The Man and I are in Washington State this month closing up our residence before returning to Georgia to continue caring for Miss Anne… aka “mom”… While here, we had the local watch repair guy put batteries in our… watches…
The watch repair guy’s shop is located inside the Fred Meyer store where I began my cheese career. I started as the part-time Monger when the shop opened in July 2008. It was the beginning of a new adventure and my great love affair with cheese.
In 2012, I returned to this same shop to convert it into a Murray’s outpost and train the personnel to cut, wrap and sell the Murray’s Cheese way… one of more than 100 conversions or grand openings I did while working with the fine folks at Murray’s Cheese.
So… while getting new batteries, I wandered over to the MC shop to check it out. I had barely walked up, when Candy, one of the Mongers I trained in 2012, greeted me and began chatting about the “stinky cheese” she was cutting. I walked around the shop to get a better look at the cheese and that was when Candy recognized me – my new hair style and recent weight loss threw her off…
She immediately brought me a sample of the cheese, an exclusive to Murray’s, Sennenkase. It’s an Alpine-style cheese made with milk from thirty herds of Brown Swiss and Braunvieh cows in a small, northeastern, mountainous Swiss Canton. The third-generation Cheesemaker, Christian Oberli, uses unpasteurized and full cream milk that accentuates the terroir of the summer pasture and the winter hay.
The “stinkiness” comes from the regular brushing and washing that occurs during the five months of aging at the dairy. However, like most stinkers, the bite is much more luscious, creamy and savory with a nutty finish.
In addition to Sennenkase, the Oberli dairy has developed an impressive range of Raclettes, Tilsiter and their Schweizer Gold.
Aside from the pleasure of being introduced to a new, tasty cheese, I was thrilled to see that my training in 2012 had “stuck”; Candy was the “perfect” Murray’s Cheese Monger and the shop was above standards: the cases were full, gorgeous and impressive in presentation and cleanliness… those who have trained with me, know how I feel about cleanliness…
My hats off to both Candy and the Cheese Master, Spencer (whom I also trained)!! If you live near the Salmon Creek neighborhood of Vancouver, check out the cheese shop and tell Candy and Spencer… “Marcella sent me…”
Adam Moskowitz, founder of the Cheesemonger Invitational, imports Sennenkase.
I award Sennenkase 4 Paws. I commend Rob and the entire MC team on selecting another winning cheese.
Serving Suggestions: Alone on a cheese board, Sennenkase will shine. I also bet this would make a spectacular addition to your next grilled cheese or Au Gratin dish.
Wine Suggestion: I would suggest Champagne, Merlot or even a Tawny Port.
Interviews with Cheese Professionals continue through 2016… sometimes, as “stand-alone” interviews and sometimes as round-table discussions with several Pros answering the same question. Those participating include Cheesemakers, ACS CCPs™,Cheesemongers and Cheese Experts who contribute to this Wonderful World we call “Cheese”.
List of all Interviews from 2013: Cheesemakers, Cheesemongers.
List of 2015-16 Cheese Professionals.
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