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“Coupole: Small Cheese, Big Deal”

In this month's installment of Cheese Whiz, with Strong Buzz Chese Correspondent Sasha Davies, we look into the world of the coupole, (coop-ole), a pastuerized 45-day aged goat's milk cheese from Websterville, Vermont produced by the Vermont Butter & Cheese Company. Read it and Eat!

Vermont Butter & Cheese Company was one of the first on the American artisan cheese scene. Goat's milk cheeses like chevre are so ubiquitous that it is hard to imagine that only 25 years ago few Americans had heard of let alone tried them. Allison Hooper and her business partner Bob Reese started a humble cheesemaking company with a legendary $1200 and steadily grew the business over the past couple decades, expanding their product line to introduce us to other French-inspired, cultured dairy products like crème fraiche and cultured butter.

A few years ago they decided to launch a trio of delicate, French-inspired, mold-ripened goat's milk cheeses. Not only do these cheeses mimic shapes and flavors of their French inspirations, they are produced using technology and equipment being used by many cheese producers in France today. One of the keys to the success of French cheesemakers in generating such delicious and consistent cheese is the rigor and objectivity underlying their approach to cheesemaking, not to mention their use of technology. VBC built an entire new, multi-million dollar facility equipped with multiple aging rooms, special draining tables, testing tools and ventilation systems to create a perfect environment for the production and development of these cheeses.

They are able to monitor every nuance in the cheesemaking process from humidity levels in each room to the volume of solids within the milk they buy from the 25-plus dairies throughout the Northeast who supply them. Given their track record as pioneers it may not be surprising to see Vermont Butter & Cheese Company forwarding the artisan cheese movement but it is still absolutely awe-inspiring.

The Cheese:

Coupole is a cheese that delights both the eye and the palette. Shaped like an upside down teacup with a delicate dusting of black vegetable ash, this cheese could almost pass for a scoop of vanilla ice cream with sprinkles. The rind resembles a thin skin, prone to wrinkles as the cheese ages and loses moisture, whose basic function is to contain the small layer of broken down pate directly beneath it. This is a cheese that ripens from the outside in which means that the very innermost pate is somewhat fluffy, melting into an almost clay-like paste on the tongue. The flavors are perfect for spring- light and full all at once- similar to an unsweetened, less moist cheesecake. Along with vibrant lemony notes are occasional hints of nuts.

While it is clear that this cheese is made from goat's milk because it has that telling brightness and acidity, even the most goat-averse caesophiles should give this one a try.

Pair with:

Wines- Elemental Cellers, Melon de Bourgogne- Melon de Bourgogne is Muscadet (a favorite out of Loire, France) nice easy to drink wine with peach, citrus and strong acid to match those notes in the cheese. Another would be, St. Michael-Eppan, Gewürztraminer– Gewurztraminer works because of the large mouth feel. Nice aromas of lychee and wildflowers. And good balance with the cheese's acidity.

Beer- Magic Hat Brewing Circus Boy Hefeweizen is a great compliment to Coupole with both warm, nutty notes and bursts of citrus.Condiments- Phenomenal with wildflower honeys and even mild single-varietals like Bee Raw's Star Thistle Honey from Colorado.

Available at:

Artisanal Premium Cheese, www.artisanalcheese.com

Marlow & Sons, 81 Broadway, Brooklyn

Murray's Cheese, 254 Bleecker Street

Whole Foods Bowery, 95 East Houston between Chrystie and Bowery

 

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Posted: April 4, 2008

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