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BS Event: Murray's Cheese Tasting & Drinks

Craggy. Stinky. Earthy. Dense. These are terms that are decidedly unfavorable if you're describing another person. If you are using them to highlight the attributes of cheese, however, they can be words of high praise. This is what we learned during our Cheese 101 tasting class at Murray's, the legendary Greenwich Village cheese shop.

Our instructor, Jason, took us on a virtual world tour, with samplings from the USA, France, Italy, Portugal, Scotland, Switzerland and Spain. The types of cheeses we tasted ran the gamut from young to old, soft to hard, mild to strong. You name it and we tasted it.

Jason's passion for his job was evident from the start. He expounded on the basic types of cheese - Fresh Soft, Bloomy, Washed-rind, Blue, Uncooked Pressed and Cooked Pressed. We heard about curds, whey, microbes, rinds and rennet. A hint of stress began to show on some of the Boyle programmers' faces, but all was well again once we discovered a flow chart that laid everything out logically.

Speaking of passion, Murray's staff even includes people who are so eager to work in the industry that they volunteer their time in order to learn the ropes from the seasoned experts.

The process and art of making cheese is a fascinating one and is almost impossible to reproduce exactly twice in a row, so every batch will be slightly different from the others. The flavor is affected by everything from the diet of the animal producing the milk, the weather, the season, the time of day of the milking to the "man-made" aspects of the process like pasteurization, storage, pressing, aging, etc.

Our tasting class began with the mildest flavored cheese and it progressed in intensity. To complement and balance our samplings, we had a Spanish Tempranillo red wine and two sparkling white wines (one from France's Loire valley and a Spanish cava).

Here is a recap of our selections:

Westfield Capri (USA) - A nice choice to start, this American goat cheese, or chevre, had a consistency similar to cream cheese and Jason was keen to distinguish this one from the common types of crumbly goat cheese widely available today.

Brie Fermier Jouvence - Unlike any brie we've tasted, this one has an earthy character with flavors of mushroom and broccoli.

Quadrello di Bufala - Made with milk from water buffalo, this creamy Italian cheese has a rich, gamey flavor that is enhanced by the time it spends in Murray's own caves.

Amanteigado - Coming from Portugal, made from raw ewe's milk and thistle rennet, this cheese is interesting even in its description. The complexity of flavors - floral, tangy, salty - paired well with the Spanish red wine.

Isle of Mull Cheddar - Another cheese with an intriguing story. This one is from Scotland from an English recipe. The cows that produce the milk eat leftover mash from the scotch-making process, which makes for a sharp and peaty flavor.

Scharfe Maxx - Perhaps the most interesting of all our samples, this Alpine cheese is made from the milk of cows that graze on grass, clover and flowers. You wouldn't guess that from the distinctly onion-like flavor of this cheese. Even the rind has a strong, toasted onion taste.

Mitibleu - A Spanish cheese that uses the classic French Roquefort recipe. Made from raw sheep's milk, this cheese is pierced to create air holes for the classic blue veins to form. It's salty and metallic flavor made for an intense, yet pleasurable end to our night.

After thanking and saying goodbye to our hosts, we took our overworked palates to the nearby Blind Tiger to sample their famous beer selection, chat and celebrate the holidays.

About Boyle Software Inc.

Boyle Software is a privately-held, custom software development company that "designs, develops and delivers" robust technology solutions for small and large clients alike, across several industries, including Financial Services, Media, Entertainment, Insurance, Pharmaceuticals, Health Care, Government, NGOs and Non-Profits.

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