Archive for August, 2008

Veldhuizen Farmstead Cheese, Discovered at Slow Food Nation

By Susie, 31 August, 2008, No Comment

A highlight of volunteering at Slow Food Nation’s Taste Pavilion was discovering Veldhuizen Cheese, a farmstead* cheese maker, which produces so little that it is rarely available outside of Texas. They sell most to restaurants in the area, although they have a store at the farm as well as online.

*Means the cheese maker also produces the milk from his/her own animals.

Veldhuizen makes 10 types of cheeses including the blue, cheddars, and a gruyere style.

I had the pleasure of tasting the Bosque Blue. As you can see in the photo, it is very veiny and the “white” part has a yellow hue due to the cows feeding largely on grass. Only 15% of their diet comes from grain at the Dublin, Texas farm, 65 miles southeast of Fort Worth. (Take a memo: Strive to be a cow here in your next life.)

The Lure of Cheese Making

Stuart explained that he grew up on the dairy farm and knew what hard work it was to make a living. He thought he didn’t want to be in the business. But in 1999 a hankering called. His wife researched how many cows they’d need to make cheese.

They started with 20 cows and now have 40, in a profitable operation. The rest is history. They enjoy being a small operation so their cheese will remain a rare, coveted delight.

You can read more on how they got started their website. Good people, great cheese. I hope you can experience it!

Short clip on his background…

See more photos from Slow Food Nation

Patric Chocolate from Missouri – Discovery!

By Susie, 29 August, 2008, No Comment

A funny thing happened on Market Street.

My friend asked if I’d seen the chocolate at Fog City News, which I had not. So we strolled in only to find owner Adam Smith hosting a tasting of Patric Chocolate from Columbia, Missouri. Cha ching!

In town for Slow Food Nation, Alan McClure explained how his 67% and 70% cacao chocolate bars come from a Madagascar cacao plantation with whom he works with directly.

The 70% contains only cacao and sugar. The 67% has some added cocoa butter. He makes these in an 1800 square foot facility, and originally created the chocolate and ran the operation entirely on his own.

It’s delicious, smooth and interesting, the 67% having a very fruity flavor. If you’re going to Slow Food Nation, seek him out. Or find his bars in San Francisco as well as other locations.

When Is Food Not Slow?

By Susie, 28 August, 2008, No Comment

When it’s fast.

In any other setting I would have been delighted to feast on a 2 pound chunk of Humboldt Fog goat cheese along with an equally hefty slab of Rogue Creamery blue from Oregon.

But the fact is, this was Maine, adjacent to a town boasting a cheese company, and in a state that’s home to at least several cheese producers (like Seal Cove chevre).

Yes I reluctantly paired some blue with my “buy local” bitter grapes.

June Taylor Jams Demo Event in Berkeley – August 29

By Susie, 24 August, 2008, 1 Comment

Friday August 29, 2008 from 11-4pm
Visit June Taylor Jams in Berkeley to discover the process of making organic fruit jams.

June is holding this unadvertised event alongside Slow Food Nation, which will be in San Francisco.

Other local artisan food makers such as Andante Dairy and others will be there for tasting jams coupled with complementary delicacies.

June Taylor’s “Still-Room” (where you can also take hands-on preserving classes) and shop are at 2207 4th St, Berkeley 94710, 510-528-2236

Taza Chocolates

By Susie, 21 August, 2008, 1 Comment

A recent trip to Boston delighted me with the discovery of Lionette’s, a tiny underground market in the South End, replete with produce, meats, cheeses, and all things locally produced (including a killer pulled pork, sold in bulk).
Taza Chocolate caught my eye, primarily as I’d never heard of it before. And I’m always on the lookout for new theobroma. Well, it turns out this stone ground chocolate is not only darkly delicious with a slight graininess you might expect from a stone ground product, but it’s a new company based on Boston.

Note the engaging and clever way they include the batch number! It makes me want to collect them all. One might think that around $6 it’s expensive. But square for square that comes to $.30/each. And as an artisan produced product with materials sourced directly from the producers, hey, it’s worth every cent.

I was slightly disappointed, discovery-wise, to find out they already have nationwide distribution. Or buy online. I have yet to see them in any stores I might expect in the San Francisco area. I predict a presence at Bi-rite is imminent.

[Fast Forward to April 2008, 7 months later: The times have changed! I'm now with Foodzie and for months, Taza has had a store on Foodzie. I never dreamed when I first spotted their chocolates on the shelves of Lionette's that I would have the pleasure of being affiliated with this great company. ]

Here you’re treated to a shot of my 80% cacao Taza bar before I demolished it, atop an airplane seat. I have no boundaries.

Post-Slow Food Nation update

It was delightful meeting Alex Whitmore, one of Taza’s founders, at Slow Food Nation in San Francisco. Unfortunately our fun interview got cut by the Camera Gods, so here you can see 1/2 a sentence.

He had Batch 160 on hand… exciting that it was a mere 3 batches beyond the one I’d had.

I believe he said there are about 1600 bars in a batch, although you’ll need to confirm that one yourself…a good reason to visit Taza or read their story.

What he told me was: While working on ZipCar he was very much into chocolate. When he went to Oaxaca and saw stone ground process, the spark to form a chocolate company was ignited.

A piece of the Cinnamon Chocolate Mexicano with “roasted cocoa beans, cane sugar, and cinnamon stick” tasted exactly as such and would surely make a great cup of thick hot cocoa.