Take a Murray’s Cheese class right at home!

One of my bucket list things has been taking a class at the famous cheesemonger in NYC, Murray’s Cheese. Apparently, since the days of the pandemic, they’ve been conducting a series of classes by Zoom! I treated myself to the Virtual Spring cheese class, Pairing Perfection.

This was a great thing to do on a Friday evening, to have something fun to look forward to after a long day at work, without having to dress up and drive anywhere.

The point of this class was to introduce people to things to pair with interesting cheeses, including accompaniments and beverages.

You sign up and pay online and they ship to the cheeses and other goodies before the class.

The teacher, Michelle, suggested to us that the concept of mindfulness was important, to be present and notice the smells, tastes and textures.

This is what was included in the box:

Gorgonzola Mountain

Herve Mons Bethmale Chevre

Murray’s High Plains Cheddar

Old Chatham Sheepherding Hudson Valley Camembert

Blake Hill Preserves Jalapeno and Lime Chili Jam

Mitica Acacia Honey

Rustic Bakery Vanilla Bean Shortbread

Pitted Greek Olive Mix.

Michelle discussed how, with pairing, 1+1=3. The pairing creates a whole new sensation. She said that the invention of cheese occurred about 5,500 years ago.

In the US, the 4 milk sources for cheese are cow, sheep, goat and water buffalo.

Old Chatham Sheepherding Hudson Valley Camembert is a patted down cheese, resulting in a bloom rind of sheep and cow. You can pair this with the buttery shortbread. As it ages, it becomes softer and softer- it can get to be like pudding! It’s more intense than Brie, which is more neutral and buttery. Don’t wrap it in plastic wrap! This cheese needs to breathe, or else it becomes ammoniated. Wax paper and Chinese takeout containers are recommended.

Cow milk is 4-4.5% milk fat, while sheep is 7%. Thus, manchego sweats and coats the palate. Drink an acidic or bubbly drink with cheeses such as this, pair with acacia honey, which has a light sugary taste.

In the US, all rinds are edible, but they may not be palatable. If you are at a party, it’s not considered nice to just scoop out all the paste and leave just the rind for the next person.

This cheese is good for breakfast, with toast and honey. This Camembert adds heavy cream in the process, though cream is not added to traditional Camembert.

Get the good stuff: mass produced Camembert has a rubbery rind.

Herve Mons Bethmale Chevre is by a famous French cheesemaker in a Tomme style. It’s an uncooked, pressed goat cheese. It’s got a nutty aroma, with hazelnut and salty flavors. The cheese was first made in the 12th c. for Louis VI, it was his favorite cheese.

Goat cheese is whiter than cow’s milk cheese. It has something to do with how goats use the Vitamin A they consume. It has a bit of a salt. Wines will bring out more of this. I noticed a bit of straw, too.

I learned that nobody tastes the same thing, ever. Wow! The olfactory sense brings out memories and we all have different memories.

When it comes to pairing, you can either go like with like, or complimentary.

The vegetation that the animals consume affect the milk’s flavor.

Mr. Mons helped them build their cheese aging caves.

Murray’s High Plains Cheddar has crystals — it’s made by a 16 year old Mennonite who sourced milk from local dairies and make an award-winning cheese! It’s like an Alpine cheese, pressed. That’s why those kind of cheddars don’t melt well.

It’s unusually wrapped in plastic, so as to not encourage other molds/flavors. They suggest pairing it with Blake Hill Preserves Lime Jalapeno Chili jam, which is deep green, very spicy with a hint of sweetness. Do you like cheddar jack cheese? You’d like the pairing! It’s suggested to pair the combo with a Cabernet, rose’ or beer. Something to think of for the next Cinco de Mayo! You can also consider iced hazelnut coffee, iced coconut coffee, as well as tiki cocktails! This is considered versatile enough to be on any cheese board.

Gorgonzola Mountain is a feisty blue cheese. You should not wrap it in plastic, you should wrap it in foil — molds can jump cheeses in the fridge. Blue cheese comes from the mold on rye bread. It’s a tender cheese. It developed in France and Italy in the 12th century. It’s a good match for acid salads with spicy black pepper. Desserts tone it down.

We learned that it goes with Reese’s peanut butter cups! It’s also good with Rustic Bakery Vanilla Bean shortbread. It brought out tropical notes!