{"id":7721,"date":"2021-12-31T17:03:48","date_gmt":"2021-12-31T21:03:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/?p=7721"},"modified":"2021-12-31T17:09:40","modified_gmt":"2021-12-31T21:09:40","slug":"best-bites-memorable-cheese-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/2021\/12\/31\/best-bites-memorable-cheese-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Bites: The most memorable cheese of 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For raclette, pick T\u00eate \u00e0 Papineau for its ooey gooey meltiness, says Vanessa Simmons.
<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We bring the curtain down on 2021 with the help of friends in fromage recalling the most memorable cheeses that crossed their palates during the past 12 months. We add our favourites, too.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Check out the tasting notes and make up your shopping list for the next visit to a cheese shop<\/a><\/span>\u00a0or, better yet, right to the cheesemaker.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s begin with cheese educator and sommelier Vanessa Simmons, our BF in fromage:<\/p>\n

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T\u00eate \u00e0 Papineau for raclette.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My most memorable cheese taste for 2021 was one that brought back a sense of normalcy from years past where I hosted a raclette tasting for a group of scuba diving friends to celebrate an amazing diving season and introduce them to this one-of-a-kind experience. It\u2019s the special moments in time that make memories, and these days, we need to take advantage of those where and as we can. I\u2019ve always found delicious Canadian cheese to be the perfect choice to play a starring role in raclette. I picked <\/em>T\u00eate \u00e0 Papineau for it\u2019s ooey gooey meltiness, low oil residue, development of \u201cla religieuse\u201d crusty rind and awesome toasted flavor that brings an umami taste to elevate sweet, salty and pickled accompaniments.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

T\u00eate \u00e0 Papineau is a semi-soft washed-rind pasteurized cow\u2019s milk cheese from Fromagerie Montebello<\/a><\/span><\/strong> in Qu\u00e9bec. Aged for about 60 days, under a thin golden apricot grainy rind its taste profile is a pleasant find. Aromas of sweet cream mix with flavours of butter, cream, and mild nut and then graduate to more prominent toasted nut over time and with heat, making it the perfect melting cheese to spotlight in raclette.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For Debbie Levy, cheese educator and a key player in the organization of the Cheese & Butter Competition at The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, the cheese experience of the year was delivered by Bois de Grandmont from Fromagerie M\u00e9dard<\/a><\/span><\/strong> in the Saguenay-Lac Saint Jean region of Qu\u00e9bec.<\/p>\n

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Bois-de-Grandmont made by Fromagerie M\u00e9dard.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With its wood band and rustic appearance Bois de Grandmont from Fromagerie M\u00e9dard was a clear winner for me. The spruce bark imparts a delightful woodsy note. That, combined with the soft buttery paste, left me wanting more!<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Cheesemaker Rose<\/em>-Alice<\/em> Boivin-C\u00f4t\u00e9 represents the sixth generation of the C\u00f4t\u00e9 family farming the 100 acres of land granted by authorities in the 19th<\/sup> century to mothers and fathers of 12 or more living children. The objective: clear the forest and develop the region.<\/p>\n

Ferme Domaine de la Rivi\u00e8re is located in\u00a0Saint-G\u00e9d\u00e9on and now also features a bakery. For cheese production, only milk from a herd of 100 Brown Swiss cows is used.<\/p>\n

Jackie Armet is a longtime friend in cheese who has worked with me as cheese co-ordinator at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival and then the Canadian Cheese Awards. In between Covid lockdowns, she has had a chance to visit cheese producers in Qu\u00e9bec.<\/p>\n

One thing that is quite apparent is that having cheese right from the farm or producer is different then buying it from cheese shops, even having it\u00a0weeks later at home.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Her two favourites of 2021:<\/p>\n

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Ashen Bell or Cloche Cendr\u00e9 .<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ashen Bell or <\/em>Cloche Cendr\u00e9 is a pasteurised goat milk cheese in a pyramid format made by Fromagerie du Vieux Saint-Fran\u00e7ois<\/a><\/span><\/strong> in Laval near Montr\u00e9al. Lovely smooth flavour without the sour usually associated with goat’s milk. Vegetable\u00a0ash coats the rind. Delicious\u00a0to have anytime during the day and extra special with a fresh bagel. The fromagerie is not federally licensed so its cheese is only sold in Qu\u00e9bec where it is well known and considered a staple<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Fou-du-Roy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The name <\/em>Fou du Roy from medieval times evokes a jester whose profession was to entertain the king and lords. Fromagiers de la Table Ronde<\/a><\/span><\/strong> is located in the Laurentians of Qu\u00e9bec. Holstein cows produce the milk for this washed-rind, organic, farmstead cheese. Aged 60 days, it takes on flavours of butter, peanut and hay, with the sandy textured rind adding another dimension.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Our own \u201cWow!\u201d moment in cheese came on a road trip across Northern Ontario when we visited Nickel City Cheese<\/a><\/span><\/strong> in Chelmsford, 25 minutes northwest of Sudbury, and ordered deep-fried cheese curds at the Poutinerie stand operated by the son of Nicole Paquin, Nickel City\u2019s owner.<\/p>\n

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Deep-fried cheese curds at Nickel City Cheese in Chelmsford just northwest of Sudbury.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The deep-fried curds were outstanding. Crispy and crunchy on the outside, ooey gooey on the inside. Without a doubt the tastiest fried curds ever!<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t hurt that the poutine stand is steps from the cheese plant where the curds are made fresh several times each week. Close to 20 different types of curds are available at Nickel City.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That road trip across Northern Ontario delivered two other memorable moments in cheese:<\/p>\n

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Mattagami made by Fromagerie Kapuskoise.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2014At Fromagerie Kapuskoise<\/a><\/span><\/strong> in Kapuskasing we discovered that Cheesemaker Fran\u00e7ois Nadeau\u00a0 has made huge strides in developing French-inspired cheeses in a few short years. We were especially taken by Mattagami, a cow\u2019s milk cheese aged two years, named for a river near the fromagerie and inspired by Cantal, one of the oldest cheeses on the planet. Mattagami presents a rich and creamy texture. When aged over a year, it starts to crystalize, further enhancing the flavour of the cheese.\u00a0Mattagami pairs well with red wine or dry white wines, and can be used to replace\u00a0Cheddar in recipes.<\/p>\n

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Cheesemaker Walter Schep at Thunder Oak Cheese Farm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2014Thunder Oak Cheese Farm<\/a><\/span><\/strong> outside of Thunder Bay was the first producer of Gouda cheese in Ontario, starting in 1955 after the Schep family arrived from the Netherlands. Today, Walter Schep, son of the founders, is the cheesemaker and does he work wonders with the creamy Dutch cheese! We were especially taken by the 4-year Thunder Oak. At that age, Gouda is no longer sweet and creamy but has developed intensity as it becomes harder. Now, it\u2019s bold, sharp and caramelized, almost candy like. We love it!<\/p>\n

Our final memorable cheese of 2021 we discovered only a few weeks ago when we started tasting our way through the Advent calendar featuring Qu\u00e9bec cheese developed by Fromages CDA<\/a><\/span><\/strong>. Although we had enjoyed many of the award-winning cheeses produced by Fritz Kaiser<\/a><\/span><\/strong> in Noyan, Qu\u00e9bec, over the years, we had never tasted Noyan, the first cheese he made way back in 1981 when he was a 23-year-old immigrant and about to become a pioneer in the artisan cheese movement in Quebec and, indeed, Canada.<\/p>\n

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Noyan, one of the first cheeses created by Fritz Kaiser 40 years ago.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Noyan has a smooth rind that is pinkish white to coppery orange in colour. The cow\u2019s milk cheese has a cream coloured interior, and is both supple yet flexible. The aroma is reminiscent of fresh mushroom. The taste of milk and nuts becomes ever more robust with time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Stay safe in the New Year, and enjoy Canadian artisan cheese as much as you can.<\/p>\n

\u2014Georgs Kolesnikovs<\/p>\n

Georgs Kolesnikovs, Cheese-Head-in-Chief at CheeseLover.ca, has never met a cheese he didn\u2019t like . . . well, hardly ever. Follow him on YouTube at\u00a0<\/em>Strictly Cheese<\/span><\/strong>.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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We bring the curtain down on 2021 with the help of friends in fromage recalling the most memorable cheeses that crossed their palates during the past 12 months. We add our favourites, too. Check out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7725,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,543,172,541,178,542,506,544,545,388],"tags":[],"brand":[],"class_list":["post-7721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-best-bites","category-fromagerie-du-vieux-saint-francois","category-fromagerie-fritz-kaiser","category-fromagerie-kapuskoise","category-fromagerie-lancetre","category-fromagerie-medard","category-fromagerie-montebello","category-fromagiers-de-la-table-ronde","category-nickel-city-cheese","category-thunder-oak-cheese-farm"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7721"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7743,"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7721\/revisions\/7743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7721"},{"taxonomy":"brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/brand?post=7721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}