Just  a few suggestions from the myriad of possibilities for quick and simple foods to pair with LoveTree cheese for creating truly memorable feasting!

All of the cheeses are great as a dessert  when served with figs, dates, crisp sweet apples( such as Gala), grapes, pears and walnuts.

They are  also lovely when eaten as a simple but elegant entre especially when paired with sweet red bell peppers, fresh slices of tomatoes and cucumbers and  good crunchy french bread drizzled with olive oil.

A true cheese addict's midnight snack is a piece of lightly toasted whole grain cinnamon raisin bread topped with a slice of gently melted  Trade Lake Cedar,  true cheese nirvana!

The Holmes Series on thick, chewey whole grain bread is also a simple but delicious delight.

Of course, the cheeses are also stunning by themselves.

It is generaly recommended to not serve a sourdough bread with such flavorful cheeses, sourdough bread is best paired with cheeses such as Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, and Colby style.

A few suggestions on wine and alternative beverages:

Ca Chardonnay, * Ca Syrah, Pinot Noir, *Ca Zinfandel, *Cabernet

Sauvignon, White Burgandy, a good French Sauterne, Port, Champagne,

Hard Apple Cider, ** lager beer, **ale,  non alcoholic Swedish Sparkling Cider,

Earl Grey Tea

 For a truly regional treat, White Winter Meads pair exceptionally well  with our cheeses...some of my favorite pairings are:

Cyser and Traditional Mead  with the  Holmes series, Gabrielson Lake, and Trade Lake Cedar, Rasberry Melomel  with Trade Lake Cedar,  and the Brackett with the Gabrielson Lake (http://www.whitewinter.com)

*pairs exceptionally well  with the more robust Trade Lake Cedar

** save this one for the Gabrielson Lake and pumpernickel bread... mmmmyum!

Earl Grey Tea makes for   great  non alcoholic companion to your favorite Holmes when paired with sweet apples and pears.

Care and storage of the cheese: (more than you ever wanted to know)

The key to prolonging the  "life " of your cheese and enjoying it's  ultimate  flavor potential is found  in the proper care and storage of the cheese.

Cheese needs to breathe but not dry out.  We never wrap our cheese in plastic wrap because  sometimes the cheese will then become slimy and smell "off". When  that happens the best thing to do is to  discard the cheese.

Defrost refrigerators have evaporators that pull the humidity out of the air which prompts the cheese to dry out  too quickly

I prefer to wrap the Trade Lake Cedar and Gabrielson Lake in white freezer wrap paper or wax paper...nice and snug just as a butcher would wrap a package of meat. I  then place the cheese in the vegetable bin of the refrigerator which has a bit higher humidity level and will help to keep the cheese from drying out. A 1/4 wheel of Trade Lake Cedar or Gabrielson Lake  kept in this manner will continue to age.

The Holmes Series are  very different cheese than the hardy Trade Lake Cedar or Gabrielson Lake...they are softer with much more mold activity which has different needs than a rustic rinded cheese.

For the Holmes, I will wrap them in wax paper and also place in the vegatable compartment of the fridge, but I will not wrap the cheese as snug as the Trade Lake Cedar. I dont want the cheese to get too moist  which will then make the rind damp and gooey and sets  the stage for "off ' flavors and quite possibly a ruined cheese. Another way to handle the Holmes is to place them unwrapped inside of a doubled brown paper bag in the fridge. This allows for air movement for the cheese and helps to retain the humidity and air movement  that the cheese loves.

If you find that mold has started to appear on the Trade Lake Cedar or the Gabrielson Lake ( on the cut side of the cheese) do NOT discard the cheese.. You can do a couple of different things to eliminate the mold:

First, take a paper towel and lightly dampen it in apple cider vinegar and gently blot the mold, this should kill the invasive mold.

You may also lightly scrape  the surface to remove the mold, but I just hate to waste any cheese.

Or ..you can taste it to see if you like it. If you do , then eat it. ( ahh a true cheese monger!)

You do not want to use vinegar on  a soft cheese such as the "Holmes Series" because it will absorb the vinegar, so either gently  scrape it away, or... eat it.

If the Holmes cheese start to look "furry", that is just the mold saying that it likes the environment and that you are doing a splendid job of aging it. Occassionally gently pat the mold down and pat yourself on the back for being a successful  "affineur".

Enjoy the cheese...life is short,

Mary at LoveTree