta, 12 oz

Ricotta is traditionally made by heating the whey/milk or whole milk to a high temperature and adding an acidifying agent (typically white vinegar or citric acid) which destabilizes the protein and causes it to ‘come out of solution’ forming the curds. We have taken the whey from our aged cheeses, added some whole milk and made both sheep and jersey ricotta for nearly 20 years following this recipe with great results. When we began to develop our recipe for producing a Whole Milk Ricotta we were not satisfied with the results using this method--in particular the higher solids of whole milk produced a texture that was firmer than we liked. We felt that the addition of the vinegar was causing this problem. This brings us to our new ricotta. We do not use any vinegar when making this ricotta. We culture the milk and let the acidity develop naturally for many hours until it is ready to start the heating process.

Making ricotta this way requires constant attention--once heating begins we stand at the vat watching for just the right moment to stop stirring and let the curds form. This gives it the most delicate texture and incredible flavor of any ricotta on the market.

Carmody, 1.75 lb

Our Carmody was also inspired by a trip to Italy. We had an opportunity to watch Gorgonzola being made near Milan. Many Gorgonzola makers are secretive and limit access to their cheese making but our contact was able to get us inside for a short tour. After watching the cheese make we went into a ripening room they had at the facility to see some of the early stages of Gorgonzola aging. In one of the rooms there were some small wheels of cheese on an out of the way shelf. We were able to try a wheel and found it to be a very mild but creamy cheese that still had a great deal of fresh milk flavor. We never saw the cheese made but began to notice similar table cheeses wherever we bought cheese. They were marketed under a variety of names but meant for local consumption. It occurred to us that a cheese of this type might appeal to our customers in the US as an alternative to the young Cheddars or Jack cheeses that dominated the market. Once we returned from the trip I began working on the cheese by using our pecorino recipe as a starting point and making changes in response to the flavors and texture of the cheese. Eventually we found a combination we liked. Carmody is meant to highlight the buttery flavors or Jersey milk. At that point we gave it a name with local meaning — Carmody is the road that runs adjacent to the farm.

Fromage Blanc, 7.5 oz

This simple, traditional, European-style cheese is tangy, buttery and easy to spread! It’s a tasty alternative to cream cheese and chévre. Fromage Blanc is at its best when used as an ingredient in appetizers, main courses and even desserts. It is fabulous as a base for sauces, and pairs well with fresh herbs, spices, and specialty breads. We love to treat it like cream cheese and spread it on toast with a jam or dollop it on a homemade pizza with caramelized onions and spinach. The sky is the limit and the reward is divine!

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