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Soft-ripened cheeses are perhaps the most decadent class of fromage – wonderfully soft and luscious in texture, flavor reminiscent of heavy cream and butter, and that snowy soft bloomy rind that encases the cheese. Also known as surface-ripened cheeses, the rind and ripening (or softening) is a process by which the cheese is either sprayed or dipped in a particular mold that allows it to ripen from the outside in. As a result, many soft-ripened cheeses will exhibit a more runny consistency near the rind, and a firmer center. Some cheese producers, like Marin French in Petaluma, mix the mold into the curds, so their soft-ripened cheeses progress from the inside-out, making for a more uniformly smooth paste.

Soft-ripened cheeses, widely known as extra creamy, can actually be lower in fat than their firmer counterpoints. One reason cheeses like brie and camembert are so soft is the increased moisture left in the curds before ripening. This helps create their unctuous paste, and results in less butterfat, or matière grasse, in the solids.  Exceptions to this, of course, are the triple crèmes, which by law must have at least 75% butterfat. These tend to be more dense and buttery than soft and creamy.

GreenLeaf features a variety of lovely soft-ripened cheeses, from local producers as well as imported. Choose from a variety of  brie, in small and large wheels. We stock a number of triple crèmes, including Brillat Savarin and Explorateur from France, Seal Bay Triple Cream from Australia and local triple creams from Nicasio Valley and Rouge et Noir. We offer soft-ripened goat cheeses from Cypress Grove and Redwood Hill, and there’s an irresistible mixed-milk Robiola from Italy too.

Hailing from the dairy-centric Lombardy region of Northern Italy, Mascarpone is believed to have been invented around the 16th or 17th century. It is quite possible this fresh cheese was the happy result of a kitchen mistake, as its preparation is rather simple. Cream is simply heated and then acidulated, and the whey is drained off. As for the etymology of the name, numerous theories abound, the most likely being that the name evolved from the local dialect for ricotta, mascarpia, since both cheeses are made in a similar fashion.

Mascarpone is extraordinarily rich, tasting of sweet heavy cream. It is spreadable in texture, and considered a fresh cheese. It is made with cow’s milk. While it is popularly known as a key ingredient in tiramisu, it has numerous applications outside of dessert. Consider using a dollop of mascarpone in lieu of butter to finish a risotto – it lends it a superior creaminess and thickens the sauce just so. It is excellent in soft polenta as well, or used in place of heavy cream for decadent mashed potatoes. It makes an excellent, creamy base for saucing pasta, perhaps with shellfish. Or blend it with fresh herbs, mustard, olives, anchovies or other savory ingredients to fill tarts, spread on bread or pipe onto crudités.

Mascarpone is a natural with desserts, from whipping into frostings to filling cakes, blending into cheesecakes and spreading on fresh fruit. GreenLeaf stocks fresh, sweet, creamy mascarpone cheese in 1 and 5-pound tubs. Call today for your order!

Summer is an excellent time to experiment with more goat cheese on the menu. With all of the seasonal fresh produce readily available, and our instinctual craving for bright flavors, goat cheese makes an easy and delicious menu companion. Whether fresh and snowy white, or aged and piquant, goat cheese is extraordinarily versatile and brings depth and complexity in myriad ways.

Start simple by marinating fresh, rindless logs, balls or discs of goat cheese with herbs, citrus zest, peppercorns, dried chilies, olive oil or even nut oils. Virtually any flavor combination is possible, and these can be served as appetizers in simple glass jars with loaves of fresh bread.

Move on to incorporating goat cheese into pasta, pizza and salad. Aged goat cheese, which has considerable bite, is an excellent alternative to parmigiano reggiano for pasta, and imparts a delightfully sharp, full flavor. Crumble an ashed goat cheese into a salad along with sweet summer peaches. Combine fresh goat cheese with virtually any grilled vegetable as a topping for pizza.

And dessert is an excellent opportunity to enjoy goat cheese in unexpected ways. Delightful whipped into cheesecakes, or perhaps as a more complex base for fruit tarts. Soft-ripened goat cheeses adore honey, cracked black pepper and walnuts. Or lavish honey-sweetened goat cheese on grilled stone fruit.

GreenLeaf is stocked to the rafters with more than 30 varieties of goat cheese, from California to Spain, fresh to feta, and everything in between. Liven up your menus, challenge your taste buds, and
call us today for a full list of our goat cheese offerings!

Because it is designed to be eaten within hours of its creation, Burrata remained a relatively unknown regional specialty in Puglia up until very recently. It is generally held that it was first produced in the town of Andria in the 1920s, and only made its way in earnest to the United States within the last decade or so. Some hold that its popularity abroad has actually spurred its domestic growth in Italy – while Americans were ‘discovering’ this incredible new cheese, Italians the next town over were unfamiliar with its charms.

Burrata is a pasta filata cheese, stretched and pulled into its characteristic shape and consistency like mozzarella. Instead of forming the warm, stretched curd into balls, it is formed into a pouch, into which shreds of leftover mozzarella and Italian cream, or panna, is poured. The cheese is finished with a top knot, and traditionally it is wrapped in asphodel leaves, which by their green color denote the freshness of the cheese.

Now with some domestic producers coming to market with truly outstanding versions of this decadent cheese, it is easier to enjoy it in its best state: Freshly made. It can be used interchangeably with fresh mozzarella, although its delicate heart of cream begs to keep things simple. It is an excellent foil for superb extra virgin olive oil and simple grilled vegetables. Drizzle it with honey, or top it with juicy cherries for dessert. Tuck it into squash blossoms or melt over warm pasta. GreenLeaf stocks California Di Stefano and Belfiore, and  Italian Caseficio Maldera– call us today for your order!

The concept of “winter” cheese usually refers to cheeses that are produced during the winter months, often taking advantage of rich, high-butterfat winter milk. However, another way of looking at winter cheese is what cheeses best suit winter menus. These are often cheeses that are produced in the spring, such as Comté and Gruyère, large wheels of which provide much needed sustenance in the cold winter months. These are traditionally known as “mountain cheeses” and the style hails from the Alpine regions of France and Switzerland. As the snows recede in the spring, cows from the valleys are gradually herded up the mountainside, and the resulting milk is turned into large, cooked and pressed wheels of cheese that are then transported back down and aged just in time for the deep, dark winter months. The resulting cheeses tend to be firm, very dense and smooth, sometimes with holes, and usually featuring nutty, sweet and caramelized flavors.

The mountain cheese style is reflected not only in the classics such as Comté and Gruyère, but also in Swiss Emmentaler, another cooked and pressed cheese. Consider Nicasio Reserve, an organic alpine-style cheese made right here in California. All of these are superb winter menu cheeses. Their low moisture-content ensures beautiful melting qualities, they pair exceptionally well with a variety of red and white wines, they are wonderfully savory additions to winter favorites like baked pastas and gratins, and they bring a touch of springtime to an austere winter table like no other ingredient can. Call GreenLeaf today for availability and pricing!

Assembling a cheese course need not be daunting – as long as one starts with exceptional cheese, the rest pretty much takes care of itself. Here are some suggestions for putting together delicious, compelling and beautiful cheese plates.

The rule of thumb is to start with the milder cheeses at 12 o’clock on the plate, and progress to the strongest, most assertive cheeses clockwise to 9 o’clock. For example, choose a fresh or soft-ripened cheese like Seal Bay Triple Cream Brie for 12 o’clock, a semi-firm cheese like Pecorino Nocino for 3 o’clock, an aged goat cheese like Tomme Cabrioulet for 6 o’clock and a rich, robust blue like Blue del Moncenisio for 9 o’clock.

You may also consider themed cheese courses. Arrange a selection of 3 or 4 goat cheeses, starting with a mild, fresh goat cheese, such as Redwood Hill Fresh Goat Cheese, add something with a little age on it, such as Garrotxa, and finish with a show stopper like Gravenstein Gold, an aged, washed rind goat’s milk cheese. Or focus on blues, aiming for variation (strong vs. mild, sheep’s milk vs. cow’s milk) so your guests can learn about and appreciate the subtleties between each variety.

And finally, remember to accompany your course with little tastes of complementary flavors, such as fresh and dried fruit, quince paste, wildflower honey, toasted walnuts and sliced breads and flatbreads. These will compliment and accentuate the flavors of the cheese. GreenLeaf is your go-to source for all manner of artisan cheeses and accompaniments. Call us today and plan your first fall-inspired cheese course!

One need not secure an expensive whole truffle (black or white) to enjoy its wonderfully heady and aromatic flavor. With so many truffled cheeses, butters and oils on the market (we even stock a truffled salame), there are numerous delicious ways to add that decadent truffle flavor to the menu.

Truffle oils can range widely in flavor and nose – from perfectly pitched to something akin to petroleum. This is due to the fact that many truffle oils on the market are actually made with “truffle essence”, which more often than not is an artificial flavor and not from real truffles. Choose a truffle oil, like our Delizia White Truffle Oil, that clearly states on the label that it is made with real truffles. This ensures true, consistent truffle flavor without any “off” notes from the synthetic stuff. Truffle oils are a great way to add flavor to pasta, potatoes, marinades, vinaigrette and sauces. Or make a truffle aioli for a particularly decadent accompaniment to burgers and fries.

Truffled cheeses are wonderful on their own, but can also be a dynamic, delicious compliment to recipes as well. Try Truffle pecorino shaved over pappardelle perhaps, or ravioli stuffed with Cypress Grove’s Truffle Tremor goat cheese; both perfect cold weather pasta dishes.

And remember truffle butter for slipping under the skin of poultry before roasting, whisking into sauces and melting over a perfectly cooked rib-eye. GreenLeaf stocks a variety of truffle cheeses, truffle oil and truffle butters. Call us today for more information, and celebrate the New Year with truffles!

Soft-ripened cheeses are perhaps the most decadent class of fromage–wonderfully soft and luscious in texture, flavor reminiscent of heavy cream and butter, and that snowy soft bloomy rind that encases the cheese … ohhh! Also known as surface-ripened cheeses, the rind and ripening (or softening) is a process by which the cheese is either sprayed or dipped in a particular mold that allows it to ripen from the outside in. As a result, many soft-ripened cheeses will exhibit a more runny consistency near the rind, and a firmer center. Some cheese producers, like Marin French in Petaluma, mix the mold into the curds, so their soft-ripened cheeses progress from the inside-out, making for a more uniformly smooth paste. Soft-ripened cheeses, widely known as extra creamy, can actually be lower in fat than their firmer counterpoints. One reason cheeses like brie and camembert are so soft is the increased moisture left in the curds before ripening. This helps create their unctuous paste, and results in less butterfat, or matière grasse, in the solids. Exceptions to this, of course, are the triple crèmes, which by law must have at least 75% butterfat. These tend to be more dense and buttery than soft and creamy.

GreenLeaf features a variety of lovely soft-ripened cheeses, from local producers as well as imported. Choose from two classic French Bries, or perhaps a Camembert and Gorgonzola hybrid from Germany. We stock a number of triple crèmes, including Brillat Savarin and Explorateur from France, Seal Bay Triple Cream from Australia and local triple creams from Nicasio Valley and Rouge et Noir. We offer soft-ripened goat cheeses from Cypress Grove and Redwood Hill, and there’s an irresistible mixed-milk Robiola from Italy too.

Assembling a cheese course need not be daunting – as long as one starts with exceptional cheese, the rest pretty much takes care of itself. Here are some suggestions for putting together delicious, compelling and beautiful cheese plates.

The rule of thumb is to start with the milder cheeses at 12 o’clock on the plate, and progress to the strongest, most assertive cheeses clockwise to 9 o’clock. For example, choose a fresh or soft-ripened cheese like Seal Bay Triple Cream Brie for 12 o’clock, a semi-firm cheese like Pecorino Nocino for 3 o’clock, an aged goat cheese like Tomme Cabrioulet for 6 o’clock and a rich, robust blue like Blue del Moncenisio for 9 o’clock.

You may also consider themed cheese courses. Arrange a selection of 3 or 4 goat cheeses, starting with a mild, fresh goat cheese, such as Redwood Hill Fresh Goat Cheese, add something with a little age on it, such as Garrotxa, and finish with a show stopper like Gravenstein Gold, an aged, washed rind goat’s milk cheese. Or focus on blues, aiming for variation (strong vs. mild, sheep’s milk vs. cow’s milk) so your guests can learn about and appreciate the subtleties between each variety.

And finally, remember to accompany your course with little tastes of complementary flavors, such as fresh and dried fruit, quince paste, wildflower honey, toasted walnuts and sliced breads and flatbreads. These will compliment and accentuate the flavors of the cheese. GreenLeaf is your go-to source for all manner of artisan cheeses and accompaniments. Call us today and plan your first fall-inspired cheese course!

It is commonly held that Feta’s history stretches back at least to Homer’s time, when he chronicled the making of a cheese very similar to feta in The Odyssey. This would make Feta close to three thousand years old – however, not much has changed in the production of this brined, rindless cheese in all that time. Essentially, feta has traditionally been made in Greece, from sheep and/or goat’s milk, two animals common to the country. The milk can be raw or pasteurized, and will be coagulated with rennet, drained of its whey, salted and placed into barrels of brine for a minimum of 60 days. The result is a somewhat porous cheese that can range from very mildly salty and creamy to sharp and rather crumbly.

The name Feta, which originated in the 17th century, literally translates to “slice” – a likely reference to the common sliced or block shape into which Feta is cut before brining. And to give credit where credit is due, cheeses much like Feta in flavor and composition are produced elsewhere with equally satisfying results, including Bulgaria, France, Turkey and Israel. And now here in the U.S., small cheese makers have ventured into Feta with some rather pleasing results.