Alemar Bloomies:  New & Improved

When
Zuercher started carrying Alemar cheeses years ago, it was a one-man operation.
Cheesemaker Keith Adams has since returned to his native California to start a
new cheese project. Craig Hageman is now the head cheese maker in Minnesota and
has one other person working on the team. Even with all the growth over the
years, Alemar Cheese Co. is still a very small operation focused on the highest
quality French-inspired cheeses.

We
like that we’ve seen Alemar’s quality improve as they’ve increased production.
Most recently, the team has been doing product development and is experimenting
with some new equipment and techniques. Keith Adams filled us in on some of the
changes, and how they will affect moisture and rind slippage in their bloomy
cheese products:

 

We’re always striving to make better cheese.
Recently, we added a drying room that will hold our cheeses for the first 24
hours after salting. It’s a bit warmer and drier than our ripening room, and
produces a finer, more delicate rind without sacrificing any of the flavor
you’ve come to expect from Alemar. We’re very pleased with the results, and if
you haven’t had our cheeses in a while, perhaps you’d like to take another
look.

 

Here’s
a refresher on the two main bloomy rind cheeses offered by Alemar Cheese Co.:

U1340
Alemar Bent River – 6 / 13 oz.

Alemar Cheese’s
Bent River is their flagship offering. Bent River is made in the style of
Camembert using grass-fed cows’ milk from a local Minnesota farm. The texture,
when young, is mild, firm in the center and smooth towards the bloomy rind.
Vegetal notes, such as asparagus and cauliflower, prevail at this stage. As the
cheese ages, the flavor develops and changes to become more mushroom-like and
earthy with a softening silky paste.

 

U1640
Alemar Blue Earth – 4 / 2 lb.

This American
brie-style cheese takes its name from Blue Earth County, Minnesota, and the
home of Alemar Cheese Co. These larger wheels ripen more slowly, developing a
smooth paste and flavors of mushrooms, sweet cream and cultured butter. Blue
Earth finishes with a bright, clean minerality.