Madame Fromage’s Traveling Cheese School

On Monday, October 21, Metropolitan Café at Rittenhouse Square hosted an event called Madame Fromage’s Traveling Cheese School, part of a series in which cheese tastes were explained and paired with wines and beers. This time, the lecture brought in Sue Miller, cheese maker and owner of Birchrun Hills Cheese, a local farm that produces all its own cheeses. All milk used for the cheeses comes directly from the farm, where Sue breeds primarily Guernsey cows.

We tasted 6 different cheeses, all paired with bread made at Metro. The cheeses were tasted in order from lightest to heaviest cheese, and they were all delicious. Here’s a brief rundown of what we sampled:

1. Fromage Blanc

• Creamy and rich, with a slightly tart flavoring
• Similar to goat cheese, but from cows
• Good use as a frosting on dark bread, perhaps with a bit of honey
• Pair with a light wine or a light, pale beer

2. Equinox

• Alpine style cheese (like Gruyere)
• Nutty with a brown buttery flavor, as well as a bit of lemon
• Excellent for grilled cheese
• Pair with a sweet wine or a wheat beer

3. Teaquinox

• Like Equinox, but rubbed on the rind with tea and honey, which permeates through the entire cheese as it ages
• Floral, followed by a sharp buzz.
• Many layers of flavor, and honey preserves the cheese’s flavor
• Good to pair with a Framboise wine or an IPA beer

4. Fat Cat

• A fudgy, rich cheese with a semi-soft tone style
• Smelly and craggy, Sue’s goal with this cheese was to pull out funky flavors
• Mixed rind means that it was washed then allowed to dry, giving it a stink that brings out the mushroom quality of Chester County cheeses
• Would be delicious with caramelized onion and some sort of pickled chutney
• Good to pair with a light red wine like a Pinot Noir or a hoppy beer, like a Triple Belgian.

5. Red Cat

• A variation on fat cat, but washed and left at a higher humidity
• Ages in a smaller wheel
• Gives it a bit extra flavor, a bit sharper than the fat cat, but just as stinky
• Good with some sort of meat, or pickled cranberries
• Pair with same beer and wine as the Fat Cat

6. Birchrun Blue

• A naturally rinded, dry and crumbly blue cheese
• More subtle than most blues, creating an interesting flavor
• Good to pair with walnuts, chocolate, fruit, nuts, jam
• Pair with a port or brandy, was served with Madeira wine

As we ate, Ms. Miller described her experience as a farmstead cheese maker (made from milk produced on her farm) and how she produces each of the cheeses, commenting on the different aging processes and techniques she uses in her “cheese cave”.

Although I am personally not a fan of blue cheese, the Birchrun blue happened to be delicious and may have shifted my opinion of blues forever. However, the real standout of the event was the Teaquinox, which was nearly universally voted the favorite cheese of the evening. The simple, alpine texture, combined with the different levels of flavor all came together to create an incredibly unique cheese.

Ms. Miller’s cheeses can be found at stores like DiBruno Brothers and in Reading Terminal Market, as well as in restaurants around the city including 10 Arts, Kennett, Johnny Brenda’s, SouthWark, and Talula’s Garden.

Metropolitan Café

264. S. 19th Street (between Manning and Spruce)

Tues-Fri 7:30am to 7:00pm 
Sat-Sun 8:00am to 6:00pm

 –Sam Meskin