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The Spread

True blue on the outside, delicate flirt on the inside

SUE RIEDL

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 12:03 AM EDT 20/03/08

Our new cheese column debuts with a look at Saltspring Island Cheese Co.'s Blue Juliette ...Read the full article

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  1. Murray Braithwaite from Canada writes: I am delighted to see this column appear and hope it continues to feature the fine artisanal cheeses being created in Canada. I find the Saltspring Island Cheese Co.'s goat cheeses to be subtle in flavours--complex if you pay close attention. They handle their milk delicately and use low temperature long hold pasteurization to retain as much of the sea-side and evergreen terroir flavours from being compromised by heat pasteurization. It is truly an artisan's cheese. I concur with the recommendation to let the Julliette's ripen until closer to the due date and letting the cheese warm to room temperature brings out a lot more of the flavour. We also find the flavour intensifies after the wheel has been cut open and the remainder has been properly stored for a day or two.
  2. Alex Ferguson from Toronto, Canada writes: Cheese is delicious!
  3. Gavin Power from Toronto, Canada writes: I'm delighted too! This column is a great idea. It's always nice to discover quality products in your own backyard.
  4. Gurth Pretty from Oakville, Ontario, Canada writes: Congratulations to the editorial board of The Globe & Mail, for bringing attention to its readers of the delicious artisanal cheese produced in Canada. Ms. Riedl's article was well-researched and written. It made me hungry to savour a piece of the Blue Juliette while reading her article. When I visited David Wood at his newly-built facility 4 years ago while researching for my first book, The Definitive Guide to Canadian Artisanal and Fine Cheese, he had yet to name it. It's amazing flavours left a wonderful memory on my palate those many years ago. For those who wish to support the Canadian artisanal cheese industry, ask your cheesemonger which Canadian artisanal cheese they sell and buy it. Artisanally made cheese are not cheap. They are produced in small batches, mainly by hand. Their cheese depict the flavours and heritage of their region. Become active by joining organizations such as the Ontario Cheese Society (www.OntarioCheese.org) or La Société des fromages du Québec (www.Societedesfromages.com). I look forward to read Ms. Riedl's future articles.
  5. JC perfide from Paris, France writes: Acarus siro occupies a special place among acarians. Certain gourmets love them. Usually those that love the taste of authenticity. For Acarus siro lives in the rind of certain traditionally crafted cheeses, endowing them, it seems, with an incompara-ble matured quality… Be aware though, that real cheese lovers eat the cheese with its rind… and its acarians! Take Marinette, for example, a traditional cheese maker in Auvergne. In Marinette’s cheese factory, the real artisans are the acarians. For Marinette, the acarians give her cheese an unbeatable savour, even though their role in the maturing of the cheese remains unknown. The taste of acarians was already well appreciated in former days; some would even eat them for breakfast. The Acarus siro acarians are in fact completely inoffensive, although people who manipulate them too often can develop allergies. They are also “social animals”, living in groups and families, and proliferate very rapidly. All to the delight of the people of Auvergne who buy the cheeses occupied by these rather original inhabitants. Paradoxically, in the same region, you don’t often hear people talking about these artisans – it’s a taboo subject – for nobody wants to reveal the secret of these unique cheeses. http://www.monalisa-prod.com/vi/bank/bank_reportage_01.htm
  6. Andre Sobolewski from Gibsons, Canada writes: I am delighted to see this new column.

    Just as artisanal beer has become popular in BC (as well as Quebec) for some time, so has artisanal cheese. We're privileged to have access to a growing selection of interesting, flavourful, locally-made cheeses. Some can even be ordered on the Internet (try the "Island Bries" from Little Qualicum Cheeseworks: as good as any Brie you'll find anywhere).

    Who knows: with new wines and beers, breads and cheeses, Canada may soon claim a rightful place in the gastronomic world!
  7. Albin Forone from Toronto, Canada writes: Thanks for a good new feature. Availability information is especially helpful.
  8. Melissa Pauline from Canada writes: A cheese column! This is an excellent idea. Mmmmmm....
  9. Proctor Gamble from Inherently Interested, Canada writes: A cheese column! Excellent! Brilliant!

    Thank you.
  10. Rain Couver from Canada writes: I love cheese, just can't get beyond eating purposefully rotten blue varieties.
  11. Oakville Curmudgeon from Canada writes: Fantastic. There are enough quality cheeses made in Ontario, Quebec and elsewhere in Canada, both artisanal and not, to keep a column like this busy for years.

    Thanks to the G&M for this great addition. And thanks to Garth for his great book.
  12. Gnarly Kanuck from Canada writes: Thunder Oak Gouda...MMMMMMM....Find it... eat it!
  13. claire townsend from Victoria, Canada writes: Living not far from Saltspring, I've been to the cheesery a few times and love the intimacy and personal touch of an artisinal cheese tasting. Yum! The blue juliette is a definite favourite!
  14. Mr. Justice from Canada writes: A cheese is . . . "flirty" ?

    YIKES.
  15. Puntal Puntal from Calgary, Canada writes: I once dreamed that a block of cheese was trying to eat ME!
  16. Bruce Wood from Salt Spring Island, Canada writes: And for more wonderful bleu's try the Blossom's or Beddis bleu from Moonstruck on SSI, savour with a glass of Cherry Point solera blackberry port and you will be swooning in gustatory heaven.

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