Thursday, April 30, 2009

Angelo and Franco Mozzarella

We are expanding the cheese selection at The Heritage Kitchen booth. We are trying a new Italian cheese maker for our ricotta, mozzarella and a burrata type mozzarella ball filled with ricotta.
I'm off to visit the Angelo and Franco cheese company in Hawthorne. I hope to post pictures later.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Wrapping Cheese

Recently we've had a great need for good cheese storage. We're selling cheese. We're sampling cheese. We're eating cheese. We need to keep our cheese fresh.
I have been using waxed paper for storing my cheeses. I like the natural brown waxed paper bags available at Whole Foods. They are inexpensive and seem to work as an efficient smell barrier while allowing the cheese to breath. If the wax paper gets a little soggy, I simply replace it, every few days.
We've discovered a product designed just for this task, cheese wrapping paper. We're very curious as to it's superiority as a cheese storage medium.
Formaticum Cheese Paper is quite expensive but the website indicates that funds go to helping the dairy farmers, which I like.

I'm also interested in glassine bags. They are traditionally used to store baked goods and candies and are similar to waxed paper. I'm wondering, are they better than waxed paper?

Is Formaticum Cheese Paper worth the expense?

Cheesy Broads need to know!

Friday, April 17, 2009

River's Edge Goat Selection

It's all about the cheese!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Naturally Dyed Eggs




Use onion skins for a beautiful batik effect. Save the papery skins of yellow onions until you have a big bagful, or ask your supermarket’s produce manager to let you collect loose skins from the onion bin. Tear the skins into bits and place piles of them in 8-inch squares of cheesecloth. Place a raw egg in the center of each pile, and tie the cheesecloth around it in a tight bundle, making sure the egg is completely covered by the onion skins. Place the eggs in a large pot with enough cold water to cover. Heat until the water begins to boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for approximately 20 minutes. Remove the pot from the stove and let the eggs sit in the water until they are cool enough to handle. Carefully unwrap the eggs, dry them, and place them in a decorative bowl or basket. The onion skins impart no flavor to the eggs, and their rich mottled copper color will make a most unusual spring centerpiece.

This article was first published in The Heritage Kitchen April newsletter and was written by Edythe Preet.