Cheese of the week: Creama Kasa

Name: Creama Kasa Cheese

Brand: Carr Valley

Place of Purchase: Wegman's in Liverpool, NY

Country of Origin: USA

Price in NY: $12.79/lb.

Milk: Cow

Processing: Triple-cream cheese sent from Heaven to Wisconsin to Wegmans

Texture: semi-soft

Color: creamy white

Rind: Pretty blue wax

Aroma: mild dairy, brie

Taste: Cream, dairy, wood, brie

Mouth-feel: Creamy and buttery

Notes: Some cheeses shouldn't be legal.  This cheese combines the flavor of a mild ripened cheese, with the buttery velvet of  triple cream.  It must be a holiday special, because when I went back to the store for more, it was all gone.

I miss being close to Wisconsin.

Cheese of the Week: Howe Cavern's Cave-Aged Cheese

Name: Howe Cavern Cave-Aged Cheese

Brand: Howe Caverns &

 

Place of Purchase:  Howe Caverns, NY & Fly Creek, NY

Country of Origin: USA

Price in Iowa: $15/lb

Milk: Cow

Processing: White cheddar process with cave aging

Texture: Semi-firm, and crumbly

Color: pale-yellow

Rind: Natural waxed (with a nice red wax)

Aroma:wood, musky, like mushrooms

Taste: There is are sharp, cheddar notes in in the front, with airy, fungal/woody notes in the back.

Mouth feel: A nice crumbly cheddar.

Notes: At the end of the day, Howe Caverns Cheese is a gimmick; no different than fresh fudge and screen-printed t-shirts.  However, Howe Caverns Cheese is made from fine, hormone-free, organic, local milk.  It begins as a fine, local, young cheddar and spends some time in the natural caves.  This draws some of the moisture out of the cheese, creating a more crumbly paste than I would expect from a cheddar.  It also adds a number of unique, cave flavors that do not come from an added culture.  A simply and gimmicky as it may be, this cave-aged cheddar is something unique to try after a boat trip through the caves.

Libation of the Week: Calamansi Juice

Name: Calamansi Juice Drink

 

Brand: GINA

Place of Purchase: Asia Market, Rochester, NY

Country/Region of Origin: The Philippines

Tasting Conditions: Chilled in the can

Price in Iowa: $1.29 for 8.5oz.

Description: A light, tart citrus beverage

Flavor: Somewhere between lime and clementine.  In the actual fruit, the flesh is sour and the rind is sweet, so both are used to make the beverage.

Mouth-feel: Crisp, almost astringent

Aroma: Lots of citrus -- orange blossum, grapefruit, tangerine, even a few champagne notes.

 

Notes: I found this treasure at the Korean market in Rochester, NY.  I was expecting your typical, grapefruit sour juice in a can.  What I got was a unique citrus flavor.  The calamand fruit is a cross between the citrus and some wild bush.  It produces an orange lime with a sweet skin and sour-sour flesh.  The fruit itself is used for juice and beverage preparations, but it is also used to prepare/flavor meats and fish.  The calamind fruit also has anti-microbial properties that can be used for topical skin treatments.  Me, I just thought that the lime-clementine flavor was a refreshing change of pace.

Libation of the Week: Saranac Shirley Temple

Name: Saranac Shirley Temple

 

Brand: Saranac Brewing Company

Place of Purchase: Ontario Orchards in Oswego, NY

Country/Region of Origin: Central NY

Tasting Conditions: Chilled in the bottle

Price in Iowa: $1.69 for 12 oz.

Description: A spot on bottled version of a standard kiddie cocktail

Flavor:  Syrupy maraschino cherry and fizzy lemon-lime

Mouth-feel: Heavy but not too heavy.  The perfect mix of syrup and fizz.

Aroma: Strong cherry and citrus

Notes: Saranac is a Syracuse-area beer that is a local favorite in the Oswego-area.  I've been to a few mixers since I arrived here, and some kind of Saranac was always available.  Like most breweries in the area, they developed a soft drink line to get them through Prohibition.  The Saranac Shirley Temple was designed during the 1950s to meet the kid's demand for a serious cocktail.  This drink is perfect.  An exact replica of the fresh bar-made drink in the bottle, from taste to mouth feel.  I bought a single bottle and tried it.  Immediately, I bought a 6-pack.  It was that good.

Why no "Roy Rogers" to match?  Because Saranac is world-famous for their Black Cherry and Black Cherry Cream Sodas, instead.

Libation of the Week: Moxie Elixer

Name: Moxie Elixir

 

Brand:  Drink Moxie.com

Place of Purchase: KOA General Store in South Bend, IN

Country/Region of Origin: Maine

Tasting Conditions: Chilled in the bottle

Price in Iowa: $1.79 for 12 oz.

Description: A carbonated, caramel-colored soda with gentian root.

Mouth-feel: Crisp

Aroma:    Like root beer and Robotussin

Notes:  Moxie Elixir is one of the oldest soda pops in the United States.  It started off as a gentian root elixir, but once soda water was added to the mix, it's been Moxie soda for over a century.  The drink itself tasted like a really strong root/birch beer.  It didn't give me pep or vigor, but it cooled me down on a hot day.

Hiatus

I must apologize for the two month hiatus.  Between moving across the country and starting a brand-new teaching position in "sunny" Oswego, I've been a bit distracted with unpacking and course preparations.

BUT, I'm back and looking for new cheeses and drinks in the Northeast.  So, look out for new pleasurable reviews.

Cheese of the week: Porter Cheddar

Name: Porter Cheddar

Brand: Cahill's

 

Place of Purchase:  HyVee Foods in Ames, Iowa

Country of Origin: Ireland

Price in Iowa: $14.99/lb

Milk: Cow

Processing: A monastery-style cheddar mingled with Cahill's own porter ale.

Texture: Semi-firm

Color: cream-yellow with dark brown veining

Rind: Natural waxed (with a beautiful brown wax)

Aroma: Woody, smokey

Taste: Nutty, coffee, walnut

Mouth feel: A solid cheddar paste

Notes: This cheese was much better than Cahill's Whiskey Cheese from last week.  The porter ale blends well with the cheddar, with the protein and fat in the cheddar.  This cheese paired well with the local microbrews that I had from Olde Main Brewing here in Ames.