SPECIAL SECTION 2008 Specialty Cheese Guide Dec./Jan. ’08 Deli $14.95 BUSINESS

Also Includes The American Cheese Guide

ALSO INSIDE Entrées Natural Meats Italian Deli Salami Reader Service No. 107 DEC./JAN. ’08 • VOL. 12/NO. 6 Deli TABLE OF CONTENTS BUSINESS FEATURES Merchandising Entrées In The Deli ...... 17 Fresh is the buzzword sparking a revolution in today’s supermarket industry. COVER STORY PROCUREMENT STRATEGIES Natural Deli Meats ...... 59 More retailers are responding to consumer concern for both a more healthful product and animal welfare. MERCHANDISING REVIEW Viva Italy! ...... 63 Learning about the background of imported Italian deli products spurs effective marketing and increased profits. DELI MEATS Salami And Cured Meat: Renaissance With An Ethnic Flair ...... 69 Effectively merchandise a range of salami and cured meats as high-end unique products.

SPECIAL SECTION...... 19 1122 2008 COMMENTARY EDITOR’S NOTE Specialty The Specialty Cheese Challenge/Opportunity...... 6 Cheese Guide It may sound like a burden — can’t we just sell product? — but it really is the opportunity.

PUBLISHER’S INSIGHTS 2008 Will Be An Interesting Year...... 8 From cause marketing and the invasion of the Brits to the greening of politics, 2008 will prove to be a pivotal year.

MARKETING PERSPECTIVE There’s No Place Like You For The Holidays ...... 73 You can mount any merchandising extravaganza you choose, so long as it reflects who you are and is executed well. Also Includes The American Cheese Guide IN EVERY ISSUE CORPORATION OF ATALANTA COURTESY PHOTO DELI BUSINESS Quiz ...... 4 Information Showcase...... 74 Deli Watch ...... 10 Blast From The Past ...... 74 TechNews ...... 72

DELI BUSINESS (ISSN 1088-7059) is published by Phoenix Media Network, Inc., P.O. Box 810425, Boca Raton, FL 33481-0425 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to DELI BUSINESS, P.O. Box 810217, Boca Raton, FL 33481-0217

DEC./JAN. 2008 DELI BUSINESS 3 Deli Deli BUSINESS QUIZ TIMOTHY BOWE BUSINESS Regional Account Manager Swiss-American, Inc. St. Louis, MO

President and Editor-in-Chief • JAMES E. PREVOR [email protected] Timothy Bowe’s career in foodservice began at age 14, when he worked as a line cook for a fast food restaurant. Today, he focuses Publishing Director • KENNETH L. WHITACRE [email protected] on developments within the deli industry. “I work mostly in new business development,” notes Timothy, a 4-year veteran Publisher/Editorial Director • LEE SMITH with Swiss-American. “We work with club stores, private labels, retailers in the [email protected] Southeast and foodservice distributors in the St. Louis marketplace.” Managing Editor • JAN FIALKOW From the array of food items to the multitude of retailers, Timothy says it’s the vari- [email protected] ety that makes working in the industry so enjoyable. Assistant Editor • YAHIA LABABIDI ADELI BUSINESS reader since the magazine began 12 year ago, he most enjoys [email protected] reading about new products and the job responsibilities of other people in the deli Assistant Editor • AMY SHANNON industry. [email protected] As the winner of the DELI BUSINESS quiz, Timothy will receive a graphite wedge. Circulation Manager • KELLY ROSKIN [email protected] WIN AN ECO-LUXURY ORGANIC COTTON ROBE Production Director • DIANA LEVINE Pamper yourself and be good to the environment! Free of all chemicals at all stages [email protected] of production from cultivation to manufacturing. Made in Europe under fair labor con- Production Leader • JACKIE TUCKER ditions. Available in three unisex sizes: Unisize, extra small (for persons 5’5” or under) [email protected] and extra large (6’ or over). Production Department •FREDDY PULIDO HOW TO WIN JOANNA ARMSTRONG To win the DELI BUSINESS Quiz, the first thing you have to do is enter. The rules are simple: Read through the articles and advertisements in this issue to find the Research Director • SHARON OLSON answers. Fill in the blanks corresponding to the questions below, and either cut along Contributing Editors the dotted line or photocopy the page and send your answers, along with a business CAROL M. BAREUTHER KAREN SILVERSTON card or company letterhead, to the address listed below. The winner will be chosen by JEANNE CARPENTER LISA WHITE drawing from the responses received before the publication of the April/May 2008 BOB JOHNSON TRISHA J.WOOLDRIDGE BARBARA ROBISON issue of DELI BUSINESS. The winner must agree to submit a photo to be pub- Advertising lished in that issue. RAY GHANEM [email protected] JORDAN BAUM Quiz Questions [email protected] ERIC NIEMAN 1) What is the toll-free number for Creta Farms? [email protected] ______RIC PURCARO [email protected] 2) Tillamook has been farmed owned since when?______Send insertion orders, payments, press releases, ______photos, letters to the editor, etc., to: DELI BUSINESS 3) What is the street address for Lamb Weston? ______P.O. Box 810217, Boca Raton, FL 33481-0217 ______Phone: 561-994-1118 Fax: 561-994-1610 E-mail: [email protected] 4) In what year was Woolwich Dairy established? ______Phoenix Media Network, Inc. 5) What is the Web address for Great American Appetizers, Inc.? ______Chairman of the Board • JAMES E. PREVOR ______Executive Vice President • KENNETH L. WHITACRE Senior Vice President • LEE SMITH 6) What is the phone number for Gallo Brokerage? ______General Counsel • DEBRA PREVOR ______Executive Assistant • FRAN GRUSKIN Trade Show Coordinator • JACKIE LOMONTE This issue was: ■ Personally addressed to me ■ Addressed to someone else DELI BUSINESS is published by Phoenix Media Network, Inc. Name: ______P.O. Box 810425, Boca Raton, FL 33481-0425 Company:______Phone: 561-994-1118 Fax: 561-994-1610 Entire contents © Copyright 2007 Position: ______Phoenix Media Network, Inc. Street: ______All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. City/State:______Zip:______Publication Agreement No. 40047928 Phone: ( ) ______Fax: ( ) ______Please send answers to: DELI BUSINESS QUIZ: Dec./Jan. 2008 Issue P.O. Box 810217 • Boca Raton, FL 33481-0217

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Reader Service No. 103 FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK The Specialty Cheese Challenge/Opportunity

s Wal-Mart rolled its Supercenter concept of a French Beaujolais and now imagine him trying some across America, the smart advice has been American specialty cheese for the first time. A for stores to become the anti-Wal-Mart — • The unmotivated consumer: He knows this is a high service, more upscale product, more organic, hot area and doesn’t want to make a fool of himself, but it is more artisanal. not his thing. Think of the guy invited to his boss’ house; the Few areas seem boss, a wine lover, is serving more appropriate for rack of lamb. The guy runs such a mission than into a liquor store and asks By specialty cheese, which is for a really nice bottle to enjoying a boom at mass- match. He doesn’t want to Jim Prevor market retailers. Yet the It may sound like a burden — can’t be an expert but wants to boom is calling into question we just sell product? — but it really is seem knowledgeable and Editor-in-Chief of the product offer and mer- the opportunity. wants his store to help him. DELI BUSINESS chandising abilities of super- This holiday season, we markets of all types. We say had the opportunity to buy a we are going to offer broad fair assortment of specialty arrays of specialty product, cheeses and found supermar- but large assortments pose unique challenges for procure- kets of all types lacking. On a trip to Los Angeles, we were ment teams and enormous challenges to merchandisers. at a Bristol Farms, about as upscale as you get, and noted Are retailers up to the challenge? Can suppliers help more ? the mediocre quality and non-fresh nature of the products Intrinsic in this question, of course, is the notion that an included in its pre-made gift baskets. opportunity exists for increasing sales through more appro- We asked to purchase our choice of upscale foods to priate product assortment and better merchandising. make a super quality, super expensive basket; a floral staffer Specialty product serves so many purposes that the was brought out — her control of the shrink-wrap machine same product can be sold in virtually unrelated markets. put her in charge. The floral manager told us she was too Many who will buy a bouquet at a supermarket wouldn’t busy to do a basket then or anytime that day, but if we gave think of getting flowers for a wedding or funeral there. her a list of what we wanted, she would do it tomorrow. Specialty food also offers many distinct markets: We wanted the gift basket for a special party for a spe- • The gift market: Specialty foods always make great cial friend, and we needed it that night. Since they wouldn’t gift items, and offering gift packs can open a whole new help us, we spent our money elsewhere. sales universe. A large order of high-end specialty foods walked out the • The entertaining market: Many consumers want to door because a high-end store wasn’t sensitive to serving offer guests an assortment of wonderful foods — such as the gift market and knowledgeable, expert consumers. specialty cheese — but what to offer, how much, with what Where did we wind up buying most of our fresh foods, should it be served? Their nerves can fray while the opportu- including specialty cheese, this holiday season? Costco. The nities for both producers and retailers abound. assortment was excellent, the price was reasonable and the • The personal and family consumption market: product offering included things like pre-set cheese plates Some consumers know they or family members like one with assorted specialty cheeses. particular item, say a specialty cheese they were served at a There was a lot of good stuff, in areas where we didn’t party, but are uncertain as to what else they might like or know much — for example, specialty packages with assort- with what to serve it. Other consumers know specifically ments of Spanish cheeses — and many pre-selected assort- what they want. They are more likely to be swayed by ments packaged into simple yet sophisticated gifts. serving size and price than other markets. Many deli departments are filled with fantastic offerings Then, within each market, we have three buyer types: — 10 types of olives, 200 cheeses, prosciutto di Parma. • The knowledgeable expert: Some people walk into Shame on us if we don’t put all this together so our con- the store and know they want to do a flight of cheddars. sumers can see the value, expand their palates, meet their Next week they may be looking for something unusual from needs for gifts and entertainment and enjoy shopping rather Cypress or the latest award-winner from Oregon. Think of than leaving our stores not knowing how to put it all together. a wine connoisseur; then change wine to cheese. It may sound like a burden — can’t we just sell product? • The aspirational consumer: He knows specialty — but it really is the opportunity. Being the anti-Wal-Mart cheese is sophisticated, upscale, eco-friendly and hip. He is as much a matter of thinking of — and delighting — the sees it as in line with the kind of life he wants to live. But he non-Wal-Mart shopper as carrying particular product. may be young or just newly aware of specialty cheese. Much of the industry could do worse than a New Year’s Think of a yuppie-destined college student with his first sip resolution in that direction. DB

6 DELI BUSINESS DEC./JAN. 2008 Reader Service No. 100 PUBLISHER’ S INSIGHTS 2008 Will Be An Interesting Year

he New Year is upon us and 2007 was the a long time, including some c-store chains like Wawa and harbinger of many changes that will affect Sheetz, both located in Pennsylvania, that have exceptional Tdeli retailing in 2008. Unlike many years, prepared food offers, high sales per square foot, loyal cus- when the talk was of a continuing evolution instead tomers and clean bathrooms. So the concept of high quality, of revolution, 2008 may well bring more than a few reasonably priced prepared food is not a foreign concept. dynamic changes That being said, Tesco that will have strate- might well be the best thing gic affects. to happen to deli depart- The first trend is From cause marketing and ments and may well do for the ramping up of delis what Boston Market “cause marketing.” the invasion of the Brits to the did for rotisserie chicken — The cover story dis- greening of politics, 2008 will open eyes to better quality, By cusses the successes and consistency and reasonable challenges of tying in with prove to be a pivotal year. pricing, resulting in a market- Lee Smith societal needs; however, the place that is more sophisti- Publisher of changing face of marketing is cated and responsive to con- also reflective of the lessen- sumers’ demands. DELI BUSINESS ing impact of traditional high-low pricing formats. With the That leads to another prediction, which is that 2008 will growing availability of everyday-low-price concepts, the see the battle for “fresh” dominate the marketing scene. lows must be much lower to actually change consumers’ Expect to see fresh self-service sections expand with added shopping patterns and, consequently, the highs must reflect variety, packaging sizes and superior flavor. While Tesco may the lost profit margins, thereby widening the disparity be the impetus, it will be the continued shift back to the between everyday-low-cost players and traditional retailers. supermarket for everyday dining and away from restaurants While high-low pricing strategies are not going to disap- that will encourage retailers to expand deli departments. pear, it is clear that simply offering an occasional or rotating Fresh will be the key word of 2008. low price is not the draw it once was and, when it comes to The economy is also going to help renew customer the deli department, possibly not a factor in attracting new interest in traditional supermarket shopping, if not traditional customers. There is no doubt low prices will divert sales and offers. The economy is headed south, heralded by high fuel increase purchases, but with perishables, the question is prices, high corn prices, a collapsing mortgage market rife whether the additional sales are incremental. A low price on with foreclosures and low housing demand, and a tightening curried chicken may encourage trial, but even if customers of the lending market. The result will be a deepening reces- are thrilled with the new offer, the question remains how sion along with fewer shopping trips and less eating out. On often are they going to go out of the way for anybody’s cur- the other hand, consumers will be demanding quality offers ried chicken. that are competitive with restaurants. Talking about curried chicken, Tesco is the talk of the No discussion about quality can happen without bring- town as everyone wonders what impact it will have on the ing up the China conundrum. Let’s face it — anything made American retailing scene. I, for one, am not so impressed in China is fashionably “out.” Issues about food and product with the predictions of turmoil, confusion and the destruc- safety are not going away anytime soon and the result will tion of the American retailer. If the first stores Tesco opened be continued demand for country-of-origin labeling and, didn’t seem to have an abundance of Indian food and water- consequently, a demand for locally grown, authentic and cress salads, I might be more worried. However, regardless genuine products. The more a retailer can do to ensure the of the strength of their retailing choo-choo train, it shouldn’t transparency of food sourcing the more confident con- have taken much research to figure out watercress is not a sumers will be. Products such as specialty cheeses that offer favorite American salad ingredient. Instead, I fear the Brits affordable luxury and a story that explains the origin and his- are succumbing to their predecessors’ Achilles heel — tory of a natural product will continue to gain in popularity. believing that by bringing in executives from the other side And, last, but not least, don’t forget “green.” Green con- of the pond, they are going to defeat the peasants of the cepts are growing as are organic, biodegradable, natural and Americas with their superior army. certified humane. A few years ago, I had an interesting con- Nonetheless, Tesco is a mighty machine that only fools versation with Roy Moore, founder and CEO of Maverick will ignore, and there aren’t too many fools left in this busi- Ranch located in Denver, CO, in which he predicted that ness. The United States is a very competitive marketplace within 20 years, all foods would be 100 percent natural. We with many formats and the ability to react faster than what would no longer eat foods with artificial anything and may have been projected. The small-store concept is not “Green” would be a powerful political party. As time goes without success; convenience stores have been doing it for by, I’m beginning to see the wisdom of his words. DB

8 DELI BUSINESS DEC./JAN. 2008 Reader Service No. 105 DELI WATCH Transitions Steven Clow has been appointed vice president of Rob Connelly has been named president of Henny quality at Wilkinson Industries, Inc., Fort Calhoun, NE, Penny Corporation, Eaton, OH. He will retain his role a leading manufacturer of aluminum and plastic food as marketing chief while taking on additional corporate packaging. He comes to Wilkinson with substantial responsibilities. Henny Penny continues a 50-year tra- quality assurance leadership and experience. In his new dition of innovation, offering a wide range of high-quali- position, he will have oversight of quality for Wilkin- ty foodservice equipment designed for easier operation, son’s entire operations, thermoforming and aluminum manufacturing. greater flexibility and lower operating costs. www.WilkinsonIndustries.com www.hennypenny.com Announcements World HQ Unveiled Web Site Launch Butterball, LLC, Mt. Olive, NC, will move Hobart, Troy, OH, launched www.hobartcorp.com/ to new corporate headquarters in Garner, sustainabledesign as a resource on sustainable design NC. In mid-2008, the company will move efforts and innovation for foodservice and food retail 70 corporate and management employees operations. The site provides information on sustain- from its current headquarters into the $12 able design, farm-to-fork programs, building a sus- million, 46,000-square-foot facility. Marking the first anniversary of But- tainable kitchen and Hobart’s sustainable solutions. terball, LLC, the new owner of the iconic brand, CEO Keith Shoemaker “Hobart is sharing best practices that make food celebrated by digging a commemorative Butterball garden trowel into a retail locations and foodservice facilities more efficient, sustainable and 6-foot Butterball turkey sandwich created by Firehouse Subs. profitable,” said Sarah Puls, vice president of brand marketing.

www.butterball.com Reader Service No. 401 www.hobartcorp.com Reader Service No. 402 New Products All-Natural Crispbread Mashed Potato Side Dishes 34° Foods with Latitude, Denver, CO, has Great American Appetizers, Nampa, ID, introduces announced the launch of its new line of all-natur- three great flavors of mashed potatoes under the al crispbread available in four flavors: natural, Betty Croker brand from General Mills, Minneapo- rosemary, sesame and cracked pepper. Made lis, MN. The varieties include Creamy Homestyle, without oil, 34° Crispbread is a crunchy cracker Roasted Garlic and Butter and Herb. These side with exceptional purity of flavor. Delicious on dishes are made from all-natural ingredients and 100 their own, each of the four varieties is equally satisfying paired with percent Idaho Russet Burbank potatoes grown by cheese, cured meats, spreads and more. their Idaho farming partners.

www.34-degrees.com Reader Service No. 403 www.appetizer.com Reader Service No. 404 Chicken Roaster Package Fresh Goat Cheeses PWP, Vernon, CA, introduces a high-performing Woolwich Dairy, Orangeville, ON, Canada, has microwavable chicken roaster package that main- launched its Chevrai brand of fresh goat cheeses. tains freshness and reduces spills. During testing, Chevrai flavors include original, fine herb, cranberry after 8 minutes in a microwave, the container cinnamon, bruschetta and fig. In February 2008, retained its original structural integrity and leak-resistant features. Pro- Woolwich will open its first U.S. production facility vides excellent visibility/eye appeal merchandising (anti-fog coating) and located in Lancaster, WI. This 26,000-square-foot state-of-the-art the recyclable polypropylene material is resistant to grease and oils. cheese making facility will allow greater U.S. market expansion.

http://www.pwpc.com/ Reader Service No. 405 www.woolwichdairy.com Reader Service No. 406 Organic Potatoes Spinach And Goat Cheese Lasagna ConAgra Foods’ Lamb Weston, Eagle, ID, intro- Nestle FoodServices’ Stouffer’s, Solon, OH, pre- duces Earth’s Garden brand potato products. sents spinach and goat cheese lasagna, made with Made with 100 percent organic potatoes, they artisan ingredients. Created in the Stouffer’s have the USDA Certified Organic seal. Earth’s kitchens at Nestlé FoodServices, it’s a perfect Garden Concertina Crinkle Cuts, Wedge Cuts and Country Dices deliver upscale addition to the hot or cold deli case. The spinach and goat the superior quality expected from organic products and Lamb Weston. cheese lasagna features Laura Chenel artisan chèvre layered by hand With just four ingredients and no genetically modified organisms, all Earth’s with durum wheat pasta cooked al dente and dark-green spinach. Garden brand potato products are gluten free and contain 0 g trans fat. Smoky black beans and spicy mac & jack also available.

www.lambweston.com Reader Service No. 407 www.Nestlefoodservices.com Reader Service No. 408

DELI WATCH is a regular feature of DELI BUSINESS. Please send information on new products, personnel changes, industry, corporate and personal milestones and available literature, along with a color photo, slide or transparency to: Editor, DELI BUSINESS,P.O. Box ✍ 810217 • Boca Raton, FL 33481-0217 • Phone: 561-994-1118 • Fax: 561-994-1610 • E-mail: [email protected]

10 DELI BUSINESS DEC./JAN. 2008 Reader Service No.131 COVER STORY

CORPORATE AMERICA’S NEW SALES PITCH: The Marketing Of Causes DONE RIGHT, CAUSE MARKETING OFFERS MANY REWARDS; DONE WRONG, IT ANTAGONIZES ITS AUDIENCE.

By Yahia Lababidi

he phrase “cause-related market- public’s desire to support a ing” was first used in 1983, by non-profit cause with a American Express, headquartered company’s market- in New York, NY, to describe its ing and brand, it campaign to raise money — based creates business Ton how much its customers charged — for the and societal restoration of Ellis Island and the Statue of Lib- benefits while erty. American Express made a 1¢ donation to publicly com- the Statue of Liberty every time someone used municating his/her charge card. Applications for the card workplace and spiked, card use peaked, the number of new marketplace cardholders grew by 45 percent, card usage civic values. increased by 28 percent and $1.7 million was raised. A Craze For Since this first blockbuster campaign, the Causes term cause-related marketing, or cause mar- In 1990, cause spon- keting, is understood as the public association sorship spending was only $120 of a for-profit company with a nonprofit orga- million, according to the Chicago, IL- nization, intended to promote the company’s based International Events Group (IEG) Spon- to one associated with a good cause, if price product or service and to raise money for the sorship Report, but IEG calculates U.S. spon- and quality were similar.” nonprofit. sorship spending on cause marketing hit $1.4 The marriage of business and cause had In brief, cause marketing is the develop- billion in 2007. Various studies charted the the public’s blessings and, in vying for con- ment of mutually beneficial marketing relation- shifting relationship between the corporate sumer attention, it was not only trend-bucking ships between companies and causes. Howev- world and non-profit organizations, as well as companies that realized the potential of this er, it is generally considered to be distinct from consumer perceptions. powerful partnering strategy to spike sales with corporate philanthropy because the corporate In 1999, according to the Haas School of a short-term promotion or to build brand equi- dollars involved are not outright gifts to a non- Business at the University of California Berke- ty over time. Across the line, companies could profit organization (hence not tax-deductible). ley, “Cause marketing is the fastest growing be seen teaming up with charities to raise This imaginative approach to marketing form of sponsorship in North America.” money for both: Cupertino, CA-based Apple enables organizations to differentiate their The Cone Corporate Citizenship Study,a sells red iPods as part of the big (PRODUCT) products in a competitive marketplace while 2002 study by Boston, MA-based Cone, a con- RED effort of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, finding the intersection between societal needs sulting firm, reported 84 percent of Americans tuberculosis and malaria. New York, NY-based and corporate marketing goals. Wedding the agreed they “would be likely to switch brands Build-A-Bear Workshop sells a stuffed giraffe

12 DELI BUSINESS DEC./JAN. 2008 Reader Service No. 113 COVER STORY whose proceeds support the World Wildlife shops, conferences, etc., CMF seeks to cery customers by partnering with them to Federation, headquartered in Washington, expound on every nuance of the art and sci- connect ConAgra brands with a cause that res- D.C. Russ Simmons, entrepreneur, sells a “con- ence of this new sales pitch. onates with consumers’ beliefs and drives gro- flict-free” diamond bracelet and donates half Through its Halo awards, inaugurated a few cery business. of the profits to the New York, NY-based Dia- years ago, CMF wishes to draw attention/pub- mond Empowerment Fund, which helps lic recognition for impressive cause-marketing The Halo Effect schools in Africa, as a complement to Simmons campaigns with award categories in Best An article in the Winter 2006 issue of MIT- Jewelry. Each time an Easy Button from Fram- Health-Related Program, Best Environmen- SLOAN Management Review from Sloan ingham, MA-based Staples is purchased, the tal/Wildlife Program, Best Social Service/Educa- School of Management at the Massachusetts proceeds from the product, up to $1 million tion Program, and Best Cause Marketing Event. Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, enti- each year, are donated to Boys & Girls Clubs of One of the inaugural Golden Halo Winners tled How Societal-Cause Marketing Affects America, based in Atlanta, GA. in 2003, Minneapolis, MN-based General Mills Consumer Perceptions, suggests, “Social-cause Last October, Smithfield Deli Group, has been involved in numerous major cause- affiliation could also have a ‘halo effect’ on Smithfield, VA, announced the creation of a marketing campaigns, both corporately and how a brand is seen on other attributes, such new cause-marketing deli campaign titled Deli through its individual brands. The company’s as trustworthiness or quality.” Other research in for the Cure. Timed to coincide with October’s biggest and longest-running cause marketing this study contends that, with cause marketing National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, initiative is Box Tops for Education, which winning over hearts and minds of skeptical or Smithfield Deli Group introduced the first raised more than $23 million for 77,000 over-stimulated consumers, companies today comprehensive cause-marketing program for schools in the 2002-03 school year, bringing are increasingly treating investments in affinity supermarket delis designed to help retailers the total generated to more than $90 million. marketing (with a social cause) as important and Lean Generation consumers save lives by At the initiative’s core is the Clip program, strategic moves to differentiate themselves and create brand loyalty. The same study suggests substantial seg- ments of consumers may see sports or enter- ith cause marketing winning over hearts and tainment affiliations as too “commercial” or self-serving versus say, cancer research, envi- minds of skeptical or over-stimulated consumers, ronmental protection or disaster relief. This companies today are increasingly treating invest- agrees with the intriguing 2005 Cone Disaster W Response Survey, which revealed that Ameri- ments in affinity marketing (with a social cause) as impor- cans say they have more trust in companies tant strategic moves to differentiate themselves and create than in government to respond to disasters (according to the September 2005 poll). The brand loyalty. overwhelming majority of Americans expect companies to play an important and long-term role in helping affected regions rebuild. The contributing to this vital cause. All Lean Gener- which donates up to $20,000 per school poll finds more than half of Americans have ation products carrying the Deli for the Cure annually by giving 10¢ per box-top coupon greater confidence in corporate America’s abil- mark will contribute 5¢ per pound on purchas- redeemed from more than 800 General Mills ity to respond effectively to disasters than they es, encouraging consumers to help support products. Recent additions to the program do in their own government agencies. breast cancer research, awareness and early enable consumers to raise similar amounts by With this sort of leadership expected from detection. The aim is to raise up to $250,000. shopping online in the Box Tops for Education corporate America in the consumer’s imagina- In an earlier effort that ran from Aug. 21 to Marketplace and charging with their Box Tops tion, overall corporate reputation, brand per- Sept. 30, 2005, a percentage of the sales of for Education Visa card. sonality and organizational identity hinge upon Downers Grove, IL-headquartered Sara Lee’s Another inaugural Halo Gold winner, the creation of meaningful associations leading brands of meat products went toward ConAgra Foods, based in Omaha, NE, won between companies and causes. funding the purchase of school supplies for best Social Service/Education Campaign. In underprivileged children. The partnership with 1999, ConAgra decided to focus its philan- Look Good, Feel Good Sara Lee Food & Beverage’s cause-marketing thropic efforts on one cause: ending child As far as marketing strategies go, cause campaign that benefits the Dayton, OH-based hunger in the United States. ConAgra teamed marketing appears to be something of a win- School, Home, & Office Products Association with Chicago, IL-based America’s Second Har- win situation for all parties involved — the (SHOPA) Kids in Need Foundation had a goal vest, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief cause, businesses and consumers. Everyone of providing up to $1 million worth of school organization and its network of more than 200 walks away looking and feeling good. supplies to children nationwide. regional food banks serving 23 million Ameri- For companies weary of jockeying for posi- cans annually. tion, trying to out-innovate or out-advertise Cause Marketing Forum Among the program’s 2002 accomplish- their competitors in a crowded marketplace, it In recognition of the global popularity of ments were the completion of the 100th Kids can be heaven sent. Through association with cause marketing, Cause Marketing Forum Café and the fulfillment of its commitment to a noble cause, their images are burnished as (CMF), based in Rye, NY, seeks to educate purchase 100 trucks for food banks. In less they demonstrate responsible citizenship individuals and institutions. Through online than one year, ConAgra Feeding Children Bet- through giving back to communities. information covering topics such as how to ter rallied 80,000 employees from the compa- And, in a culture where color-coded wrist- pick the right fund-raising project and tapping ny’s 70 plants and operating facilities to raise bands and ribbons are all the rage, cause-relat- the philanthropic well and through teleclasses more than 200 tons of food. ConAgra has also ed marketing makes sense/cents in more ways with experts sharing success secrets, work- strengthened relationships with key retail gro- than one. By tapping into a societal trend of

14 DELI BUSINESS DEC./JAN. 2008 1 #

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& Holds 4 cases Beano’s Heavenly Horse Radish Sauce Counter Top Rack COVER STORY wearing one’s values on one’s sleeve (political, $1 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Yet chemi- In media endorsement, for example, where sexual, environmental), it also satisfies the exhi- cals in car exhaust are established links to the does public service end and corporate promo- bitionist tendencies to publicly declare affinities disease. tion begin? As public service-type messages (even whilst shopping). • A decade later in 2007, New York, NY- from major advertisers become more com- Any marketing ploy that pushes our emo- based Estée Lauder vowed to donate $500,000 monplace, a confluence of interests might push tional buttons is psychologically shrewd, but from the sales of its Pink Ribbon Collection of cause marketing into ethically gray areas. this one is exceptionally so. On one level, it cosmetics to the Breast Cancer Research Foun- “The lines are being blurred by for-profit appeals to consumers’ idealism with conscien- dation, based in Frisco, TX, in an effort to raise organizations who are trying to profit from non- tious campaigns; on another, it gives shoppers awareness about breast cancer. Currently, Estée profits, wrapping themselves in the cloak of the impression they are somehow voting with Lauder products still contain parabens, a group ‘public service’ for corporate benefit,” says Don their trolley, or making a difference (without of chemicals linked to breast cancer. (Mean- Schultz, professor at Medill School of Journal- going out of their way), thus assuaging the guilt time, the company refuses to sign the Compact ism, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. of not doing enough. In short, it is political for Safe Cosmetics to ensure its products do not Examples of advertisers underwriting public engagement made easy — minimum effort/ contain chemicals known or strongly suspected service messages include: maximum effect — and a way of doing-good- of contributing to the disease). • Beaverton, OR-based Nike, with Bo Jack- on-the-go. As cause-related marketing continues to son urging kids to stay in school Not surprisingly, a company’s community grow and become appropriated less mindfully, • Oak Brook, IL-based McDonald’s Corp., involvement boosts employee morale and loy- whose spots promote Ronald McDonald Chil- alty, too; such is the power of ethics. The find- dren’s Charities ings of the 2000 Cone/Roper Executive Study • Purchase, NY-based Quaker’s help for confirm that cause branding strengthens inter- the American Medical Association (AMA) riles nal corporate cultures and has a dramatic influ- TV stations ence on employee pride. Moreover, a recent survey of MBAs from top U.S. and European Where The Stress Falls business schools found 97 percent of students While findings suggest many companies were willing to trade income to work for a will obtain better returns through creating an company they considered to be socially respon- affinity with a social cause than through affiliat- sible and ethical. (Cause marketing companies ing with other more clearly commercial ven- keep employees, too; nearly 90 percent of tures (sports, etc.), there are many careful con- employees report strong loyalty to companies siderations to make in choosing societal mar- that support a cause, compared with two-thirds keting and creating an identity. For example, in of employees at other companies.) taking into account the characteristics of a tar- get market, do a sufficient number of con- Inherent Dangers sumers have strong affinity for the cause? Will The dangers of cause marketing are primar- they find association credible? Does the brand ily those inherent in toying with values. differentiate itself through association or look Nobody likes to feel manipulated. In creating like a copycat? such campaigns, disingenuousness is detrimen- More than 20 years after American Express’ tal; glib lip service might deceive through man- an emerging concern is that consumer overex- blockbuster campaign, it is not sufficient simply ufacturing concern. Worse still, is hypocrisy. posure, long term, might backfire and lead to to be superficially associated with a cause or Take the example of breast cancer, the overload/apathy to charitable organizations as partner with a nonprofit organization, but poster child of corporate cause marketing. The a whole. rather it’s more about integrating concern/com- pink sales campaigns are probably the biggest mitment for a cause into a core component of and best-known efforts in the world of cause Ethically Gray Areas an organization’s business strategy. marketing. Last October, a varied range of Just as bioethics sprang out of new discover- Cause-related campaigns that are products — from Indianapolis Colts mini-hel- ies and possibilities in biological science and researched and appear informed — where the mets to M&M candies, from Avaya phone medicine, so too, on a lesser scale, is the need stress falls not only on marketing but also on faceplates to Yoplait yogurt — were available for ethics to (self) regulate the relatively new concern and respect for consumers’ intelli- in pink packaging as part of a promotion to world of cause marketing. For example, it has gence — tend to translate better to a new raise awareness and money for breast cancer become a controversial topic among grant breed of buyer in search of meaning, convic- research. seekers as nonprofits entering into such activi- tion and commitment from the people with Yet, according to Breast Cancer Action ties debate the ethics of lending their name and whom they are willing to do business. (BCA), a national grassroots education and reputation to corporations. Some of the com- Today’s consumers increasingly wish to be advocacy organization located in San Francisco, mon criticisms are that it undermines traditional more involved/consulted in decision-making CA, some companies were guilty of a practice philanthropy, that nonprofits are changing their processes, i.e., to know what their foods and BCA calls “pinkwashing” — connecting them- programs in order to attract dollars and that companies are made of and what they stand selves with the cause while making products only well-established, non-controversial causes for. Company’s aligning themselves with credi- that contribute to the disease. A brief overview can attract sponsorship. Others bluntly maintain ble causes that resonate with consumer’s beliefs of such offenders, past and present, includes: that it’s wrong to use charitable contributions to are finding good deeds translate into good busi- • Munich, Germany-based BMW’s 1997 promote business altogether. ness with customers who feel empowered to Ultimate Drive campaign: For each mile any- With media, philanthropy and education affect change by buying their products and one test-drove a BMW from retail outlets in expanding the reach of the cause-marketing grateful for the occasion to appear as ethical, cities across the United States, BMW donated model, trickier new questions are being raised. caring and good citizens. DB

16 DELI BUSINESS DEC./JAN. 2008 FEATURE

MERCHANDISING Entrées Fresh is the buzzword sparking IN THE DELI a revolution in today’s supermarket industry.

BY CAROL M. BAREUTHER, RD

f you were at the opening of Hert- also more convenient. It’s just heat and eat,” listed by members of the American Culinary fordshire, U.K.-based Tesco’s Fresh states John McCarthy, Jr., senior retail mar- Federation, St. Augustine, FL, in an Octo- & Easy Neighborhood Markets this keting manager, Reser’s Fine Foods, Inc., ber 2006 survey by the National Restaurant fall on the West Coast, chances are Beaverton, OR. Association (NRA) Washington, D.C. you caught on to its winning con- Pizza makes up 1.6 percent of all deli pre- “When consumers go out to eat, they Icept: fresh, healthful pre-prepared foods. prepared food dollars, or approximately $86 are most likely to seek Asian and Mexican “Supermarket industry leaders are adding million between 2006 and 2007, according cuisine,”notes Julie Jeremy, president, more refrigeration to the deli,” explains Doug to FreshView, making it the eighth largest Native Kjalii Foods, Inc., San Francisco, CA. Johnson, vice president of business develop- deli prepared category. However, this cate- “That’s why we’ve developed refrigerated ment, Harry’s Fresh Foods, Portland, OR. gory is poised to grow due to the increasing entrées for the deli based on these flavor pro- “Fresh, pre-prepared meals are where it’s at popularity of pre-made refrigerated pizzas files. For example, we offer chicken breast today and in the future. As a result, we’re marketed to consumers as take-and-bakes. with spicy peanut sauce, roasted mole chick- seeing a gradual shrinking of the center of Jon Newsom, national sales and market- en and chicken breast with coconut ginger the store and even frozen foods.” ing manager, Champion Foods, LLC, New sauce. Each comes in either a 10-ounce, sin- In the deli section, entrées are a key com- Boston, MI, explains, “The key is to offer gle-serve or 24-ounce, family-style carton.” ponent of prepared food sales. FreshView, new and unique products that aren’t — and “Trendy and/or upscale entrées that con- the database from FreshLook Marketing haven’t been — available in frozen form. For sumers ordered at their favorite restaurant are Group, Hoffman Estates, IL, indicates example, we offer pre-made, refrigerated the type of products in demand when these entrées make up the largest dollar share of pizzas in a 14-inch size, a 12-inch deep dish customers shop the deli,” claims Jason Jessup, self-serve prepared food sales at 31.2 per- with a square-shaped crust and breadsticks vice president of retail sales, Huxtable’s cent, representing approximately $1.65 bil- in three flavors. We also overdo the toppings, Kitchen, Vernon, CA. “We’ve responded by lion between 2006 and 2007. lots of meats and cheeses. This makes the offering trendy items, such as chicken When shopping the deli, 96 percent of pizzas more of a meal.” Marsala with Asiago pasta, beef portabella, consumers ranked product freshness as very and rosemary chicken over wild rice pilaf. important, according to What’s In Store Offer Both Bold Examples of traditional comfort food with an 2008 from the International Deli-Dairy-Bak- And Familiar Flavors upscale twist are stuffed red peppers with ery Association (IDDBA), Madison, WI. According to What’s In Store 2008, fre- turkey and wild rice, Asiago mushroom “Frozen and shelf-stable entrées have quent sit-down diners are more likely to visit lasagna, and Italian turkey meat loaf. been around for a while. Today, consumers the deli. They are also the ones exposed to “These types of products demand a high- are looking for a higher quality product, many different types of foods and flavors. er retail than the standard lineup of entrées, meaning fresh refrigerated, available in pre- Mediterranean, Latin American and Pan- and retailers are beginning to recognize and pack and behind the glass. These items are Asian cuisines ranked in the top 20 hot items capitalize on this,” he adds.

DEC./JAN. 2008 DELI BUSINESS 17 FEATURE

Traditional comfort foods will always mushrooms and beef, fettuccini Alfredo, have a home in the deli, states Reser’s pasta primavera, spaghetti Bolognese, home- Capitalize On McCarthy. “What’s new is offering the fla- style chicken and noodles, and chipotle rice vors customers grew up loving but just don’t and beans. Each is available in 10-ounce sin- Winter Holidays have the time to make themselves or even gle-serve and 4-pound bulk bags. defrost in a fresh form.” he holidays are an excellent In September, Reser’s began test-market- Bundle Entrées And Sides opportunity to test entrées, says ing Homestyle Flavors, a 5-item single-serve Peter Jazwinski, president, Polean Foods, TJason Jessup, vice president of line of high-quality comfort food entrées. Inc., East Norwich, NY, believes the trend retail sales, Huxtable’s Kitchen, Inc., Varieties include five cheese lasagna, meat for complete meals —center-of-the-plate Vernon, CA. “We know how extremely and cheese lasagna, chicken fettuccini Alfre- proteins and sought-after sides — in the busy this season can be. Quality, fully do, beef Stroganoff and rigatoni with chick- supermarket deli will continue to grow. prepared entrées are a great solution en. “We’ve focused on single-serve since this “Our Canadian premium rotisserie hams for many families this time of year.” segment dominates 80 percent of frozen best fit this trend because the product is an Peter Jazwinski, president, Polean sales,” McCarthy explains. extremely lean, whole-muscle boneless Foods, Inc., East Norwich, NY, advises ham,” Jazwinski explains. “The product is promoting pre-cooked hams. “Take Market Health available in country classic, New England orders. Pre-sales during the holiday According to U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends maple and provincial fine herbs.” period help improve planning, reduce 2007 from Food Marketing Institute (FMI), According to What’s In Store 2008, waste and increase the bottom line.” Arlington, VA, eight out of 10 shoppers say chicken makes up about 60 percent of total “Put together a holiday meal kit for they are trying to eat more nutritiously. entrées in the deli. “Deli operators are look- customers. This can include the turkey “A majority of shoppers today believe diet ing for something new and different to pair or not and a choice of three to four is a better way to manage their health than with center-of-the-plate items, such as rotis- sides, all for one price. All customers medication, and they are demanding heart- serie chicken,” says McCarthy. “That means need to do is heat, eat and serve,” says healthy and lower sodium foods. They also instead of regular mashed potatoes, they’re John McCarthy, Jr., senior retail mar- want an entrée with the Lean Cuisine con- creating bundled meals around red skin, gar- keting manager, Reser’s Fine Foods, cept but fresh not frozen,” notes Harry’s lic mashed or Yukon gold mashed potatoes.” Inc., Beaverton, OR Johnson. Harry’s launched Healthy Bistro, a In June, Harry’s introduced a 7-item line In the new year, consumers will line of refrigerated entrées in June. The 7- of organic, ready-to-serve side dishes pack- want to lose weight and eat more item line includes teriyaki noodles, Burgundy aged in 18-ounce cartons that includes mac- healthfully, explains Doug Johnson, aroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, sun- vice president of business development, dried tomato mashed potatoes, zesty penne Harry’s Fresh Foods, Portland, OR. marinara, spring vegetable risotto, California “Advertise our Healthy Bistro line. Pro- vegetable medley and Aztec beans and rice. moting four or five choices for one “Deli sales of organic foods are experienc- price encourages trial.” ing double-digit growth as busy customers Super Bowl XLII on for Feb. 3, continue to demand both healthful and con- 2008, is an important event to keep in venient food choices,” reports Johnson. mind when marketing pizza in the deli Native Kjalii’s Jeremy advises cross-mer- section, states Jon Newsom, national chandising rice, chow mein or kimchi with sales and marketing manager, Champi- Asian entrées. “Suggesting these combina- on Foods, New Boston, MI. “The Super tions will make a huge difference when the Bowl is one of the biggest pizza holi- consumer is planning an ‘easy’ meal.” days of the year. Offer a variety — cheese, pepperoni and supreme are the Create A Meal Destination top sellers. Cross-merchandise pizza According to a study published in 2007 with two liters of soda and you’ve got from Tyson Foods, Inc., Springdale, AR, and a winning promotion.” DB the Perishables Group, West Dundee, IL, consumers average only 49 seconds shop- ping for deli self-service products. Deli opera- Create a special section in the deli just for tors can take advantage of this window by fresh entrées. “Make it the ‘meals-to-go’ sec- using creative signage to educate consumers tion and put all your fresh entrées in this about products and meal solution ideas. location,” advises Johnson. “This way, con- “The biggest challenge is getting con- sumers will easily know right where to go to sumers to think deli when they want a fresh get what they need.” entrée,” says McCarthy. “Their minds are In large retail formats, merchandise fresh often stuck on the frozen case. Use a combi- entrées in an open coffin case, suggests Jere- nation or multiple tactics to accomplish this my. “Smaller store formats tend to use an sell. Signage is critical to let customers know upright, open refrigerated case. Either way, you stock these items. Also, advertising make sure signage is used to pull the meal fresh entrées in the weekly circular ad is concept together. People don’t generally like important to put a mental picture in cus- to ask for help. The more user-friendly the

Reader Service No.136 tomers’ minds and pull them into the store.” case is, the more sales.” DB

18 DELI BUSINESS DEC./JAN. 2008 2008 Specialty Cheese Guide

A quick and easy resource for the cheese professional.

Deli BUSINESS

PHOTO COURTESY OF ATALANTA CORPORATION Also Includes The American Cheese Guide Reader Service No.122   Abbaye de Tamie Category: D Type: Washed Rind ith consumer interest surging, the specialty cheese Milk: Cow Origin: France department has the opportunity to add depth and Semi-firm raw milk cheese made by Trappist sophistication to the deli and the entire store — as monks from the Savoie region of France. Washed in W brine twice a week until it is ready to be sold, it is well as a unique panache competitors have difficul- ty recreating. fruity and full flavored. Usually sold at one month. Made from pasteurized milk for U.S. markets. Opportunities exist for growth of ancillary products that increase incremental sales. Products such as crackers and condiments, olives, Abbirrato jams and chutneys are being cross-merchandised as consumers look Category: D Type: Semisoft for ways to incorporate specialty cheeses into main meal options. In Milk: Cow Origin: Italy addition, wine departments have found cross-merchandising promo- Also known as Formaggio con Birra. Farm- house cheese made with pasteurized milk. Starts tions have increased sales for both departments. as a small wheel typical of Treviso and is then aged This year’s Specialty Cheese Guide has many new additions and with extra strong beer. Rind turns a rich copper some of the cheeses have changed categories based on current popu- color from the malt and beer flavors are present larity and availability. Many more cheeses are available pre-cut and, on throughout. Delicate aroma and buttery the other end of the spectrum, many cheeses that are well loved in consistency. Limited availability. Europe but previously unavailable here are being flown into the United Abondance States on a pre-order basis only. Category: D Type: Semisoft With the abundant options that make this category so attractive Milk: Cow Origin: France comes the challenge of understanding the literally hundreds of avail- PDO. Pressed curd cheese with a natural able cheeses. Once again, the Specialty Cheese Guide includes a sec- brushed, inedible rind. Creamy brown exterior with creamy beige interior. Complex cheese tion on American cheesemakers who are making significant contribu- reminiscent of Comté with a buttery, fruity and tions to the international status of American-made cheeses. Unfortu- nutty flavor. nately, not every company could be included. There are over 250 U.S. cheesemakers whose cheeses are worthy of introduction and praise. Adrahan Due to the many different American cheeses available, many of which Category: D Type: Washed Rind Milk: Cow Origin: Ireland have the same or similar names, the American cheesemakers are list- Pungent rind that make this cheese fall into the ed by the name of the company rather than the name of the cheese. smelly cheese category. Semisoft paste that is fresh, As in the past, the Specialty Cheese Guide includes name, classifi- fruity and a little acidic. Made from pasteurized cation, brief description, country of origin and type of milk traditionally milk and sold between three and four months old. used for each individual variety. Affidélice as Chablis A category listing signified by the letter A, B, C or D is also included. Category: D Type: Washed Rind It can be used to give buyers a feeling about what cheeses should be Milk: Cow Origin: France carried based on consumer demographics and the level of expertise Washed with Chablis and aged three to four and service a retailer can offer. weeks. Similar to Espoisses and both come from • A — Basic cheeses that appeal to a wide range of consumers, the region of Burgundy; however, Affidélice has a more delicate flavor. Rind takes on a trademark usually available in pre-cut and wrapped versions, with long orange color, sticky touch and pungent aroma. shelf life and a mild flavor. Usually must be pre-ordered and flown in. • B — Specialty cheeses not usually found in the dairy case. More expensive then “A” cheeses, they require a more sophisticat- Allgäuer Bergkäse ed audience. Usually well known and available pre-cut and Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Germany wrapped. PDO. Similar to Allgäuer Emmentaler, Bergkäse • C — Require not only a knowledgeable consumer base but also is smaller, more aromatic and produced only in an educated sales staff. Often quite expensive but with wide summer in mountain pastures in the Allgäu region. audience appeal. May be available pre-cut and wrapped. Allgäuer Emmentaler • D — Unusually exceptional cheeses that are expensive, require an Category: B Type: Firm/Hard educated staff and sophisticated clientele. May be difficult to Milk: Cow Origin: Germany purchase. Sometimes pungent, fragile, difficult to handle, and PDO. Bavarian Swiss. Raw milk cheese made available in limited quantities. Often need to be pre-ordered from a recipe brought to Bavaria in 1821 from the and flown into the United States. Emmental region of Switzerland. Yellow paste with regular, cherry-size holes and a nutty taste.

By Lee Smith

2008 Specialty Cheese Guide Deli Business 21 

Andes Panquehue Ballyoak Category: C Type: Semisoft Category: D Type: Semisoft Milk: Cow Origin: Chile Milk: Cow Origin: Ireland From the Aconcagua Valley. First farmstead Made from pasteurized milk. Made in small South American cheese exported to the U.S. All traditional cheese vats, mold-ripened, then placed natural, no hormones, no antibiotics. Cows graze in a kiln where oak-chip smoke slowly imparts in open free-range corrals. Creamy and smooth unique flavor and texture to individual cheeses. with a pale yellow color and mild, nutty flavor. Aged for 30 days. Fifty percent fat and 40 percent mois- Banon ture. Semisoft, slightly sticky texture similar to Category: C Type: Semisoft Havarti. Available in red pepper, plain and chive. Milk: Goat, Cow Origin: France Beautiful soft cheese wrapped in chestnut or Appenzeller grape leaves and tied into a little bundle. Runny Category: C Type: Firm/Hard and intense interior with winey, fruity, nutty taste. Milk: Cow Origin: Switzerland Natural, raw milk cheese with a grained, yellow Beaufort to reddish brown rind. Ivory to yellow interior with Category: C Type: Hard/Firm a few pea-sized holes. Full-flavored to very robust Milk: Cow Origin: France cheese with a unique spicy flavor. PDO. Superb mountain cheese similar to a fine Swiss Gruyère. Excellent melting characteristics. Asadero Smooth creamy texture with occasional fissures.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAIRY CREST Category: B Type: Pasta Filata Mild, sweet, fruity flavor. Milk: Cow Origin: Mexico Similar to young Provolone with its white color Beenleigh Blue and shiny exterior. Often referred to as Mexican Category: D Type: Blue Mozzarella because of its superior melting quality. Milk: Sheep Origin: England Can be found in balls, loaves and braided. From the British Isles. A rich, sweet, gentle Primarily domestically produced. blue made from pasteurized milk . Less blue veining than many blues. An excellent cheese Asiago that is consistent and mellow. Category: A Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: USA Bitto Made from fat-free milk. Nutty flavor and Category: C Type: Firm/Hard pale color when young. As it ages, texture becomes Milk: Cow, Goat Origin: Italy drier, more crumbly, and flavor is sharp and PDO. Semi-cooked wheel aged from 70 days pronounced. Color deepens with age. Tastes like up to 10 years. Ten percent goat milk is allowed. a cross between Cheddar and Provolone. Straw-yellow rind with a white to straw-yellow interior, depending on age. Sweet delicate flavor Asiago d’Allevo becomes stronger with age. Produced in Lombardy. Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Blarney PDO. Light beige inside and out with many Category: A Type: Firm/Hard small holes throughout. Mild flavor. Produced in Milk: Cow Origin: Ireland large wheels about 20 pounds, seven to nine inches Semifirm, part skim milk cheese. Golden high, from partially skimmed milk. Taste and interior with large eyes. Mild and mellow,

PHOTO COURTESY OF FROMAGERIE BERGERON texture vary greatly with age. especially popular for St. Patrick’s Day. Now available in smaller 5- to 10-pound waxed wheels. Azeitão Also available smoked. Category: D Type: Semisoft Milk: Sheep Origin: Portugal Bleu d’Auvergne PDO. Prized table cheese similar to Serra da Category: C Type: Blue Estrela from the Beija region. Sweet, earthy, aged Milk: Cow Origin: France wheels. Beige, pinkish rind. Cream colored paste PDO. Intensely flavored blue produced in can flow. Supple paste and distinctive taste are south-central France in the Massif Central area, typical of cardoon (thistle) coagulated raw ewe primarily a sheep area, known for its craggy, milk cheeses from Portugal and Spain. granitic terrain and volcanic soil. Cow milk gives it a creamier taste and texture than Roquefort. Aged Bacio di Latte four weeks or longer. Granted AOC status in 1975. Category: D Type: Fresh Semisoft, moist, sharp blue with pungent aroma. Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Pale yellow interior with defined, dark blue veins. Known as the “milky kiss.” Soft and creamy fresh cheese very similar to Ricotta, but texture is lighter, fluffier and smooth rather than grainy. Comes in a plastic draining basket that allows for the perfect presentation. May be used for cooking, although its sweet and delicate flavor is best enjoyed in its original state. Must be flown to the U.S. and generally requires pre-order.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BELGIOIOSO CHEESE INC.

22 Deli Business 2008 Specialty Cheese Guide Reader Service No. 115 

Bleu de Bresse Boilie Category: B Type: Blue Category: C Type: Fresh Milk: Cow Origin: France Milk: Cow Origin: Ireland Made in Bresse, near Burgundy. Well known Hand-rolled balls of soft, creamy cow milk with a dedicated following. Originally French cheese preserved in sunflower oil, herbs and competitor to Italian Gorgonzola. Basically garlic. Made from pasteurized milk and packed in Brie-style cheese. Should have mottled bloomy glass jars. Goat milk version is mild but with rind or interior may be chalky. Domestically slightly more pungent taste. produced version known as Bresse Bleu. Bonne Bouche Bleu des Causses Category: D Type: Soft Category: C Type: Blue Milk: Goat Origin: Vermont Milk: Cow Origin: France A small flat ash-coated disk inspired by PDO. Made in the area around Roquefort from Selles-sur-Cher from the Loire Valley. Lemony raw milk. White interior with liberal veining. Aged and tangy, becoming runny as it ages. in caves. Sharp spicy flavor. Less salty cheese than Roquefort. Borough Market Cheddar Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Bleu du Haut-Jura, de Gex, Milk: Cow Origin: England de Septmoncel Traditional farmhouse Cheddar from Devon, Category: D Type: Blue made from pasteurized milk. Dense, smooth, close

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARIN FRENCH CHEESE COMPANY Milk: Cow Origin: France texture. Aged 12 to 13 months. Rich, nutty, slightly PDO. Hard, uncooked large flat wheel, less sweet. Caramel flavor, very balanced and mellow. crumbly than most varieties. Mild flavor with a hint of hazelnuts. Made in small mountain dairies in Boursault Franche-Comté from milk of Montbéliard cows. Category: A Type: Soft-ripened Milk: Cow Origin: France Bleu du Vercors/Sassenage Bloomy-rind triple crème with light yellow Category: D Type: Blue interior and a mild, rich, creamy taste. Cheese Milk: Cow Origin: France name and brand are the same. Individually PDO. Mild blue with delicate flavor, subtle wrapped and boxed in 8-ounce cylinders. fruitiness and mild aroma, first produced by monks in Rhône Alps. In the 14th century, the Bra Baron de Sassenage allowed his subjects to freely Category: C Type: Firm/Hard sell the cheese they produced. Milk: Cow Origin: Italy PDO. Named after a small town in Cuneo in Blue Castello the Piedmont region. Produced primarily by Category: B Type: Blue small- and medium-sized dairy farms of the plain Milk: Cow Origin: Denmark of Cuneo and villages of the valley floor. Pressed, Rich triple crème blue with 70 percent fat partially skim milk, 16-pound wheel. Rind is dark content. Mild and very creamy. Brie-like texture and paste orange-yellow. Cows that produce the and fresh, woodsy aroma. milk must be fed exclusively on green grass — no silage or feed allowed. Excellent table cheese. Blue Des Basques Brebis Three varieties: soft (tenero), hard (duro) and Category: D Type: Blue summer-only alpine (d’alpeggio). Small amounts Milk: Sheep Origin: France of sheep and/or goat milk allowed. PHOTO COURTESY OF BEEHIVE CHEESE COMPANY. Made in the Pyrenees Mountains. Complex cheese that is subtle but not heavy. Spicy and Branzi earthy. Category: C Type: Semisoft Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Bocconcini From the Lombardy region. Part of a family of Category: A Type: Fresh cheeses derived from Emmentaler and with same Milk: Cow Origin: Italy characteristics as other Alpine cheeses such as Fresh Mozzarella in small, egg-shaped balls. Bitto, Fontina Valle D’Aosta and Montasio. Rind is Translates as “little mouthfuls.” Delicious when smooth, yellowish, elastic and soft. Paste is soft, teamed with herbs, spices and olive oil. Often pale yellow with a soft look. Sweet and delicate taste served with melon and prosciutto. Common becomes strong and spicy with age. Very versatile. domestic cheese. Water buffalo-milk version now Excellent table cheese popular in many northern being imported from Italy. Italian recipes.

Boerenkaas Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Netherlands Natural rind, unpasteurized, ranges from firm to very hard. Golden rind with beige-yellow interior. Pleasant nutty aroma with a rich, sharp, complex taste profile.

PHOTO COURTESY OF IRISH DAIRY BOARD COOPERATAIVE LTD.

24 Deli Business 2008 Specialty Cheese Guide 

Brick Burrata Caciotta Capra Pepe e Olio Category: A Type: Firm/Hard Category: C Type: Pasta Filata Category: D Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Wisconsin Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Milk: Goat Origin: Italy Wisconsin original, first made by John Rossie Hand formed delicate pouches filled with Aged goat cheese from the Veneto region in the in 1877. Called Brick cheese because original stretchy Mozzarella curd amalgamated with cream. foothills of the Dolomite Mountains. Dynamic cheesemakers used bricks to press moisture from Interior consistency resembles creamy Mozzarella flavor; grows in complexity when finished with the cheese. Flavor ranges from mild to sharp and shards or sweet cream butter. Sweet, fresh, milky olive oil and pepper. After initial aging period of piquant. Pungent, tangy, often described as a cross aroma. Originated in 1920s in Puglia. Best at cool 3 to 4 months, rind is carefully cured for another 3 between Cheddar and Limburger. room temperature, plain or with olive oil, salt and to 4 weeks. Individually rubbed by hand with the pepper. finest extra virgin olive oil and large grains of fresh Brie black pepper. Floral and tangy; finish includes a Category: A Type: Soft-ripened Butterkäse tiny “bite” plus a tingle of pepper. Milk: Cow Origin: France Category: A Type: Semisoft No longer produced only in France; Milk: Cow Origin: Germany Caciotta al Tartufo exceptional Bries now produced in U.S. Edible soft Made throughout Germany and Austria as well Category: D Type: Firm/Hard white bloom. Soft, butter-colored interior; mild as in the United States. Name means “butter Milk: Sheep Origin: Italy flavor deepens with age; creamy texture becomes cheese” and is reflective of taste. Mild, excellent Pasteurized mixed-milk cheese made with more lush with time. Many artisanal cheese melting cheese. Children’s favorite. slivers of Umbrian black truffles in the paste. producers making Brie with goat and sheep milk. Sometimes a mixed milk cheese made with Flavored varieties also popular. Cabanon cow milk. Compact cheese with intense flavor Category: D Type: Fresh of truffles. Brillat-Savarin Milk: Sheep Origin: Canada Category: D Type: Soft-ripened Made in Quebec. Slightly aged, sheep milk disk Caerphilly Milk: Cow Origin: France wrapped in eau-de-vie soaked maple leaves and Category: B Type: Firm/Hard More like a dessert. Rich and creamy with tied into a bundle. Soft texture, rich flavor blending Milk: Cow Origin: England minimum 75 percent butterfat content. Triple hazelnut, spice, pure milk. English “crumbly.” Only lightly pressed and crème, Brie-style cheese. About six ounces each. very moist. Ready to eat as young as six to 10 days Cabécou Feuille although can be aged up to four or five months. Brillo di Treviso-Prosecco Category: D Type: Soft Fresh, clean, grassy taste and firm, elastic, Category: D Type: Semisoft Milk: Goat Origin: France school-eraser-type texture when broken. Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Fresh and mild. Small 10-ounce disk dipped in “Drunken” style cheese made in Veneto region plum brandy, sprinkled with black pepper and Cambozola of northeastern Italy. Rind massaged with prosecco then wrapped in chestnut leaves. Smooth, creamy Category: A Type: Blue (a sparkling wine) leaving it soft and delicate with and tangy with overtones of brandy. Milk: Cow Origin: Germany definite aroma of fresh wine. Milky white, tender, Very mild and creamy with subtle flavor. Subtle compact, very approachable paste. Small 14-ounce Cabot Clothbound Cheddar blue veins with downy white rind. Rich flavor wheel perfect for cheese boards and gift baskets. Category: C Type: Firm/Hard overtones of fresh cream and piquant woodsy blue. Milk: Cow Origin: Vermont Brin d’Amour Twenty-five pound clothbound wheel from Camembert Category: D Type: Semisoft Cabot Creamery Cooperative, made from past Category: A Type: Soft-ripened Milk: Sheep, Goat Origin: France eurized milk, aged 12 months at Jasper Hill Farm. Milk: Cow Origin: France Soft cheese usually made from sheep milk but Sharp, creamy, with notes of caramel. Made in many countries and available in cow, occasionally a mixed-milk cheese. Characterized goat and sheep milk versions. Similar to Brie but by herb-coated, bitter crust that is usually not Cabrales smaller and more fluid texture. Edible, thin, white eaten. White, moist to runny interior. Uniquely Category: C Type: Blue rind sometimes has rusty-colored flecks. Delicate herbaceous flavor. Milk: Cow, Goat, Sheep Origin: Spain golden interior. Mild to pungent taste. When ripe, PDO. Made from raw, mainly cow milk. Often should feel plump and yield to gentle pressure. Brocciu Corse blended with goat and ewe milk in spring and Category: C Type: Fresh summer since most farmers keep mixed herds. Cana de Cabra Milk: Sheep, Goat Origin: France Cave-aged with deep blue veining, thick texture Category: D Type: Semisoft PDO. Soft, white whey cheese from Corsica, and creamy, piquant flavor. Milk: Goat Origin: Spain eaten fresh or salted and aged several weeks. A bloomy-rind soft-ripened cheese log similar Flavor varies according to where the sheep and/or Caciocavallo to Bucheron from the area around Murcia. Creamy goats grazed. Category: B Type: Pasta Filata and mild yet full flavored. Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Bündnerkäse Provolone-style cheese. Table cheese when Canestrato Pugliese Category: B Type: Semisoft young and grating cheese when aged. Pear-shaped Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Switzerland with full, mellow flavor. Firm texture, intense Milk: Sheep Origin: Italy Made from organic cow milk. Yellowish-brown aroma and pale yellow color. PDO. Tangy grating cheese from Puglia. to reddish rind. Ivory to light yellow interior. Soft, Basket-ripened two to 10 months. Woven rushes delicious and rich with clean finish. When three mark the rind, which is treated with olive oil and to four months old, very mild. Aged six to nine sometimes with wine vinegar. Gold exterior, months, pleasantly tart. straw-yellow interior with small eyes.

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Cantabria Casciotta of Urbino Category: C Type: Semisoft Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Spain Milk: Sheep, Cow Origin: Italy PDO. Full name, Queso de Nata de Cantabria, PDO. Pressed, semi-cooked whole milk means Cantabria’s creamy cheese. Made in cylinder; 70 to 80 percent sheep milk and 20 to 30 northeastern coastal Spain from pasteurized milk percent cow milk. From central Italy’s Marches and aged one week to two months. Melts in the region and appreciated by Michelangelo. Mild, mouth. In Cantabria, used in fish dishes, soups, sweet with a thin, yellow rind and yellowish, stews, with chicken or enjoyed with bread. crumbly paste.

Cantal Cashel Blue Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Category: C Type: Semisoft Milk: Cow Origin: France Milk: Cow Origin: Ireland PDO. Pressed, uncooked, dense, pleasantly Made from pasteurized milk. Firm and sour taste. Aluminum badge on the nearly relatively moist with fresh, slightly sharp flavor 100-pound wheel identifies the maker. Best made when young. Less salty than other blues. With age, in summer and aged six months. Look for a thick, develops melt-in-the-mouth creaminess and gray rind. Made in Auvergne for 2,000 years. Can- round, sweet, mellow flavor. Can be matured up talet is a modern, smaller, barrel-shaped version. to six months.

Caprini Castelmagno Category: D Type: Fresh Category: D Type: Blue Milk: Goat Origin: Italy Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Traditionally a goat cheese but often made with PDO. Pressed, semi-hard skim milk cylinder cow milk. Name means “little goats.” Cylinder aged up to six months. Small production cheese shape. Should be very white, soft and taste like tart, that may contain sheep or goat milk and may be fresh sweet cream. pierced. Originated in 12th century Piedmont around the same time as Gorgonzola. Some consumers prefer Castelmagno with little or no mold development.

PHOTO COURTESY OF EMMI USA No.112 Service Reader

26 Deli Business 2008 Specialty Cheese Guide Reader Service No. 124 

Castelo Branco Chèvre Noir Category: D Type: Semisoft Category: B Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Sheep, Goat Origin: Portugal Milk: Goat Origin: Canada PDO. Three mixed-milk cheeses from Beira Made in Quebec. Ivory-colored goat Cheddar, Baixa protected under the name Queijos da Beira smooth and mellow, with persistent nutty and Baixa: Queijo de Castelo Branco, Queijo Amarelo buttery flavors. Caramel finish when aged. da Beira Baixa, and Queijo Picante da Beira Baixa. Milk echoes the characteristics of the breeds and Chimay Grand Classique high quality of the pastures they graze. Category: C Type: Semisoft Milk: Cow Origin: Belgium Chabichou du Poitou Known for floral character. Mild enough to let Category: C Type: Firm/Hard aromas of Belgian wildflowers shine through. Milk Milk: Goat Origin: France from cattle grazing in the Chimay countryside PDO. Tiny cylinder with a firm, white paste, drawn by Chimay monastery monks. First cheese mottled rind and classic taste: milky, a little sour, a developed by the Chimay monastery in 1876. Aged bit of nuttiness. Goat in Arabic is chebli; name is a in abbey’s ancient vaulted cellars for four weeks to reminder of Arabs migrating from Spain estab- develop aromatic bouquet and full, tangy flavor. lished goat milk cheesemaking in the Loire Valley during the 7th century. Colby Category: A Type: Semisoft Champignon Milk: Cow Origin: Wisconsin

PHOTO COURTESY OF CABOT CREAMERY COOPERATATIVE Category: A Type: Soft-ripened Originated in Colby, WI. Very mild, Cheddar- Milk: Cow Origin: Germany like with a rich orange color. Higher moisture Double crème, Brie-like cheese with hand- content than Cheddar; soft and light. Excellent picked mushrooms throughout. Mushroom flavor, melting cheese. California is very large producer. mild and woodsy when young; intensifies with age. Very creamy. Comté Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Chaource Milk: Cow Origin: France Category: D Type: Soft-ripened PDO. Extraordinary French mountain cheese Milk: Cow Origin: France that owes its special flavor to unique conditions of PDO. Looks and tastes like a triple crème but Jura Mountains. Feeding pattern shifts throughout with only 50 percent fat in dry matter a double. year explain subtle differences in color and flavor Named for small town of Chaource in the from one season to next. Type of Gruyère. Creamy, Champagne area where it has been produced for rich, piquant with a sweet, fruity flavor. over 600 years. Mushroomy aroma. Rich, fruity flavor and creamy texture. When aged, almost Constant Bliss liquid with a nutty, salty flavor. The perfect Category: C Type: Soft-ripened accompaniment to Champagne. Milk: Cow Origin: Vermont From Jasper Hill Dairy. Small raw milk cheese Cheddar, Domestic that retains a dense tangy center. Very clean taste, Category: A Type: Firm/Hard rich and creamy with a hint of earthiness as it ages. Milk: Cow Origin: USA No. 1 cheese consumed in the United States; Cooleeney accounts for over half of cheese produced. Flavor, Category: D Type: Soft-ripened size and color vary among cheesemakers. Also Milk: Cow Origin: Ireland PHOTO COURTESY OF ROTH KASE made from sheep and goat milk. Young Cheddars White mold, soft-ripened cheese made from mild and creamy. With age, become drier and raw or pasteurized milk in 200-g and 1.7-kg sizes. flavor deepens. Made all over the United States. Robust flavor when ripe. Soft/creamy to buttery texture with mushroom-like tang unlike other Cheshire soft-ripened cheeses. Category: B Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: England Coombe Farm Cheddar English “crumbly.” Bound in calico and then Category: C Type: Firm/hard sometimes waxed. Crumbly yet moist texture. Milk: Cow Origin: England Savory taste with gentle bitter tang and slightly One of three West Country PDO Cheddars. salty. Distinctive character results from salt Made from pasteurized milk from Coombe’s own marshes where cattle graze. herd and herds from 18 nearby farms. Clean, rounded, nutty flavor with a lingering tangy finish Chèvre typical of the original Somerset Cheddars. Category: A Type: Fresh Milk: Goat Origin: France A generic term often used for goat cheese. Often a mild, dense, smooth fresh cheese. In the United States, herbs and spices often added. Flavor strengthens with age. Most fresh chèvres are domestically produced.

PHOTO COURTESY OF COMTE CHEESE ASSOCIATION

28 Deli Business 2008 Specialty Cheese Guide Reader Service No. 102 

Conciato Vaccino al Pepe Nero Crucolo Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Category: C Type: Semisoft Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Known as “the little black dress,” name Artisanal cheese made from pasteurized milk translates to “dressed with pepper.” Made of cow from the Trentino region of northern Italy . milk from the Veneto area, 3.5-pound wheels Aged over 60 days in the cellars of Rigugio Crucolo. coated in coarse black pepper that adds focus and 27-pound wheel. Pale straw yellow interior affects eyes and palate. Aged for 6 months so it is irregularly pocked with tiny holes. Rich buttery firm enough to grate . Also a sheep milk version. taste with a unique tangy finish similar to a Gruyère. Excellent melting cheese; mild enough Cotija for children but complex enough for adults. Category: B Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Mexico Crutin with Truffles Now primarily domestic. Used in Mexican cui- Category: D Type: Firm/Hard sine same way Parmesan used in Italian. Excellent Milk: Sheep Origin: Italy grating cheese with sharp flavor and firm texture. From the Piedmont region. Small cylindrical Gaining popularity in mainstream cooking. wheel tied off with a cord. Rather crumbly texture after one month of aging. Intense flavor resulting Coulommiers from blend of black truffles and sheep milk. May Category: C Type: Soft-ripened also contain some cow or goat milk. Named for Milk: Cow Origin: France “crutin” or small cellars hollowed out of the tuff

ASSORTED FRENCH CHEESES Similar to Brie. Uneven rind with brown (from the Italian “tofu,” a type of volcanic rock) mottling and straw-colored interior. Full, rich, where cheeses were hung from cords so air could buttery flavor. circulate.

Crater Lake Blue Danish Blue Category: C Type: Blue Category: A Type: Blue Milk: Cow Origin: Oregon Milk: Cow Origin: Denmark Made by Rogue Creamery. Somewhere between PGI. Easy introduction to new specialty Roquefort and Blue d’Auvergne. Sweet, rich and cheese consumers. Mild and creamy. White with mild; not as intense as Roquefort but still has a distinctive blue veins and salty taste. bite. Slightly crumbly American classic. Double Gloucester Cream Cheese Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Category: A Type: Fresh Milk: Cow Origin: England Milk: Cow Origin: USA Color ranges from pale orange to deep Soft, very mild. Made from light or heavy red-orange. Firm body and creamy texture, cream. Velvety texture and rich nutty, slightly sweet although not as firm as English Cheddar. Round, flavor. Comes in different flavors, oftentimes with mellow flavor with orange tang upon finish. fruit, salmon, nuts or herbs added. Artisan cream cheese is very special, not at all like what is found in Dry Jack most dairy departments. Category: A Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: California Crescenza Sweet and fruity with hints of wine. Rich brown Category: D Type: Fresh rind and pale golden interior. Excellent grating Milk: Cow Origin: Italy cheese. Can be used in dishes calling for good PHOTO COURTESY OF WOOLWICH DAIRY A member of the Stracchino family, a generic Parmesan or eaten as table cheese with salami, name for a group of soft, square-shaped cheeses dry ham, fruit or nuts. from Lombardy. Luscious and tangy, best eaten very fresh. Dubliner Category: A Type: Firm/Hard Crottin Milk: Cow Origin: Ireland Category: A Type: Fresh Relatively new. Naturally balanced sweet taste Milk: Goat Origin: France — a cross between nutty Swiss and Parmesan. Many domestic versions. Usually sold as very Matured for more than 12 months. Packaged in young, fresh cheese, although aged versions distinctive parchment-like film. available. Versatile little cheeses. Should be moist and creamy, mild and snow white. Aged versions Durrus can be quite pungent. Added herbs, spices, nuts Category: D Type: Washed Rind and edible flowers are popular. Milk: Cow Origin: Ireland Handmade in town of Coomkeen Durrus by Jeffa Gill. Outstanding raw milk cheese similar to Tomme. Light hay color interior oozes rather than runs. Sweet and milky with complex undertones of green leaves and forest undergrowth.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHEESE FROM BRITAIN

30 Deli Business 2008 Specialty Cheese Guide 

Edam Feta Fougerus Category: A Type: Semisoft Category: A Type: Fresh Category: D Type: Soft-ripened Milk: Cow Origin: Holland Milk: Sheep, Goat Origin: Greece Milk: Cow Origin: France Made from reduced-fat pasteurized milk. PDO. Traditional Greek cheese. White, soft U.S. version made with pasteurized milk. From Smooth but supple texture with waxy feel. Mild yet cheese ripened and brined at least two months. Robert Touzaire. Produced in Ile-de-France tangy taste and golden color. Excellent melting Made with 100 percent ewe milk or up to 30 per- region. Bloomy-rind cheese similar to Coulom- cheese. Good introduction to specialty cheese. cent goat milk. Majority of U.S. Feta made from miers. Gets its name from the fern draped over the Smoked and caraway versions available. cow milk. Mild, tangy, slightly salty taste. Crumbly cheese. Produced in small 1.5-pound wheels. texture with small uneven holes. Usually packed in Emmentaler, Domestic brine that should be washed off before eating. Fourme d’Ambert Category: A Type: Firm/Hard Category: D Type: Blue Milk: Cow Origin: USA Fiore Sardo Milk: Cow Origin: France Also known as domestic Swiss. Milder than its Category: C Type: Firm/Hard PDO. Tall blue-veined cylinder. From same actual Swiss counterpart. Pale creamy interior. Milk: Sheep Origin: Italy region as Bleu d’Auvergne but more ancient lin- Often sold in blocks instead of wheels. Good all- PDO. More than 2,000 years old. Uncooked eage. Gray down covers dry, yellowish rind. White around cheese, especially popular for sandwiches. Fiore Sardo made from raw sheep milk in moun- paste, profuse veining and caverns with a blue mold tain huts in Sardinia, suspended over fireplace aroma. Creamy texture and mild, fruity taste. Emmentaler, Swiss during primary aging. Today, some made from Category: A Type: Firm/Hard pasteurized, blended cow and sheep milk. Aged Fromage Blanc Milk: Cow Origin: Switzerland two to eight months. Category: B Type: Fresh Real Swiss cheese. Made in 200-pound wheels. Milk: Cow, Sheep, Goat Origin: France Natural, firm, dry, yellowish-brown rind. Ivory Fleur du Maquis Herbes Made by coagulating milk with bacteria. Very to light yellow interior with firm texture and Category: D Type: Semisoft mild with tangy finish. Fat content can range from cherry-sized eyes. Nutty, mild-to-flavorful taste. Milk: Sheep Origin: France double crème to triple crème. Soft, creamy texture Furry mantle of rosemary needles and gray similar to yogurt. English Cheddar mold topped with red chili peppers and juniper Category: B Type: Firm/Hard berries. Corsican sheep milk cheese. Delicious at Gabietou Milk: Cow Origin: England a broad range of ages. When young, white with Category: D Type: Semisoft Considered the original Cheddar, produced in fresh sheep milk flavor. As it ages, center softens, Milk: Cow, Sheep Origin: France Somerset, Dorset and Devon counties. Firm, rosemary browns and cheese acquires edible fuzzy Natural rind cheese made from blend of raw dense, almost chewy. Tangy, wonderfully complex gray mold. Limited availability and generally must cow and ewe milk in traditional Pyrénées style. aromas and taste with nutty rich hints of fresh hay. be pre-ordered. Rich and dense, fruity and slightly acid.

Epoisses Fog Light Gailtaler Almkäse Category: D Type: Washed Rind Category: C Type: Soft-ripened Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: France Milk: Goat Origin: California Milk: Cow Origin: Austria PDO. Renowned cheese from Burgundy. From Mary Keehn. Small cheese made at PDO. Wheels of raw milk mountain cheese. Washed with brine and then Marc de Bourgogne. Cypress Grove. Covered with layer of ash topped Made in Gailtal region east of Tyrol, since 14th Orange coloration develops naturally from growth with fluffy white bloomy rind. Moist with a clean century. Dry, golden rind, smooth yellow paste of brevibacterium linens, not a dye. When ripe, lemony taste characteristic of a fresh goat cheese. with a small number of uniformly distributed elegant, flavorful, buttery paste can be eaten with round eyes. Up to 10 percent goat milk allowed. a spoon. Foin d’Odeur Category: D Type: Washed Rind Gamonedo Esrom Milk: Sheep Origin: Canada Category: D Type: Semisoft Category: B Type: Washed Rind Made in Quebec. Small wheels with a cultured Milk: Cow, Goat Origin: Spain Milk: Cow Origin: Denmark washed rind. Named for the “sweetgrass” herb that Mild smoky cheese produced in high meadows PGI. Known as Danish Port-Salut. Rich and adorns it. Runny paste when ripe. of Asturias. Matured in natural caves for a mini- aromatic. Yellow interior with irregularly shaped mum of two months. Natural rind with a gray mold. holes. Can become quite pungent and spicy as Fontina, Domestic Buttery and spicy at the same time. it ages. Category: A Type: Semisoft Milk: Cow Origin: USA Gaperon Evora Good all-around cheese with superior melting Category: C Type: Soft-ripened Category: D Type: Firm/Hard qualities. Also slices and grates easily. Excellent Milk: Cow Origin: France Milk: Sheep Origin: Portugal table cheese. May have thin rind or no rind at all. Bloomy-rind, soft, pressed-curd cheese with PDO. Wheels aged six to 12 months. Few or no Mild and nutty. When aged, dry and dark with bits of garlic and cracked peppercorns throughout. holes in light yellow paste. Cardoon used to pronounced nutty flavor. Firm when young and runny with almost coagulate raw ewe milk. overwhelming garlic and peppercorn essence Fontina Valle d’Aosta when ripened. Very Brie-like. Explorateur Category: C Type: Semisoft Category: B Type: Soft-ripened Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Garrotxa Milk: Cow Origin: France PDO. One of the world’s greatest cheeses. Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Bloomy rind, triple crème. Very creamy, slight- Heavily imitated but never copied. Light brown, Milk: Goat Origin: Spain ly grainy and salty. Should have pleasant aroma and cocoa-colored crust with warm ivory interior. Small Pyrénées cooperative revived this regional slightly earthy taste, reminiscent of mushrooms. Softens at room temperature but never runny. cheese, manufactured long ago. Mild, buttery, clean Warm, butternut flavor of great Emmentaler but taste. Gray blue rind, white paste. Aged a minimum with tang. Best eaten as a young cheese. Perfect of three weeks. for fondue.

2008 Specialty Cheese Guide Deli Business 31 

Gjetost Gran Canaria Category: A Type: Firm/Hard Category: B Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Goat Origin: Norway Milk: Mixed Origin: Wisconsin Made from whey, milk and cream. Dense and Olive oil-cured blend of cow, goat and sheep rindless. Carmelization during manufacturing milk from Carr Valley Cheese Company. Fruity, creates characteristic color and sweetness. Sliced nutty, intense, sweet and pungent after two years. thin and served with waffles in Norway. Grana Padano Gorgonzola Category: A Type: Grana Category: C Type: Blue Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Milk: Cow Origin: Italy PDO. Hard, cooked, pressed cheese made from PDO. Sharp, spicy blue with wonderful creamy part skim milk in 27 regions around the Po River. texture. Some of finest Italian Gorgonzolas still Large wheels with thin shiny gold rind. Rich yellow aged in caves. Cylinders varying in size from 13 to paste with granular texture. As it ages, paste 29 pounds. Thick, coarse reddish-gray rind with becomes harder and perfect for grating or as a table powdery patches. Pale cream with greenish-blue cheese. Excellent, mellow and intense flavor. veined paste. “Dolce” version very creamy, more perishable and less piquant; only rarely seen in the Gran Queso U.S. American is similar to the sweet milk “dolce Category: C Type: Firm/Hard latte” Gorgonzolas of Italy. Milk: Cow Origin: Wisconsin Handcrafted by Roth Käse USA Ltd., style Gouda similar to Manchego. Aged 6 months. Category: A Type: Firm/Hard Basket-weave rind, full flavored ivory paste has Milk: Cow Origin: Holland a bite and lingering sweet finish. Classic specialty cheese. Red or black wax coating surrounds deep yellow rind and golden Gratte-Paille interior. When young, mild and fruity flavor. When Category: D Type: Soft aged, becomes drier with more pronounced flavor Milk: Cow Origin: France — nutty and rounder — but always with sweet Made from pasteurized milk for U.S. Double- undertone. Excellent domestic Gouda available. crème cheese aged about three weeks. From Ile de France region and Robert Touzaire. Golden color; wrapped in paper. Hand ladled into brick shape; aged on straw mats. Milky, rich and very special.

Graviera of Crete Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Sheep Origin: Greece PDO. Made exclusively in Crete from ewe milk or mixtures of goat milk. Ripened for at least five months. High-quality hard cheese with slightly sweet taste.

Graviera of Naxos Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Greece PDO. Similar to Graviera of Crete but made with IDIAZABAL either cow milk or cow milk and small amounts of ewe and/or goat milk. High-quality, hard table cheese. Must be aged a minimum of three months.

Gruyère Category: A Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Switzerland Semi firm, moderate fat. Superior melting and table cheese. Classic French onion soup cheese. Nutty flavor with sweet fruity undertones. Evenly spaced, medium-sized holes or eyes. Domestic Gruyère also available.

Gruyère de Savoie Category: C Type: Semisoft Milk: Cow Origin: France Milder, sweeter and softer in texture than Swiss Gruyère. Soft butter-colored paste. Made from raw milk.

AGED MOUNTAIN BLUE CHEESE Reader Service No. 111 Service Reader

32 Deli Business 2008 Specialty Cheese Guide Reader Service No. 109 

Gubbeen CRACKER AND BREAD PAIRINGS Category: D Type: Washed Rind Milk: Cow Origin: Ireland By Trisha J. Wooldridge Pungent, semisoft cheese made from pasteur- ized milk. Washed rind cheese with pungent rind. Fruity, clean lavor does not reflect rind’s aroma. Marketing crackers, biscuits and flat- breads with specialty cheeses raises Haloumi incremental revenue while providing a Category: B Type: Semisoft versatile one-stop shop for consumers. Milk: Sheep Origin: Cyprus There are many options to pair with Originally flavored with mint. Sold in small cheese. Simple crackers or crisp flat- squares. Supple with no rind and almost rubbery bread offer a neutral background for texture. Salty but less so than feta. Mild flavor and people to taste just the cheese. Flavored aroma. Also made with a mix of goat and ewe milk. options accent or enhance cheese fla- Excellent frying cheese. vors. Options such as cheese straws and cheese sticks incorporate cheese right Havarti into a bread or biscuit. Category: A Type: Semisoft “The cracker category is almost a Milk: Cow Origin: Denmark phenomenon,” explains Bill Ammerman, Popular specialty cheese; also domestically CEO of Venus Wafers, Inc., Hingham, produced. Uneven holes and smooth creamy MA. “There has been a dramatic switch texture. Pale yellow to almost white. Very mild. back to grains, with grains as part of a Often flavored with herbs. healthful diet.” There are many options for delis to Herrgård offer with cheese, including pita, bagel Category: B Type: Semisoft and soy chips from Stacy’s Pita Chip Milk: Cow Origin: Sweden Company, Inc., Randolph, MA. “Fre- Traditional creamery cheese. Made from quently, consumers use either Stacy’s Elmwood Park, NJ, combines layers of pasteurized milk. Curd cooked, pressed and salted Pita Chips or Bagel Chips, particularly specialty cheeses with baked sourdough until cheese ready for wax coating. Forty-five the Simply Naked versions, as a cracker bread into a crunchy twist or crisp. “The percent fat content provides sweet, full milk flavor. alternative because they have a more specialty cheese section is a nice context substantial texture and crunch than tra- for the product, not so much as a crack- Hoch Ybrig ditional crackers,” says Steve Sears, er to receive cheese but to go on a Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Stacy’s vice-president of marketing. cheese platter,” explains John Macy, Milk: Cow Origin: Switzerland Flatbreads, either crisped to a crack- founder and owner. They are available in Prized modern raw milk alpine cheese inspired er-like consistency or served soft, also sweet and savory varieties by fine Swiss Gruyère but in much smaller wheels. go well with cheese. Lahvosh is a cracker Cheese straws are a cheese snack Named for a mountain near Zurich. Light red bread that originated in Armenia. “It’s a product, offering consumers a unique wine-washed rind, pale to yellowish paste. Dense, bread recipe,” according to Jenni Bon- texture and taste. Geraldine’s Bodacious smooth texture, concentrated, lingering flavor. signore, marketing coordinator for Val- Food Company, Jasper, GA, specifically ley Lahvosh Baking Company, Fresno, markets to specialty cheese sections. “As Hoja Santa CA. “It looks like a cracker but has many a small company, we found the deli to be Category: C Type: Fresh bread characteristics.”Its mild flavor pro- more accessible for a high-end cheese Milk: Goat Origin: Texas file can be matched with sweet or savory straw,” says Cathy Cunningham Hays, From the Mozzarella Company. Delicate goat soft to hard cheeses. founder and owner. Cheese straws can cheese shaped into small bundles wrapped with Flatbread wraps also pair well with go on a platter or serve as a stand-alone hoja santa leaves that infuse lemony cheese with cheese. They can be rolled with cheese snack. “They’re also wonderful when refreshing notes of mint and sassafras. to make pinwheels; flavored wraps, such paired with fruit, wine or cocktails,” she as sun-dried tomato and spinach, add adds. The Cheese Straws come in Chipo- Humboldt Fog flavor and color. Dominick Frocione, vice tle Cheddar and Pesto Parmesan. Category: C Type: Soft president of Cedar’s Mediterranean Offering demos is a simple way of Milk: Goat Origin: California Foods, Inc., Ward Hill, MA, suggests increasing sales for crackers, flatbreads, From Cypress Grove. Beautiful 5-pound cross-merchandising wraps with hum- biscuits and other cheese companions. wheel of wonderful, tangy, lemony fresh cheese mus in the specialty cheese section. Educating consumers on pairings and characterized by the thin layer of vegetable ash that Consumers are also pairing flavored flavor combinations for cheese platters runs through the center of the cheese. Cheese crackers, such as Venus Wafers’ line of can also boost sales. In fact, many com- sprinkled with vegetable ash and left to develop a blueberry and cranberry crackers, with panies include pairing and educational soft bloomy white rind. cheeses. Both go well with sweet or soft material right on their packages. cheeses. Ammerman suggests packaging these Ibores Denver, CO-based 34° Foods With accompaniments as part of gift baskets Category: C Type: Semisoft Latitude recently introduced a line of fla- merchandised as grab-and-go items, par- Milk: Goat Origin: Spain vored crisp bread crackers. Craig Lieber- ticularly during the holiday season. PDO. Made with unpasteurized milk from man, founder and owner, says the Many of these products already have Serrata goats. Medium aged. Direct, creamy and unique crackers available in four flavors a reputation of being high-end special- very buttery on tongue. Rind rubbed with olive oil were created to be served on a cheese- ties, so they offer a substantial profit or smoked paprika. board and to accent a variety of cheeses. margin. Marketed in or near the special- Beyond crackers, a number of spe- ty cheese section increases the chance cialty items are available to accompany for impulse buys from consumers cheese. John Wm. Macy’s CheeseSticks, already seeking out gourmet options.

2008 Specialty Cheese Guide 34 Deli Business 

Idiazábal Kefalotiri Labane (Lebnuh) Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Category: B Type: Soft Milk: Sheep Origin: Spain Milk: Sheep, Goat Origin: Greece Milk: Sheep Origin: Middle East PDO. From Basque region. Smoked and made Made from sheep and goat milk or mixture of Traditionally made from sheep milk; today from whole, unpasteurized milk from Lacha or the two. Salty, piquant taste and unique rich aroma often made from cow milk. Strained, acidified, Carranzana breeds of sheep. Strong, pronounced, obtained after ripening for at least three months. smooth and creamy yogurt similar in texture to slightly acidic, piquant, buttery taste; excellent bal- cream cheese. Can be used in both savory and sweet ance between smoke and sheep. Made in varying applications. Sometimes made from cow milk. size wheels and eaten at all stages of ripening.

Il Tomino Category: C Type: Soft-ripened Milk: Cow Origin: Italy From Piedmont area. Cooking cheese rather than table cheese. Creamy. Looks like a small Brie with light dusting of mold on outside. Light fruity aroma when melted does not interfere with other foods. Excellent simply fried or grilled.

Jarlsberg Category: A Type: Semisoft Milk: Cow Origin: Norway Part skim milk cheese often substituted for Emmentaler. Available in wheels, blocks and slices. Pronounced nutty, buttery, mild, slightly sweet flavor. Yellow rind and pale golden interior with well-spaced eyes. Popular for upscale sandwiches. Light version available. Also produced domestically.

Imokilly Regato Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Ireland PDO. Produced in Mogeely — in ancient Gaelic, Ui MacCaille — in Cork. Eceptionally long grazing period — from March to October — gives milk a distinctive color and flora, reflected in taste and color of the cheese.

Kanterkaas Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Holland PDO. Kanter refers to angular shape of Fries- land cheeses. Pleasant sharpness intensifies with age. Kanternagelkaas: with cloves. Kanterkomi- jnekaas: with cumin. Exported since 1500s.

Kasseri Category: B Type: Pasta Filata Milk: Sheep, Goat Origin: Greece PDO. Made from ewe milk or mixtures of ewe and goat milk. Mild and buttery but full-flavored and salty. White or slightly off-white with smooth, dry consistency. Domestic kasseri is usually 80 to 100 percent cow milk.

Keen’s Farmhouse Cheddar Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: England Clothbound raw milk cheese made by Keen family in West Country. Aged for minimum of 12 months. Sharp, grassy, spicy. Reader Service No. 119 Service Reader 2008 Specialty Cheese Guide Deli Business 35 

Ladotiri Livarot Category: D Type: Firm/Hard Category: C Type: Washed Rind Milk: Sheep, Goat Origin: Greece Milk: Cow Origin: France PDO. Exclusively manufactured on Mitilini PDO. Small round cheese encircled by five Island from ewe milk or a mixture of goat and ewe bands, made in Normandy. Annatto added to color milk. Preserved in olive oil. Strong flavor, hard rind during final wash. Aged about four weeks. texture and slightly salty taste. Also known as Creamy interior. Smelly but spicy and flavorful, kefalaki. persistent finish.

Laguiole Mahón Category: D Type: Firm/Hard Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: France Milk: Cow Origin: Spain PDO. Made in Aubrac since 4th century. PDO. Name given to all Spanish cheeses pro- Similar to Cantal. Pressed, uncooked cylinder aged duced on island of Menorca. Square with rounded four months. Tangy, herb inflected flavor. Made edges. Size varies. Smooth, closed rind is oily and by religious orders for pilgrims bound for Spain yellow or slightly orange due to treatment with during Middle Ages. Image of bull and “Laguiole” paprika. Compact interior with different size holes. stamped on rind. Majorero Langres Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Category: D Type: Washed Rind Milk: Goat Origin: Spain

CAMEMBERT Milk: Cow Origin: France PDO. Young cheese has white rind. Aged PDO. Small, soft cylinder with hollow on top. cheese has brownish-beige rind with somewhat Aged only three weeks but has strong aroma, tangy scratchy touch. Interior is compact but open with flavor, and melts in the mouth. Named for city in eyes spread evenly and slightly gummy texture. its home region of Champagne. Wine is sometimes Acidic, slightly piquant and buttery, but not salty poured in the hollow before eating. taste. Made from only unpasteurized goat milk.

L’Ariegeois Vache Manchego Category: D Type: Washed Rind Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow, Goat Origin: France Milk: Sheep Origin: Spain Mountain cheese from Midi-Pyrénées region. PDO. Closed, clean, engraved rind is yellow to Creamy white interior with lovely pink washed rind brownish-beige. Firm, compact interior is closed with dusting of powdery white mold. Power of aged with few small air pockets unevenly spread. Ivory goat cheese offset by addition of cow milk that adds to pale yellow color. Well-developed but not too sweet milk flavor and creamy texture. strong a taste. Buttery and slightly piquant with sheep milk aftertaste. La Serena Category: C Type: Semisoft Manouri Milk: Sheep Origin: Spain Category: B Type: Semisoft PDO. One of most sought-after, highly valued Milk: Sheep, Goat Origin: Greece and expensive cheeses in Spain. Made from milk of PDO. Soft, whey milk cheese enriched with Merino sheep. Minimum 50 percent fat content. milk or cream for melt-in-the-mouth flavor. Aged minimum of eight weeks. Very buttery flavor. Excellent for dessert with fruit and nuts. Very mild and creamy. Melts well. L’Étivaz Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Maroilles Milk: Cow Origin: Switzerland Category: D Type: Washed Rind Prized traditional raw milk Alpine cheese, Milk: Cow Origin: France similar to a fine Swiss Gruyère. Aged six to 12 PDO. Not for beginners. One of the world’s months in mountain caves. Light brown natural smelliest, strongest-flavored cheeses. Rind rind. Dense, exceptionally buttery, spice and covered with brownish-yellow mold. Straw sweetness, delicate smokiness. yellow interior.

Leyden Mascarpone Category: B Type: Firm/Hard Category: A Type: Fresh Milk: Cow Origin: Netherlands Milk: Cow Origin: Italy PDO. Flavored with caraway and/or cumin. Seventy percent triple crème. Very rich and Natural inedible rind. Light yellow interior when creamy with velvety texture. Taste should be mild young, creamy brown-orange interior when aged. and almost sweet, never bitter, lumpy or salty. Spicy. Large 16-pound wheels about six inches Primary ingredient in tiramisu. Excellent domestic thick. Aged versions are very special. versions available. Flavored varieties gaining in popularity.

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Midnight Moon Montrachet Morbier Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Category: A Type: Fresh Category: C Type: Semisoft Milk: Goat Origin: Netherlands Milk: Cow Origin: France Milk: Cow Origin: France Nutty, brown-butter with caramel notes. Commercially-produced fresh chèvre from PDO. Characterized by thin layer of ash in mid- Gouda-style wheel aged one year, made for Cypress Burgundy. Sold in pre-wrapped logs. Mild and dle. Complex with pungent, pleasing and earthy Grove Chèvre. Smooth, with the slight graininess tangy. Available plain and flavored. Well known. aroma with overtones of fruit and nuts. Mild flavor. of long-aged cheese. Excellent beginner’s chèvre.

Mimolette Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: France Looks like a cantaloupe inside and out. Rough rind with bright orange interior and exterior. Firm texture with small holes and cracks. Mild flavor.

Mirabo Walnut Category: A Type: Soft-ripened Milk: Cow Origin: Germany Brie-like cheese in distinctive blossom shape. Speckled with finely crushed walnuts for subtle, sweet, nutty taste profile. Very creamy. Excellent dessert cheese.

Mizithra Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Sheep Origin: Greece Hard, white whey cheese. Mild, salty and shaped like ostrich egg. When young, smooth and nutty. Aged version most often found in the United States is firm, pungent and excellent for grating.

Monte Veronese Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Italy PDO. Semi-cooked, whole or skim milk cylin- der with a thin, elastic rind. Yellowish paste is fruity with hint of sharpness. Name Monte Veronese orig- inated in the early 1900s, but Verona’s cheesemak- ing extends from medieval times.

Montenebro Category: D Type: Soft-ripened Milk: Goat Origin: Spain Flat, wide loaf shape. Surface-ripened external blue rind, blue-gray-charcoal in color and bumpy. Aged 30-45 days. Dense bone white paste ripens from outside in. Creamy, tangy, rich flavor.

Monterey Jack Category: A Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: California Created in Monterey, CA. Rich and buttery. Commonly found in flavored varieties. When young, supple and soft. Becomes firmer with age. Excellent melting cheese.

Montasio Category: B Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Italy PDO. Partially skimmed milk, unpasteurized hard cheese from Friuli area. Mild and tangy with butterscotch flavor. Grayish-brown rind with cream-colored interior. Reader Service No. 129 Service Reader

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Mozzarella, Buffalo Odenwälder Frühstückskäse Category: C Type: Fresh Category: C Type: Soft-ripened Milk: Buffalo Origin: Italy Milk: Cow Origin: Germany PDO. The original Mozzarella. Sweet and PDO. Odenwald breakfast cheese made from milky taste with a distinct tang. As with domestic pasteurized milk of cows grazing rich hillside Mozzarella, it should never be bitter. pastures. Created in Hessian Odenwald as part of rent farmers paid feudal lords. Brownish-yellow Mozzarella, Fresh rind, yellowish paste, spicy to piquant flavor. Category: A Type: Fresh Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Oka Texture should be very moist. Tender and Category: B Type: Semisoft milky. Sweet taste ranging from slightly salty to Milk: Cow Origin: Quebec no salt at all. Sometimes described as tasting like Semisoft, surface ripened 5-pound wheel with fresh milk. Often marinated and used in salads. tinted orange rind and 30 percent FIDM. Classic Primarily a domestic cheese. Oka aged 60 days. Trappist monks brought Port Salut recipe to Canada, establishing cheese making Mozzarella, Ripened near village named Oka. Now made commercially. Category: A Type: Pasta Filata Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Old Bruges Mainly domestically produced. Second in Category: B Type: Semisoft consumption only to Cheddar. Has lower moisture Milk: Cow Origin: Belgium content than fresh. Available in balls, loaves or as Displays Flemish name of Oud Brugge but is string cheese. also popular with Francophiles who call it Vieux Bruges. Made from pasteurized milk and very little Munster salt, allowing a mild yet complex flavor. Aged for at Category: C Type: Washed Rind least one year. Milk: Cow Origin: France PDO. Original Munster from France is big-fla- Orkney vored and nutty with an aromatic rind. German Category: B Type: Firm/Hard and Danish Muensters milder in flavor. American Milk: Cow Origin: Scotland Muenster not washed-rind; usually made into Mature creamy, mellow Cheddar made in the loaves instead of wheels; can be very mild. highlands of Scotland.

Murcia al Vino Ossau Iraty Category: C Type: Washed Rind Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Goat Origin: Spain Milk: Sheep Origin: France PDO. “Queso de Murcia Curado,” meaning aged PDO. Made in Basque region during summer, Murcian cheese, made of pressed paste, washed, when the sheep are in the mountains. In fall, not cooked. Intense white color and creamy, elastic shepherds bring cheese to farms to finish aging. texture. During ripening, bathed in red wine for Orange to gray thick rind. Firm, creamy, smooth variable lengths of time, giving rind its characteris- white interior. tic color and imparting strong floral bouquet. Paggetto Reale Murazzano Category: D Type: Fresh Category: C Type: Soft-ripened Milk: Cow, Sheep Origin: Italy Milk: Sheep, Cow Origin: Italy From Piedmont. Combination of creamy, PDO. From Piedmont, a variant of Toma. delicate taste and strong flavor. Crust so light as to Similar to Robiola de Roccaverano but prized be almost absent.Initially compact paste becomes for higher sheep milk content, only 40 percent creamy and tends to melt in the mouth. Typically cow milk allowed. Soft, dense, slightly springy, eaten fresh but also enjoyed after a few weeks of mellow, delicately aromatic and highly agreeable aging. Limited availability; and generally requires flavor. Serve alone or with pepper and extra pre-order. virgin olive oil. Paneer (Panir) Neufchatel Category: A Type: Fresh Category: C Type: Soft-ripened Milk: Cow Origin: India Milk: Cow Origin: France White semisoft cheese similar to firm farmer’s PDO. Rich, creamy, pleasantly sour, tangy cheese. Grated, stuffed, simmered or stir-fried in flavor from Normandy. Often, but not exclusively, vegetable dishes. heart-shaped. One of France’s oldest cheeses, dating back to 1035 AD. Parkham Cheddar Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Nisa Milk: Cow Origin: England Category: D Type: Firm/Hard PDO. From Parkham Farms in West County, Milk: Sheep Origin: Portugal Known for rounded, buttery flavor and fruity tang. PDO. Supple, yellowish paste, small eyes. Made from pasteurized milk. Robust, earthy and pleasantly acidic. From Alente- jo, where Merino sheep graze under cover of oak groves. Excellent table cheese.

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Parmigiano-Reggiano Petit-Suisse Piave Category: A Type: Grana Category: D Type: Soft Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Milk: Cow Origin: France Milk: Cow Origin: Italy PDO. Aged average of 24 months. Seasons Small fresh cheese with pudding-like consis- Named after Piave River in northern area of directly influence flavor. Spring made has soft tency. Should be sweet, fresh and slightly tart. Fat Veneto. Intense, full-bodied flavor similar to yellow rind, delicate flavor and herbal scent. content ranges from 60 to 75 percent. Parmigiano-Reggiano, but absolutely unique. Summer made is drier and more pungent, perfect Excellent table cheese that is rapidly gaining a for grating. Fall made has higher casein content strong following. suitable for longer aging. Due to cows’ dry hay diet, winter-made may carry aromatic notes of exotic fruit and pineapple.

Parrano Category: A Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Netherlands An original cheese, pliant and buttery as Gouda with a nuttiness reminiscent of Parmesan, aged five months, 45 percent FIDM, from Uniekaas. Several versions available.

Pecorino Romano Category: A Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Sheep Origin: Italy PDO. Sharp-flavored grating cheese. Pronounced, salty, nutty flavor. Can be substituted for Parmesan when more pronounced flavor desired. Large cylinders. Very hard rind and yellow-white interior.

Pecorino Sardo Category: B Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Sheep Origin: Italy PDO. Also called Sardo. Made on island of Sar- dinia from fresh, whole sheep milk. Milder than Pecorino Romano. Two versions: sweet — which is soft; ripened — which is hard. Served as a table cheese or added to sauces, pastas and salads.

Pecorino Siciliano Category: B Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Sheep Origin: Italy PDO. Oldest cheese in Sicily, written about by ancient Greeks. Cylindrical, uncooked hard cheese made from sheep milk, ripened four months. Pungent, pleasant aroma and sharp taste. Used as table cheese or for grating.

Pecorino Tartufo Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Sheep Origin: Italy From Umbrian region of Italy, a sheep milk cheese combined with truffles .

Pecorino Toscano Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Sheep Origin: Italy PDO. From Tuscany. Natural rind with ivory interior that darkens and gets oilier with age. Flavor ranges from mild to piquant but always with nutty olive flavor.

Perail Category: D Type: Soft-ripened Milk: Sheep Origin: France Made in Midi-Pyrénées region. Whitish, yellowish disk covered with bloomy rind. Ivory colored soft paste. Aroma of ewe milk. Velvety, smooth like very thick cream. Reader Service No. 104 Service Reader

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Picón Bejes-Treviso Queso Blanco Category: D Type: Blue Category: B Type: Fresh Milk: Cow, Sheep, Goat Origin: Spain Milk: Cow Origin: Mexico PDO. Today, term “Picón” reserved for blue Literally “white cheese.” Latin American cheeses made from mixed raw milk and ripened in favorite made from fresh pressed curds molded natural caves in Liébana region. Aged a minimum into shapes. Mild, firm, slightly crumbly cheese. of three months. Cylindrical shape with coarse Excellent frying cheese. When heated, softens rind. Developed, intense and very buttery taste without melting. Most often domestic. with fresh mold aroma. Queso Fresco Pierre Robert Category: B Type: Fresh Category: D Type: Soft-ripened Milk: Cow Origin: Mexico Milk: Cow Origin: France Made from fresh pressed curds. Mild, soft with From Robert Rouzaire, triple-crème similar to crumbly texture. Slightly grainy and salty. Excellent Brillant-Savarin but aged longer to develop even for salads or topping Mexican dishes. When heat- richer texture. Made from whole pasteurized milk ed, softens without melting. Most often domestic. enriched with crème fraiche; 75 percent FIDM. Buttery, smooth with snowy white rind and Queso Oaxaca characteristic tang; decadent and incredibly rich. Category: B Type: Pasta Filata Milk: Cow Origin: Mexico Pleasant Ridge Reserve Stretched curd, pasta filata-style cheese wound Category: D Type: Firm/Hard in a ball. Can be pulled apart like string cheese. Milk: Cow Origin: Wisconsin Similar in taste to ripened Mozzarella. Excellent Fruity, nutty, complex with a long, sweet finish. melting qualities. Also called Quesillo. Most often With age, toasted nuttiness and butterscotch domestic. flavors emerge. Ten-pound wheel from Uplands Cheese Co. Farmstead, unpasteurized milk, Queso Panela pastured herd. Category: B Type: Fresh Milk: Cow Origin: Mexico Pont-l’Evêque Mild, soft, white, often carrying imprint of bas- Category: C Type: Semisoft ket it was molded in. Easily absorbs other flavors. Milk: Cow Origin: France Often coated/wrapped with herbs, spices and PDO. Washed rind cheese made from pasteur- leaves. Lovely and delicate. Most often domestic. ized milk. Square shaped packed in wooden box. Very popular French cheese, creamy and a little Quesucos de Liébana smelly but not unpleasant. Category: D Type: Fresh Milk: Cow, Sheep, Goat Origin: Spain Port-Salut PDO. From Liébana region. Aged minimum of Category: B Type: Washed Rind two weeks. Regular variety is smooth with a sharp, Milk: Cow Origin: France buttery taste. Smoked is more developed. Trappist or monastery-style cheese. Mild, creamy and butter-like. Originally made by Raclette Trappist monks in Entrammes. Name was sold Category: C Type: Firm/Hard to large factory producer in Lorraine. Milk: Cow Origin: Switzerland Firm, uncooked, pressed cheese, nutty flavor, Provolone silky texture. Originated in Valais canton. Now also Category: A Type: Pasta Filata made in the French regions of Savoie, Franche- Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Comte and Brittany. Traditionally heated in front PDO. Specialty cheeses bear almost no of fire or with special machine and then scraped resemblance to dairy case varieties. When young, onto bread or fingerling potatoes. Delicious as very mild, supple and white in color with a spicy table cheese served at room temperature. overtone. With age, aromatic and yellower with small fissures or cracks; flavor gets more Ragusano pronounced and spicy with a salty bite. After 18 Category: C Type: Firm/Hard months, very assertive. Domestic versions range Milk: Cow Origin: Italy from blah to outstanding. PDO. Uncooked whole milk cheese. Sweet, delicate, pleasantly sharp when matured a short Quark time for table use. Cheeses matured for grating are Category: C Type: Fresh sharper and more savory. Smooth, thin rind, close Milk: Cow Origin: Germany textured white to yellow paste and pleasant aroma. May be made from whole, reduced-fat or fat-free milk. Very moist white cheese with very smooth, soft texture. Should be mild and tangy with bright, fresh taste. Often described as lemon tasting. Most often domestic.

RED LEICESTER

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Red Leicester Ricotta Robiola Castagna Category: B Type: Firm/Hard Category: A Type: Fresh Category: D Type: Soft Milk: Cow Origin: England Milk: Sheep, Goat Origin: Italy Milk: Goat Origin: Italy Cloth-bound. Firm, flaky, buttery texture and Traditionally made from whey. Domestic ver- Seasonal cheese from Langhe region. Mixed slightly sharp butterscotch richness, rather nutty sions commonly made with cow milk. May also be milk cheese primarily from goat milk. Small round and medium-strong flavor. Marvelous deep orange made from sheep or goat milk. Mild sweet nutty disk of fresh cheese usually ripened for about two color. Best eaten after six to nine months when flavor. Texture should be grainy with small grains weeks. Wrapped in chestnut leaves giving it earthy flavor has intensified. and slightly dry. Baked, smoked and dried versions flavor with pure white interior. When young, chalky available. Domestically mostly cow milk. texture; creamier texture as it ages. Requeson Category: B Type: Fresh Ricotta Salata Robiola di Roccaverano Milk: Cow Origin: Mexico Category: B Type: Firm/Hard Category: D Type: Fresh Texture very similar to Ricotta but slightly Milk: Sheep Origin: Italy Milk: Cow, Sheep, Goat Origin: Italy looser. Very mild fresh milky taste, never salty. Rindless, firm but tender whey cheese. Pure PDO. White cylinder, neither ripened or aged. Used for enchilada fillings. Most often domestic. white interior and nutty, milky flavor. Very dense. Skin develops over fine paste. Prized for delicate Domestic versions sometimes made with cow milk. aroma and lightly sour, savory taste. Originated in Rembrandt Piedmont during time of Celtic Liguri tribes. Up to Category: B Type: Firm/Hard Ridder 85 percent cow milk, at least 15 percent goat or Milk: Cow Origin: Netherlands Category: C Type: Firm/Hard sheep milk. Gouda from Friesland, aged 12 months. Wheel Milk: Cow Origin: Norway approximately 22 pounds, natural rind, golden “Knight” in Norwegian . Inspired by Port Salut Rogue River Blue cream color paste, rich, tangy, with slight crystal- and produced since 1969. Distinctive, sharp taste, Category: C Type: Blue lization, 48 percent FIDM. Highly recognized in smooth texture without eyes and edible rind with Milk: Cow Origin: Oregon international competitions. 38 percent FIDM. Best Blue Cheese at World Cheese Awards in London in 2004, the first time in history an Ameri- Robiola Bosina can cheese beat Stilton and Roquefort. Very rich; Category: D Type: Soft covered in Syrah grape leaves and macerated in Milk: Cow, Sheep Origin: Italy Clear Creek Pear Brandy. From Langhe region in northern Italy. Little square of mixed milk cheese; delicate; ripens to delicious runny, mild, sweet interior. Rind strong enough to hold it together; a taste treat by itself. Reader Service No. 130 Service Reader Reader Service No. 114 Service Reader

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Roncal Sao Jorge Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Sheep Origin: Spain Milk: Sheep Origin: Portugal PDO. From Navarre in Pyrènèes valley. Made PDO. Unpasteurized whole milk cheese from from unpasteurized sheep milk and aged a Sao Jorge in the Azores. Edible rind, firm, yellow minimum of four months. Cylindrical with dark paste, small, irregular eyes. Tangy, peppery taste. gray or straw-colored rind. Well developed, Used as an ingredient or eaten with bread. structured, buttery flavor with aroma of straw, dried fruit and mushrooms. Sbrinz Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Roquefort Milk: Cow Origin: Switzerland Category: B Type: Blue Aroma like a bouquet of flowers, which is more Milk: Sheep Origin: France pronouced as cheese ages. Firm, dry, light to PDO. Most famous French blue and significant golden brown, smooth rind. Ivory to light yellow in any cheese lineup. Soft, but crumbly and moist. interior. Salty, sour-sweet, pure clean taste and Abundant blue-green veining. Powerful, full-bod- nuances of roasted chicory. ied butterscotch-sweet yet spicy with distinctive aroma. Powerful and highly prized. Scamorza Category: C Type: Pasta Filata Rossini Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Category: C Type: Blue Young, mild, ivory-colored cheese similar to

SCAMORZA Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Mozzarella but drier and chewier. Traditionally, From Lombardy region. Made with whole made by Caciocavallo cheesemakers when Sirocco pasteurized cow milk. Cured in must from passito winds were blowing and unfavorable to making grapes used to make Pantelleria wine. Aged for cheese. Scamorza Afumicate is smoked version. about three months; blue veining becomes more Excellent domestic versions are available. pronounced, rind takes on light burgundy tints from the wine and develops a distinct and piquant Selles sur Cher taste. Rich in hints of apricots and almonds. Category: D Type: Soft-ripened Milk: Goat Origin: France Saint Marcellin PDO. From Loire and Cher river valleys. Best in Category: D Type: Soft-ripened spring through fall. Vegetable ash covering protects Milk: Goat, Cow Origin: France paste from drying while ripening. At its peak when From Dauphiné region in southeastern France. bloom on top of ash develops blue mold. White Soft and creamy. Often made with cow milk; interior, hazelnut flavor. originally a goat milk cheese. Rindless with a dusting of ambient white mold that makes it Serpa wrinkle on top. Rustic, nutty aroma, light yeasty Category: D Type: Semisoft acidity and yeasty flavors. Sold in crock. Should be Milk: Sheep Origin: Portugal eaten at room temperature or slightly warm. PDO. Raw milk of Merino sheep from Alentejo region. Aged six months. Strong aroma, buttery Saint Nectaire consistency and sweet peppery flavor. Goes Category: C Type: Semisoft particularly well with good bread and red wine. Milk: Cow Origin: France PDO. A Tomme-style, uncooked pressed Serra da Estrela

PHOTO COURTESY OF ATALANTA CORPORATION cheese. Longer ripening produces greater flavor Category: D Type: Semisoft intensity. A combination of white, yellow, red and Milk: Sheep Origin: Portugal brown flora may cover rind. Body is supple, creamy PDO. Handmade aged wheel from Beira region to soft. Slight acidity, strong lactic taste and that inspired Azeitão. Similar to Spain’s La Serena. hazelnut flavors. Beige, pinkish rind, cream-colored paste with smooth, buttery consistency. Raw milk coagulated Salers with cardoon. Rich, sweet, sheep milk flavor. Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: France Shropshire Blue PDO. Similar to Cantal and from the same Category: C Type: Blue region. Farm-made from raw milk, spring through Milk: Cow Origin: England fall only. Aged three to 18 months, complex, fruity Cylindrical with bright orange, crumbly interi- and supple. Wheels marked “Tradition Salers” or and rough, brown rind with generous beautiful exclusively from milk of the Salers breed. blue veining. Sharp, rustic flavor. Exceptional blue.

San Simon Single Gloucester Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Category: B Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Spain Milk: Cow Origin: England Soft to very firm depending on age. Polished, PDO. Made from skim milk. Firm-bodied but walnut-colored rind and golden interior. Creamy, moist with more of an open texture than Double delicately smoked flavor ranges from milky to Gloucester. Not colored with annatto. Delicate piquant depending on age. Dunce-cap shape. creamy taste with pleasant slightly sharp freshness on finish.

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Snofrisk Taleggio Teleme Category: A Type: Fresh Category: C Type: Washed Rind Category: B Type: Soft-ripened Milk: Goat, Cow Origin: Norway Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Milk: Cow Origin: California Smooth, soft, spreadable cream cheese, 80 PDO. Table cheese made from milk of Smooth, creamy and similar in taste to percent goat milk, 20 percent cow cream, 25 per- Lombardia cows and aged for 50 to 60 days in the Monterey Jack. Texture and interior of good Brie. cent FIDM. Introduced in 1994 for Lillehammer Valsassina Valley. Rosy-brown rind with soft thin Slightly tangy. Favor deepens with age; texture Olympic Games. crust. Characteristic double-texture paste — soft, becomes runnier and very spreadable. Large pieces slightly stringy and straw-yellow aw well as a firm, may have rice flour crust. St. André crumbly and white-colored inside. Often covered Category: A Type: Soft-ripened with irregular spots of grayish mold. Aromatic Milk: Cow Origin: France afragrance can be pungent in mature cheeses. Bloomy rind triple crème. Wonderful dessert Sweet and delicate yet slightly sour or tangy taste. cheese very soft at room temperature, mild yet extremely rich with cream sweetness. Pleasant aroma. Wonderful with fresh fruit. Crowd pleaser.

St. Killian Category: C Type: Soft-ripened Milk: Cow Origin: Ireland Hexagonal Camembert-style cheese handmade made on Carrigbyrne Farm in County Wexford. White rind. Very mild when young but develops clean, aromatic flavor when older.

St. Tola Crottin Category: D Type: Fresh Milk: Goat Origin: Ireland Fresh buttons of farmhouse melt-in-the- mouth goat cheese. Smooth texture and rich, sweet, organic milk taste. As it matures, flavors become more pronounced and texture firmer. Natural rind develops with aging.

St. Tola Log Category: D Type: Fresh Milk: Goat Origin: Ireland Original St. Tola product. Organic. Smooth, fine-grained texture. Creamy, sweet taste with many sub-flavors. Flavor develops and texture gets more compact with maturity. Natural rind develops with aging. Eaten fresh through to maturity.

Stilton Category: B Type: Blue Milk: Cow Origin: England PDO. Good Stilton rind exudes wonderful aromas of cellars, stonewalls and molds. Perfect Stilton is rich and creamy, not dry and crumbly, with clean, lasting, tangy finish. Should not be sold too young, when it can be bitter and dry. Classic blue.

String Cheese Category: A Type: Pasta Filata Milk: Cow Origin: USA Many countries claim ownership, but majority is U.S. produced. Handmade string cheese usually braided and Middle Eastern in style. Delicious, very mild and milky. Great for melting or eating out of hand. Don’t confuse with bland dairy case item.

Svecia Category: B Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Sweden PGI. Produced since 13th century. Firm, resilient yet tender. Matured two months or more, becoming mildly acidic and full-bodied with age. Uniform yellow paste contains evenly distributed, small, irregular holes. Reader Service No. 106 Service Reader

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Tête-de-Moine Toma Piemontese Category: D Type: Firm/Hard Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Switzerland Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Strongest Swiss cheese. Sophisticated, complex PDO. Cow or mixed non-fermented milk with a raw-milk cheese. Sweet, tangy, woodsy, flowery fat content no lower than 18 percent. Pressed, and herbal. Straw-colored interior darkens with semi-cooked cylinder made throughout Piedmont age. Typically shaved into rosettes, not cut with since Roman times. Varied appearance and size. knife. Softness and taste result from whole or skim milk, hoop size and maturation period. Flavor sweet to Tetilla deep and savory. Category: C Type: Semisoft Milk: Cow Origin: Spain Toma Valle d’Aosta PDO. Tetilla translates to “nipple.” Traditional- Category: D Type: Firm/Hard ly flattened, pear-shaped cone with small nipple Milk: cow Origin: Italy on top. Easily recognized by shape and smooth, Most often made by individual farms in Alpine fine, straw-colored rind. Soft and creamy with Valleys. Cylindrical; no more than 22 cm in diame- mild flavor. ter. Thin yellowish rind and white or yellowish interior with small eyes. Sweet, slightly piquant Tilsiter taste. Ripens under a layer of mountain grasses, Category: C Type: Semisoft which lend particular taste and aroma. Milk: Cow Origin: Switzerland Tommasino Caprino GRANA PADANO Made in flat round loaves with natural reddish- brown rind. Ivory to light yellow color. Interior has Category: D Type: Fresh small sparse holes. Taste ranges from full-flavored Milk: Goat Origin: Italy to strong. Fluffy, light and delicate fresh goat milk cheese. Produced by La Capreria, a small organic farm near Monti Berici in Veneto region of north- eastern Italy. Free-range goats eat neither silage nor fodders. Reader Service No. 118 Service Reader

44 Deli Business 2008 Specialty Cheese Guide 

Tomme de Savoie Category: D Type: Firm/Hard CONDIMENTS PROVIDE EXTRA RING Milk: Cow Origin: France PGI. Pressed, uncooked raw milk wheel aged By Trisha J. Wooldridge three to six months. Rough gray rind develops flora and cellar aromas; subtle, creamy flavored paste. In Condiments add dimension, color cheeses or condiments, such as feta, tab- this region, Tomme refers to cheese made with and taste to even the best cheeses. Con- bouleh and olive tapenade. leftover milk, whole or skim. sumers shopping for specialty cheeses Although many people don’t immedi- want upscale options, so it makes good ately think of hot sauce as a condiment Tomme des Pyrénées sense to offer high-end add-ons, such as for cheese, it works well with many Category: D Type: Firm/Hard spreads, mustards and relishes. cheeses and appeals to the growing Milk: Cow Origin: France Making the deli a destination location number of Americans who have PGI. Mild, buttery-flavor, aged about three where customers can find all their embraced the “pepper-head” culture and months, manufactured since 12th century in St. cheese needs or an outstanding appetiz- are looking for more heat. “Hot sauce Girons region. er tray drives both impulse sales and goes on everything,” states Luis Saavedra, repeat purchases. general manager Tapatío Hot Sauce, Ver- Torta del Casar “Our gourmet mustards are a great non, CA. Tapatío’s special blend of three Category: D Type: Semisoft incremental sale,” says Dominic Biggi, peppers can be added to dips made with Milk: Sheep Origin: Spain vice president of sales for Beaverton soft cheeses. PDO. Spectacular Extremadura cheese similar Foods, Inc., Beaverton, OR. The company Fruit pastes are traditionally served to La Serena. Flat, fragile-rinded cylinder, takes both care and time before it puts a with cheese throughout Europe, but the intensely creamy texture with rich, nutty and tangy product out under its brands. “I like to pairing is relatively new in the United flavors, floral and herbal aromas, slightly bitter think customers look for that quality.” States. Denver, CO-based 34° Foods With finish. Slice chilled,or cut top off as if it were a lid The same can be said for other condi- Latitude imports gourmet fruit pastes and spread cheese onto bread. ments. Customers willing to pay for high- from Australia. These pastes are designed quality specialty cheeses are more likely to accompany cheese, according to Craig Ubriaco to pay for high-quality condiments to add Liebermann, founder and president. Category: C Type: Firm/Hard depth, dimension and diversity to their “They’re meant to complement cheese, Milk: Cow Origin: Italy cheese courses. not overpower it. When paired correctly, “Drunken” cheeses from Veneto. After World “The Italians were onto something the paste lifts cheese to another level.” War I, peasants who had been supplying troops when they invented antipasto,” notes The company’s brightly colored packag- with food for years became protective of their Mary Ann Vagrin, director of public rela- ing stands out in a cheese display and cheeses. Wheels hidden in vats of fermenting must tions for G.L. Mezzetta, Inc., American includes wine and cheese pairing advice and tradition of “drunken” cheeses began. Flavor Canyon, CA. “Antipasto or antipasti to make it easy for consumers to choose profiles vary greatly depending on initial cheese means ‘before the meal.’ The variations items that work well together. and type of wine must used for curing. Typically, are practically endless.” The best way to boost sales of high- name of the wine follows Ubriaco. For example, cheeses such as Moz- end condiments that accompany special- zarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pro- ty cheeses is through consumer educa- Ubriaco al Recioto Gambellara volone set with rosemary or Italian herb tion. Most of these products include fla- Category: D Type: Firm/Hard crackers, artichoke hearts, pepperoncini, vor profiles, usage and pairing informa- Milk: Cow Origin: Italy thinly sliced prosciutto and olive tape- tion on the packages. Delis can also edu- Underneath layer of sweet wine and aromatic nade make a flavorful Italian antipasti. cate their patrons using demos that grape must, extra aged (minimum 12 months) Another Mediterranean mix might match these items, so customers can stravacchio Monte Veroneses d’Allevo PDO made include Feta, goat cheese, hummus, pita learn how these different products taste with partially skimmed raw cow milk. Prestigious crackers, flatbread, Kalamata olives, tab- on their own — and how they taste white wine known for amazing sweet round body. bouleh and roasted red peppers. together. Many fence-sitting consumers Cheese has trace of piquant acidity; influence of FoodMatch, Inc., New York City, NY, decided to buy once they have experi- sweet wine gives intense delicate taste with hints specializes in olives, marinated vegeta- enced a well-balanced match. of apricot and hazelnut and touch of caramel and bles and antipasti. According to Kevin Additionally, delis should include cherries. O’Conner, vice president of sales, “Once combinations of specialty cheeses and we merchandised in the cheese section, condiments in their own creations. If Ubriaco al Torcolato di Breganza sales climbed dramatically.” Olives and there is a sandwich program, signature Category: C Type: Firm/Hard antipasti pair well with cheese, he sandwiches or weekly specials can Milk: Cow Origin: Italy explains. “The best place for these items include unique combinations of gourmet Asiago d’Allevo DOP soaked in golden Italian is in the cheese section.” Although mari- cheese and condiments matched with dessert wine. Aged for a minimum of 12 months nated vegetables, olives and relishes are profiled meats. For example, use a and sometimes as long as 18 months. Allowed to primarily flavor-driven, they are also bet- whole-grain or fruited mustard with dry on mats to achieve concentrated heady flavor ter-for-you items that cater to the health Black Forest ham, Provolone and pep- with characteristics of sweet wine, giving it delicate trends across the United States.” padews for an upscale sandwich. A plat- taste with full, warm, slightly alcoholic glow. Hummus is frequently offered on ter or catering program can also include Mediterranean platters. “Hummus is set- diverse trays, such as antipasti, or high- ting the world on fire,” notes Dominick end selections that pair imported fruit Frocione, vice president of sales for paste with specialty cheese. Cedar’s Mediterranean Foods, Inc., Ward Exposing consumers to more options Hill, MA. “It’s gaining more space and for their cheese courses and party plat- gaining more sales. It’s in critical mass in ters by offering a variety of accompany- Massachusetts, still growing in double ing condiments can increase customer digits.” Adding to the company’s growth satisfaction while driving both impulse is its new packaging and a new product and return sales on products with high line of creamier hummus swirled with profit margins.

2008 Specialty Cheese Guide Deli Business 45 

Unbriaco di Fragola-Clinto Vorarlberger Alpkäse and Bergkäse Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Italy Milk: Cow Origin: Austria Marriage of two uncultivated vines give cheese PDO. Aromatic, piquant large wheel aged its name. Fragola imparts aromatic hints of wild from three to six months. Partly skim, raw milk strawberry; Clinto has particularly fruity taste of grass-fed cows. Produced for centuries by typical of feral wines of Venteto. Cheese from independent Alpine Vorarlberg dairies, but now Veneto is similar to Montasio. Outstanding flavor, cooperatively marketed. regal good looks. Very thin, edible rind of intense purple . White or slightly straw-colored cheese Wensleydale with small eye formations. Category: B Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: England Urgelia Dry, smooth, semi-hard cheese. Shares traits Category: D Type: Semisoft with young Cheddar, White Stilton and Caerphilly. Milk: Cow Origin: Spain Crumbles into chucks while maintaining creamy PDO. Queso de l’Alt Urgell y la Cerdanya. Soft mouth feel. Popular for bright zing and honeyed cheese produced from whole pasteurized milk. aroma that goes well with fresh fruit. Creamy texture and buttery taste. From Lleid and Girona in Catalonian Pyrénées. Use in light dishes. Zamorano Category: D Type: Firm/Hard Vacherin Fribourgeois Milk: Sheep Origin: Spain Category: D Type: Semisoft PDO. From Castile-León plateau. Dark gray, Milk: Cow Origin: Switzerland oily rind. Closed, compact interior with tiny Classic fondue cheese; also delicious raw. crystal-like dots spread evenly throughout. Reddish brown rind and light golden interior. Intense, although not too strong, slightly When young, mild and fresh. Becomes flavorful piquant and buttery taste. with age.

Vacherin Mont d’Or Category: D Type: Semisoft Milk: Cow Origin: Switzerland Creamy mild and delicate. Tied with fir bark and packed in fir wood box that imparts hint of tannin to cheese. Bloomy, soft, raised rind, amber to reddish-brown in color. Ivory-colored interior.

Valdeon Category: C Type: Blue Milk: Cow, Goat, Sheep Origin: Spain PGI. Like Cabrales, may blend cow, goat and/or sheep milk and cave-aged. Unlike Cabrales, milk pasteurized and wheel wrapped in huge sycamore leaves. It looks great on shelf with deep blue veining; wows palate with buttery balance of three milks, dominant of which is cow. Spicy, piquant with sweet undertone and persistent finish.

Valençay Category: D Type: Semisoft Milk: Goat Origin: France PDO. Natural light-brown rind. Small 1 pyramids about 3 ⁄2 inches high. Ashed versions available. Texture ranges from soft to firm depending on age. White interior. Flavor also varies with age. Highly prized aged versions too strong for most palates.

Valtellina Casera Category: C Type: Firm/Hard Milk: Cow Origin: Italy PDO. Evolved in 18th century Lombardy from popular Bitto. Semi-cooked wheel, semi-skim milk. With age, pale yellow rind and white paste darken, delicate sweet flavor intensifies. Enjoyed fresh or medium mature.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANCO FINE CHEESE`

46 Deli Business 2008 Specialty Cheese Guide 2008 American Cheese Guide 

merican cheesemakers made great strides in 2007, winning 10 gold, 15 A silver and 13 bronze medals at the 2007 World Cheese Awards in Lon- don, England, where the world’s most prestigious cheesemakers compete for international recognition. American cheesemakers won gold medals in traditional European categories, such as Brie, Mozzarella and Cheddar, and for unique Ameri- can varieties, such as Bessies Blend, Cave-aged Marisa, Marco Polo and Humbouldt Fog. Many American cheesemakers are no longer try- ing to imitate the Europeans but, instead, are gaining respect for new cheeses borne of skill, knowledge and the freedom to experiment beyond the bound- aries of tradition. American consumers are looking for regional delights so small cheesemakers whose only outlets were local restaurants, festivals and farmers’ markets have found their cheeses coveted by fine retailers willing to introduce seasonal varieties and make con- cessions for non-standardized sizes and the lack of SKUs. Record numbers of retailers view a superior specialty cheese department as a point of differentia- tion that can set their stores apart from competition and extend their customer base. Many stores are finding an American specialty cheeses section is not a “concession” to a local economy but, instead, adds complexity and depth to their departments. A fine cheese department can no longer dismiss American specialty cheeses given their international recognition for superior quality. However, understanding American specialties is difficult. The tradition of and restrictions on some well-known European cheeses allow for a better ini- tial understanding of what a cheese name repre- sents. PDO cheeses, such as Manchego from Spain or Robiola from Italy, have enough common charac- teristics to make them recognizable regardless of the producer, while unique American cheeses have indi- vidual characteristics making them difficult to remember. The organization responsible for supporting and educating U.S. professionals is the American Cheese Society, Louisville, KY. Information can be obtained by calling 502-583-3783 or by going to the Web site at www.cheesesociety.org.

By Karen Silverston PHOTO COURTESY OF DCI CHEESE COMPANY

2008 Specialty Cheese Guide Deli Business 47 

Achadinha Cheese Company BelGioioso Cheese, Inc. Petaluma, CA Denmark, WI Goat milk. Handmade aged and semi-hard. Cow milk. Traditional Italian-style cheeses Capricious — Best of Show, 2002 ACS. Cheeses: made from raw or pasteurized cow’s milk. Cheeses: Broncha, Capricious, Feta Provolone, Mascarpone, Fresh Mozzarella, American Grana, CreamyGorg, Ricotta con Latte, Alto Dairy Cooperative Parmesan, Asiago, Fontina, Romano, Pepato, Waupun, WI Auribella, Italico, Peperoncino, Kasseri, Cow milk. Farmer-owned dairy cooperative. Crescenza-Stracchino, Burrata Seasonally produced Black Creek brand Pasture- Grazed Cheddar. Cheeses: Cheddar, Colby, Belle Chévre Muenster, Brick, Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, (Fromagerie Belle Chévre) Provolone, Fontina. Black Creek Aged Cheddar, Elkmont, AL Black Creek Pasture-Grazed White Cheddar Goat milk. Handmade fromage blanc, logs, crumbles, plain, herbed. Rounds in olive oil. Amaltheia Organic Dairy, LLC Cheeses: Chévre Log, Chévre Disc, Chévre de Belgrade, MT Provence, Fromage Blanc, Tuscan Chévre, Goat milk. Plain and flavored fresh cheeses, Confetti Chévre, Greek Kiss farmstead. Cheeses: Chévre, Roasted Garlic and Chive Chévre, Spiced Pepper Chévre, Sun-Dried Bellwether Farms Tomato Chévre, Perigord Black Truffle Chévre, Petaluma, CA

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALTO DAIRY COOPERATIVE Feta, Ricotta Cow and sheep milk. Traditional and original artisan cheese made from pasteurized Andante Dairy and raw milk. San Andreas — Gold Medal, 2006 Petaluma, CA World Cheese Awards. Carmody — Bronze Medal, Cow, goat and mixed milk. Handmade, fresh, 2006 World Cheese Awards. Cheeses: Crème soft-ripened and triple crème. Cheeses: Nocturne, Fraiche, Fromage Blanc, San Andreas, Pepato, Picolo, Mélange, Rondo, Minuet, Metronome Carmody, Crescenza

Ballard Family Dairy and Cheese Bittersweet Plantation Dairy Gooding, ID Gonzales, LA Cow milk (Jersey). Halloumi-style grilling Cow and goat milk. Artisanal fresh, cheese, Cheddar, cheese curds. Cheeses: Idaho soft-ripened, triple cream and aged cheeses. Golden Greek Grillin’ Cheese, Jersey Gem, Cheeses: Fleur-de-Lis, Fleur-de-Teche, Idaho White Cheddar, Idaho Pepper Cheddar, Evangeline, Gabriel, Feliciana Nevat, Holy Cow, Ballard’s Idaho Danish Pearl, Idaho Garlic Herb Kashkaval, Bulgarian-style Goat’s Milk Feta, Cheese Curds Creole Cream Cheese

Bass Lake Cheese Factory Boggy Meadow Somerset, WI Walpole, NH Cow and goat milk. Handmade traditional and Cow milk. Aged farmstead cheese made with original recipe cheeses. Cheeses: Colby, Butter raw milk, vegetarian rennet. Cheeses: Baby Swiss, Jack with Cinnamon, Green Olive Cheddar, Smoked Swiss, Salsa Jack, Fiddlehead Tomme Muenster Delray, White Gouda Bravo Farms Beechers Handmade Cheese PHOTO COURTESY OF GREEN MOUNTAIN BLUE CHEESE Traver, CA Seattle, WA Cow milk. Raw milk, artisanal cheeses Cow milk. Seasonal versions of signature handmade with vegetarian rennet. Western Sage Cheddar, cultured fresh farmer’s cheese, original Cheddar — Silver Medal, 2006 World Cheese recipes.2007 World Cheese Awards: Gold Medal Awards. Cheeses: Chipotle, Western Sage and for Marco Polo. Cheeses: Flagship, Flagship Premium White Cheddar, Queso de Oro, Silver Reserve, Just Jack, Marco Polo, Blank Slate Mountain, Tulare Cannonball, Queso Bravo

Beehive Cheese Co. Brunkow Cheese of Wisconsin Uintah, UT Darlington, WI Cow milk. Semi-hard wheels handcrafted from Cow milk. Brunkow Cheese label specialty local milk. Cheddar, Parmesan, Dry Jack, smoked cheese; Fayette Creamery label artisan cheese. and flavored. Cheeses: Promontory, Aggiano, Cheeses: Brunkow Raw Milk Cheddar, Raw Uintah Jack, Emigrant, Barely Buzzed, Apple Milk Cheddar Spreads, Brun-uusto, Fayette Walnut Smoked, Smoked Habanero Cheddar, Creamery Little Darling, Avondale Truckle, Rosemary Cheddar, Full Moon Raw Milk Cheddar, Argylshire and Pendarvis Squeaky Bee Curds Bubalus Bubalis Mozzarella Belfiore Cheese Company Gardena, CA Berkeley, CA Water buffalo milk. Fresh mozzarella, Cow milk. Artisanal fresh Italian- and Eastern individually packed in brine, and other varieties European-style cheeses. Cheeses: Fresh made from milk from the company’s Southern Mozzarella, Traditional Mozzarella, Farmer’s California water buffalo herd. Cheeses: Fresh Cheese, Feta, Smoked Mozzarella Mozzarella di Bufala, Provoletta, Scamorza, Ricotta

PHOTO COURTESY OF BELLE CHÉVRE

48 Deli Business 2008 Specialty Cheese Guide 

Bunker Hill Cheese Co., Inc. Cantaré Foods, Inc. Castro Cheese Company, Inc. Millersburg, OH San Diego, CA Houston, TX Cow milk. Amish farm milk cheeses. Heini’s Cow milk. Traditional Italian varieties. 2007 Cow milk. Mexican- and Central American- Yogurt Cultured Cheese, more than 30 varieties. World Cheese Awards: Silver, Fresh Mozzarella style cheeses and creams. La Vaquita brand Cheeses: Original, Garden Vegetable, Jalapeño Ovoline, Bronze for Fresh Mozzarella Bocconcini. established 1971. Cheeses: Queso Fresco, Panela Pepper, Garlic Herb, Sun Dried Tomato Basil, 2006 World Cheese Awards: Silver Medal for Fresca, Cuajado Fresca, Queso Quesadilla, Queso Cayenne Cilantro, Peppercorn Chive, Bocconcini. Cheeses: Whole Milk Fresh Botanero with Jalapeños, Queso Fresco, Crema Tomato Garlic Mozzarella, Medaglione Fresca, Mascarpone, Mexicana, Crema Salvadorena Whole Milk Ricotta Fresca with Draining Basket, Cabot Creamery Cooperative Burrata Cedar Grove Cheese Montpelier, VT Plain, WI Cow milk. Farmer-owned cooperative since Caprine Supreme, LLC Cow and sheep milk. Prairie Premium line, 1919. Specialty Cheddars aged 60 days to 60 Black Creek, WI organic Cheddars, flavored cheeses, handmade months, flavored and reduced fat. 2007 World Goat milk. Plain and flavored fresh cheese, from GMO-free ingredients. Cheeses: Faarko, Cheese Awards: Bronze for Vintage Choice Ched- farmstead. Cheeses: Caprine Supreme Spreadable Farmer’s Cheese, Butterkäse, Colby, Havarti, dar and Old School Cheddar (5 years). ACS Best of Goat Cheese (Plain, Jalapeño, Garlic and Chive); Cheddar, Cheese Curds Show 2006, Clothbound Cheddar Wheel. Cheddar, Curds, Yogurt Cheeses: Classic Vermont Sharp Cheddar, Vintage Cheesemakers, Inc. Choice Cheddar, Private Stock Cheddar, Mild Capriole, Inc. Cleveland, TX Reserve Cheddar Greenville, IN Cow, goat milk. Brands: Lone Star Goat Cheese Goat milk. Handmade French-inspired and (Kosher), Jaimito, Cheesemakers. Cheeses: Calabro Cheese Corporation original cheeses, fresh and soft-ripened. Aged raw Chévre (Plain, Roasted Garlic and Cilantro, East Haven, CT milk cheeses. Cheeses: O’Banon, Piper’s Pyra- Cracked Peppercorn, Honey Pecan), Chévre Log in Cow milk. Traditional Italian varieties, includ- mide, Wabash Cannonball, Sofia, Old Kentucky Olive Oil; Queso Fresco, Asadero, Oaxaca, Cotija, ing organic Mozzarella and Ricotta, kosher Ricotta. Tomme, Mont St. Francis, Juliana, Logs, Rounds Crema, Jalapeño Quesadilla, Enchilado; Mozzarel- Cheeses: Ricotta, Mozzarella Fior Di Latte, la, Feta, Swiss, Muenster, Baby Swiss, Gouda Grated Parmesan and Romano Cheese, Scamorze, Carr Valley Cheese Company Caciocavallo, Burrini, Smoked Mozzarella, Fresh La Valle, WI Coach Farm, Inc. Basket Cheeses, Queso Blanco Cow, goat, sheep, mixed milk. Varied ages and Pine Plains, NY styles of Cheddars, originals and classics. Five Goat milk. Farmstead fresh and aged 2006 and 2007 World Cheese Awards. Gran French-style cheeses. Cheeses: Fresh (various Canaria — Best of Show 2004 ACS. Cheeses: shapes), Aged Stick, Green Peppercorn Mobay, Cocoa Cardona, Show White Goat Cheddar, Cone/Pyramid/Brick, Caraway Rounds, Cave-Aged Mammoth Cheddar, Billy Blue, Bene- Triple Cream dictine, Menage, Marisa Reader Service No. 134

2008 Specialty Cheese Guide Deli Business 49 

Cowgirl Creamery Everona Dairy Point Reyes, CA Rapidan, VA Cow milk. Organic, artisanal, American Raw sheep milk. Handcrafted, natural rind, original cheeses. Soft-ripened, washed-rind and semi-hard wheels of aged cheese with rich flavor fresh cheese varieties. Red Hawk — Best of Show, and floral finish. Cheeses: Piedmont, Stony Man, 2003 ACS. Cheeses: Mt. Tam, St. Pat, Pierce Point Marble, Pride of Bacchus, Feta. Variations of Piedmont available in smaller quantities, such as Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, LLC Muffaletta, Cracked Pepper. Waterloo, WI Cow milk. Handcrafted Farmstead Classics Fagundes Old World Cheese line. 2007 World Cheese Awards: bronze — Hanford, CA washed-rind. 2006 World Cheese Awards: silver Cow milk. Handmade, farmhouse, raw-milk and bronze. Cheeses: Les Frères, Petit Frère, Mas- Cheddar and Portuguese-style quiejos. Plain and carpone, Fresh Mozzarella, Farmer’s Rope String flavored high-moisture Jack and Hispanic-style Cheese quesos made from pasteurized milk. Cheeses: St. John, St. Jorge, Hanfordshire Cheddar, Hanford Crowley Cheese, Inc. Jack, San Joaquin, Santa Fe, Maria’s Quesos Mount Holly, VT Cow milk. Raw milk recipe dates back to 1824. Fair Oaks Dairy Products, LLC Handmade in factory since 1882. Similar to Colby. Fair Oaks, IN Cheeses: Crowley, aged 6-12 months plus Cow milk. Mild and aged Goudas, traditional

PHOTO COURTESY OF DCI CHEESE COMPANY and flavored Havarti. Emmentaler — 2005 Cypress Grove Chévre Wisconsin Cheese Maker’s Association U.S. Arcata, CA Championship. Cheeses: Gouda, Emmentaler, Goat milk. Fresh, soft-ripened and aged Sweet Swiss, Smoked Sweet Swiss artisanal cheeses. Humboldt Fog — 2007 World Cheese Award: Gold Medal Humboldt Fog soft- Faribault Dairy Company, Inc. ripened, Silver Bronze for Pee Wee Pyramid. Faribault, MN Outstanding Product Line Finalist 2006 NASFT. Raw cow milk. Handmade blue-veined cheese, Cheeses: Humboldt Fog, Fog Lights, Bermuda aged in St. Peter sandstone caves. Cheeses: Triangle, Mad River Roll, Pee Wee Pyramid, Amablu Blue Cheese, Amablu Gorgonzola, Amablu Mt. McKinley, Purple Haze St. Pete’s Select

Dairy Farmers of America FireFly Farms New Wilmington, PA Bittinger, MD Cow milk. Regional milk cooperative. Low Goat milk. Artisanal soft-ripened cheeses, Moisture Part Skim Mozzarella — Bronze Medal, aged about five to eight weeks and fresh chévre. 2006 World Cheese Awards. Cheeses: Mozzarella, 2007 World Cheese Awards, Bronze for Merry Goat Provolone, Reduced Fat Provolone Round. MountainTop Bleu and Bûche Noir Cheeses: Allegheny Chévre, MountainTop Bleu, DCI Cheese Company/G&G Foods Merry Goat Round, Bûche Noir Santa Rosa, CA Cow milk. Cold-processed Goldy’s handcrafted Fiscalini Cheese Company cream cheese spreads, some seasonal. Cheeses: Modesto, CA White Cheddar Bacon Chive, Sweet Peppadew Raw cow milk. Handcrafted, aged farmstead

PHOTO COURTESY OF MOZZARELLA COMPANY Pepper with Feta Cheese, Swiss with Portobello bandaged, flavored and plain Cheddars and Mushrooms, Smoked Mozzarella with Slow originals. Multiple medals, 2006 and 2007 World Roasted Tomato, Habanero Jack with Roasted Cheese Awards. Cheeses: Bandaged Cheddar 18 Peppers, Caramelized Onion, Mediterranean months+, San Joaquin Gold, Lionza, Horsefeath- Olive, Roasted Garlic with Fine Herbs ers, Purple Moon, Garlic Cheddar, Smoked Cheddar, Tarragon Cheddar, Saffron Cheddar Edelweiss Creamery Monticello, WI Franklin Foods Cow milk. Artisan. Sole North American- Enosburg Falls, VT produced 180-pound traditional Emmentaler Cow, goat milk. Cream cheese, spreads. wheels. Emmentaler, Gouda and Cheddar wheels Brands: Hahn’s, All Season’s Kitchen, Lombardi’s, are made from only grass-fed cow milk. Cheeses: Vermont Gourmet (cow, goat). Cheeses: Emmentaler (aged up to 2 years), Gouda, Cheddar, Mascarpone, All Season’s Kitchen Chipotle Chile Butterkase, Havarti, Havarti with Dill, Muenster, Salsa Cream Cheese Dip, Hahn’s Yogurt and Cream Lacy Swiss Cheese Strawberries n’ Cream, Vermont Gourmet Blue Cheese and Chive, Vermont Gourmet Chévre Estrella Family Creamery and Roasted Garlic Montesano, WA Cow, goat milk. Aged, farmstead. 2007 World Fromagerie Tournevent Cheese Awards: silver medal — Caldwell Crik (Damafro Inc.) Chévrette, Grisdale Goat. Cheeses: Black Creek Chesterville, Quebec Buttery, Dominoes, Guapier, Wynoochee River Goat milk. Fresh, soft-ripened plain and fla- Blue, Old Apple Tree Tomme, Valentina, Vineyard vored, and Cheddar. Cheeses: Biquet, Chévre Noir, Tomme, Red Darla, Weebles, Montesano, Caldwell Plain Low Fat Deli Chévre, Capriati, Chévre Fin Crik Chévrette, Grisdale Goat PHOTO COURTESY OF MT.THOMPSON CREAMERY

50 Deli Business 2008 Specialty Cheese Guide 

Goat Rising LLC Heartland Creamery Hendricks Farms & Dairy, LLC Charlemont, MA Newark, MO Telford, PA Cow, goat milk. Jersey Maid label made from Goat, cow milk. Fresh chévre logs. Aged Raw cow and goat milk. Handmade aged, Jersey cow milk. Goat Rising label made from Gouda-style wheels, goat, cow, mixed milk and soft-ripened, washed-rind and natural-rind hard Nubian goat milk. Cheeses: Cow: Reblochon, Jer- flavored. Farmstead, available year-round. cheese and blocks. Cheeses: Cow: Cow Pie, Blue sey Cheddar, Ricotta, Mountain Cheese with Garlic Cheeses: Fresh Chévre Log (Plain, Herb, Lemon Beard, Pub Cheddar, Cheddar Blue, Telford and Basil, Renaissance, Camembert, Gruyère. Pepper, Garlic Chive, Olive Pimento, Cranberry Reserve, Bavarian Swiss. Goat: Nubian Smoked Cheddar, Chévre, Mont Pecan Cinnamon), Calvaria, Legacy, Brimstone, Goat: Cabriejo, Blue Bells. Blanc, St. Gerome, Chevrotin, Nubian Brie Methuselah, Duet Blended: Asiagoat

Grafton Village Cheese Company Grafton, VT Raw Jersey cow milk. Artisanal Cheddars. Four Star 4 Year — Bronze Medal, 2006 World Cheese Awards. Cheeses: Classic Reserve 2 Year, Premium Cheddar 1 Year, Vermont Maple Smoked Cheddar, Grafton Gold 3 Year, Five Star 5 Year, Stone House 6 Year, Sage Cheddar, Garlic Cheddar

Great Hill Dairy Inc. Marion, MA Raw Guernsey cow milk. Handmade blue-veined cheese produced in 6-pound wheels from unhomogenized local milk, then aged from eight to 10 months. Cheeses: Great Hill Blue

Great Lakes Cheese Company Hiram, OH Cow milk. Multiple winners of Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, New York State and World Championship Cheese Competitions. Cheeses: Cheddar, Provolone, Colby, Swiss and Jack. Adam’s Reserve New York State Cheddar

Green Mountain Blue Cheese Highgate Center, VT Cow milk. Handmade farmstead blue, washed-rind, and tomme. Aged 60-90 days, made from unpasteurized milk. Blue available year-round. Cheeses: Boucher Blue, Gore-Dawn-Zola, Brother Laurent, Madison, Tomme Collins

Green Valley Dairy, LLC Kirkwood, PA Cow milk. Artisan, seasonal Cheddars, Brie and tomme. Made from whole, raw milk of South Lancaster County cows fed only grass. USDA Organic. Cheeses: Pennsylvania Noble, White Noble, White Noble Mature, Christiana Brie, Claudia

Harley Farms Goat Dairy Pescadero, CA Goat milk. Handmade, fresh goat cheese, chévre logs, tortes and festive wheels, decorated with edible flowers. Cheeses: Van Goat, Chévre in Oil, Monet, Apricot Pistachio Torte

Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy Longmont, CO Goat milk. Handmade fresh, soft-ripened, washed rind and semi-hard varieties using pasteurized and raw milk. Sunlight is aged for 60 days and Queso de Mano is aged for four months. Cheeses: Haystack Peak, Sunlight, Queso de Mano, Snowdrop, Red Cloud, Chévre in Marinade, Boulder Chévre ader Service No. 135 Re

2008 Specialty Cheese Guide Deli Business 51 

Henning’s Wisconsin Cheese Klondike Cheese Co. Kiel, WI Monroe, WI Cow milk. Cheddars, Jacks, farmer’s cheese. Cow milk. Greek-style Odyssey feta cheeses, Mammoths up to 12,000 pounds. Colby — Second plain and flavored. Multiple Best of Class awards, Place, 2006 WCMA World Championship Cheese Wisconsin Cheese Maker Association World Cham- Contest. Cheeses: Colby, Jack, Cheddar, pionship Cheese Contest. Cheeses: Feta, Brick, Mammoth Cheddar Muenster, Havarti

Hillman Farm Lactalis USA Colrain, MA New York, NY Raw goat milk. Aged, farmstead cheeses. Cow milk. French-style, soft-ripened cheeses Lottie Garris — 2005 World Cheese Awards Gold and Feta in traditional, flavored, reduced-fat and Medal. Cheeses: Harvest Wheel, Lottie Garris, Hill- fat-free versions. Cheeses: Président Brie, town Wheel Président Camembert, Président Feta with Mediterranean Herbs, Président Feta with Tomato Holland’s Family Cheese and Basil Thorp, WI Cow milk. Pasteurized and raw milk aged Laura Chenel Chévre farmstead Gouda made from whole milk using orig- Sonoma, CA inal Dutch recipe. Farmstead. Marieke line includes Goat milk. Traditional French-inspired artisan plain (various ages), flavored and seasonal varieties fresh and aged cheeses. Cheeses: Chef Chévre,

PHOTO COURTESY OF PASTURELAND COOPERATIVE such as foenegreek, cumin, burning Chabis (plain, herb, dill, pepper), Logs, Crottin, nettle, yellow and black mustard. Cheeses: Gouda Taupiniere, Cabecou, Tomme

Hook’s Cheese Company, Inc. Leelanau Cheese Company Mineral Point, WI Suttons Bay, MI Cow milk. Aged Cheddars, Jacks, Colby, and Cow milk. Handmade Raclette, traditional, fresh cheeses. Cheeses: Cheddar, Swiss, Brick, aged, and flavored versions. Green Peppercorn — Colby, Monterey Jack, Parmesan, Queso Blanco Silver Medal, 2006 World Cheese Awards. Raclette — Bronze Medal, 2006 World Cheese Awards. 2007 Jasper Hill Farm ACS Best in Show. Cheeses: Raclette Greensboro, VT Raw Ayrshire cow milk. Handmade, aged Loleta Cheese Factory cheeses, including Stilton-inspired Bayley Hazen, Loleta, CA aged four to six months and Constant Bliss, aged 60 Jersey cow milk. Plain and flavored cheeses, days. Cheeses: Bayley Hazen, Constant Bliss, over 30 varieties. Cheeses: Cheddar, Jack, Havarti, Winnemere, Bartlett Blue, Aspenhurst Fontina, Organic

Joe Matos Cheese Factory LoveTree Farmstead Cheese Santa Rosa, CA Grantsburg, WI Raw cow milk. Handmade, farmstead, Sheep and cow milk. Trade Lake Cedar — ACS Portuguese-style table cheese aged 60 days or more. Best of Show, 1998. Cheeses: Gabrielson Lake, The Cheeses: St. George Holmes Series, Trade Lake Cedar

Joseph Gallo Maple Leaf Cheese Cooperative Atwater, CA Monroe, WI PHOTO COURTESY OF RICHARD SILVERSTON Hormone-free cow milk. Family owned dairy, Hormone-free, locally produced cow milk. cheese suitable for vegetarians. Kosher varieties. Cooperative established 1910. Aged and flavored Cheeses: Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, Cheddars, Jacks and yogurt cheese. Cheeses: Swiss, Marble Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Yogurt Cheese, Gouda, Edam, Colby, Jack and Jill, Queso Blanco, Juniper Grove Farm Naturally Smoked Gouda Redmond, OR Goat milk. Handmade farmstead cheeses, Marin French Cheese Company mostly French-style. Fresh cheese made from Petaluma, CA pasteurized milk, and raw milk cheese, aged 60 days Jersey cow and goat milk. World Cheese Awards: or more. Cheeses: Tumalo Tomme, Bûche, Red- 2007 Gold: Marin French Gold, Bronze: Triple mondo, Otentique, Dutchman’s Flat, Pyramid Crème Brie and Pesto Brie; 2005 Gold: Triple Crème Brie; 2006 Gold: Le Petit Déjeuner; 2006 Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese Bronze: Marin French Chévre and La Petite Crème. Austin, KY Cheeses: Triple Crème Brie, Camembert, Le Petit Cow milk. Aged, raw milk farmstead cheese, Bleu, Yellow Buck Chévre, La Petite Crème, Marin vegetable-based rennet. Cheeses: Asiago, Asiago French Blue, Rouge et Noir. Peppercorn, Kentucky Bleu, Gouda (Traditional, Bleu, Smoked, Cumin, Aged), Colby, Chipotle Maytag Dairy Farms Colby, White Cheddar (Medium, Aged, Newton, IA Horseradish, Sundried Tomato Basil) Monterey Raw cow milk. Artisanal blue-veined cheese Jack (Plain, Paprika Garlic Onion, Jalapeño), made using the same process as in 1941, based on a St. Jerome, Havarti, (Plain, Garden Herb, recipe Iowa State University developed. Aged four to Cheeses: PHOTO COURTESY OF RICHARD SILVERSTON Cranberry), Barren County Bleu six months. Maytag Blue

52 Deli Business 2008 Specialty Cheese Guide 

Meadow Creek Dairy Moo Cheeses LP Mt. Townsend Creamery Galax, VA Garland, TX Pt. Townsend, WA Raw Jersey cow milk. Grass-fed cows, aged Cow milk. Artisan cheese, fresh and aged, Cow milk. Handmade French-inspired soft- cheese from original recipes, seasonally. Cheeses: South American styles. Lucky Layla Farms brand. ripened and tomme cheese. Milk sourced from Appalachian, Mountaineer, Grayson Milk sourced from local Guernsey Jersey herd. Olympic Peninsula dairy farmers. Cheeses: TexMex, Campesino, Boyaca, San Pedro, Cheeses: Trailhead, Cirrus, Seastack Meister Cheese Company, LLC Dulce de Leche, Drinkable Yogurt (Plain, Flavored) Muscoda, WI Mozzarella Fresca, Inc. Cow milk from Wisconsin’s Driftless region. MouCo Cheese company Concord, CA Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby, Colby-Jack, Fort Collins, CO Cow milk. Traditional Italian varieties. Kosher flavored Monterey Jacks and Cheddars, organic Cow milk. soft-ripened, washed rind and blue. certified. Fresh Mozzarella Ovaline — 2007 World cheese. Cheeses: Monterey Jack, Colby, Cheddar, Cheeses: MouCo Camembert, MouCo ColoRouge, Cheese Awards: Gold for Fresh Mozzarella, Roasted Red Pepper Jack, Ranch Jack, Chipotle MouCo Blü Cultured and Fresh Mozzarella and 2006 World Jack, Wild Morel & Leek Jack, Horseradish Cheese Awards; Fresh Mozzarella Cryovac — Bronze Cheddar, Chipotle Cheddar Mozzarella Company Medal. Cheeses: Fresh Mozzarella Dallas, TX (Bocconcini, Ovaline, Ciliegine, Ball, Log, Perlini, Meyenberg Goat Milk Products Cow and goat milk. Fresh and aged Italian Perles, Medallions, Marinated), Mascarpone, Turlock, CA cheese varieties, original cheeses with Mexican and Ricotta (Whey, Traditional, Whole Milk) Goat milk. Goat milk producer since 1934. Southwestern regional influences. Cheeses: Blanca Began producing cheese in 2005. Milk for the Bianca, Hoja Santa Goat Cheese, Montasio Festivo, Neighborly Farms of Vermont cheese is sourced in California. Kosher certified. Queso Blanco with Chiles and Epazote, Randolph Center, VT Cheeses: Jack, Smoked Jack, Aged Cheddar, Caciocavallo, Deep Ellum Blue, Caciotta, Cow milk. Organic farmstead cheese. Cheeses: Jack with Garlic and Chive, Jack with Jalapeño Crescenza, Mozzarella, Ricotta, Mascarpone, Neighborly Farms of Vermont Organic Farmstead Scamorza, Burrata, Queso Oaxaca Raw Milk Cheddar, Sage Cheddar, Garlic Cheddar, Montchévre-Betin, Inc. Tomato Basil Cheddar, Green Onion Cheddar, Belmont, WI Mt. Sterling Creamery Colby, Monterey Jack, Jalapeño Monterey Jack, Feta Goat milk (Wisconsin and Iowa). French-style Mt. Sterling, WI fresh and aged specialty cheeses. Cheeses: Fresh Goat milk. Farmer owned cooperative. Nettle Meadow Farm and Cheese Co. Chévre Log with Fig & Peppadew, Mini-Cabrie, Cheeses: Raw Milk Cheddar Style (Mild, Aged, Thurman, NY Bucheron, Feta, Chévre in Blue, La Chevriotte, Smoked), Fresh Jack Style (Plain, Balsamic Vinegar Goat milk. Triple cream Kunik contains Jersey Goat Milk Cheddar, Le Cabrie, Darsonval, Chabis, Black Olive, Tomato Basil, Jalapeño Peppers, cow cream and goat milk. Cheeses: Kunik, Crane Crottin, Cabecou, Sainte Maure, La Chevrotine Chives, Fresh Garlic, Dill), Mozzarella, Mountain, Fromage Blanc (Plain, Honey Lavender, Greek Style Feta, Pasteurized Cheddar Style, Rosemary), Chévre (Plain, Oil and Garlic, No-Salt Cheddar Style Horseradish, Mixed Herb, Lemon Pepper, Maple Walnut, Herb Pepper Garlic, Pumpkin Spice) Reader Service No. 125

2008 Specialty Cheese Guide Deli Business 53 

North Hendren Cooperative Dairy Co. Organic Valley Willard, WI La Farge, WI Cow milk. Farmer-owned dairy cooperative Cow milk. Traditional European varieties, making cheese since 1923, specializing in Black including mild and sharp Cheddar, raw and River brand blue-vein cheese since 2000. pasteurized. Organic Valley Raw Sharp Cheddar — Cheeses: Black River Blue, Black River Gorgonzola Bronze Medal, 2005 World Cheese Awards. Cheeses: Colby, Monterey Jack, Raw Sharp Old Chatham Sheepherding Co., Inc. Cheddar, Swiss Old Chatham, NY Sheep milk and hormone-free cow milk. Park Cheese Company Fresh and soft-ripened artisanal cheese. Fond du Lac, WI Cheeses: blended sheep and cow milk: Hudson Cow milk. Artisanal Italian-style Casaro line of Valley Camembert, Nancy’s Hudson Valley cheeses. Cheeses: Provolone, Asiago, Fontina, Camembert, Fresh Ricotta. Romano, Parmesan, Pepato, Kasseri, Italian Sharp Pure sheep milk: Ewe’s Blue, Shepherd’s Wheel, Peppered Shepherd, Mutton Button, Yogurt PastureLand Cooperative Dodge Center, MN Old Europe Cheese, Inc. Cow milk. Artisan Gouda, Cheddar and Benton Harbor, MI alpine-style cheese made from organic milk of 100 Cow milk. Signature soft-ripened cheese since percent grass-fed cows. Seasonal. Cheeses: Gouda, 1987. Reny Picot line of European-style and Herb Gouda, Tomato Basil Gouda, Cheddar, Raw Cheeses: PHOTO COURTESY OF RIVER’S EDGE CHÉVRE original specialty cheese. Brie, Party Brie, Organic Milk Cheddar (USDA Organic/Food Camembert, Carre St. Joseph, Smoked Gouda, Alliance certified) Gouda, Fontina, Edam, Picotina Pasture Pride Cheese, LLC Oregon Gourmet Cheeses, LLC Cashton, WI Albany, OR Cow, goat milk. Cheddars, Jack, Colby Jack, Jersey cow milk. Handmade fresh, Muenster available in cow milk and goat milk soft-ripened, plain and flavored washed rind versions. Pasture Pride and Natural Valley brands. cheese. Cheeses: Sublimity, Camembert, Cheeses: Cow: Pepper Jack, Juusto (Plain, Fromage Blanc, Sublimity Herbs de Provence, Jalapeño, Chipotle), Lemonweir Gold, Knapp Sublimity Peppercorn Valley. Goat: Feta, Lindina, Petenwell Reserve, Redstone Robust, Smoked Alpine, Gouvarti. Cow Goat mixed: Cowbilly

PHOTO COURTESY OF MOO CHEESES LP der Service No. 127

PHOTO COURTESY OF ROLLINGSTONE CHÉVRE Rea

54 Deli Business 2008 Specialty Cheese Guide 

Pedrozo Dairy & Cheese Co. Rollingstone Chévre Sierra Nevada Cheese Company Orland, CA Parma, ID Willows, CA Raw Cow milk. Aged 20-pound wheels. Goat milk. From Idaho’s Snake River Valley, Cow and goat milk. Organic cheese and cream Certified organic pastures. Cheeses: Northern chévre , fresh and aged, tortas, Italian-style hard cheese, plain and flavored, including Sierra Gold, Black Butte Reserve, Raw Milk Gouda-Style, cheese, blue. Some seasonal. Cheeses: Anise Nevada and Gina Marie brands, and paneer. Tipsy Cow, Mt. Lassen Lavender Wheel, Fromage Blanc, Logs, Late Har- Cheeses: All Natural Cream Cheese, Organic vest Wheel, Brandywine, Orange Zest Pecan Wheel, Monterey Jack, Organic Double Jalapeño Jack, Pine River Pre Pack Bleu Agé, Chévre in Grapeleaf, Idaho Goatster Organic Cheddar Newton, WI Cow milk. Cold pack spreads made from Grade Roth Käse USA, Ltd. Silvery Moon Creamery A, 9-month Wisconsin Cheddar blended with Monroe, WI Westbrook, ME herbs, spices and other dairy ingredients. Many Cow milk. Signature European varieties and Cow milk. Traditional and original styles, plain varieties. Cheeses: Pine River Cold Pack Cheese originals. 2007, 2006 and 20005 World Cheese and flavored. Cheeses: Rosemary’s Waltz, Tally Ho Food (Swiss Almond, Horseradish, Sharp Cheddar) Awards, multiple winners. Cheeses: Grand Cru with Peppercorn or Dill; Westbrook White, Fresh Gruyére, Buttermilk Blue, GranQueso, Cheddar Curd, French Herbed Curd, Tuscan Pineland Farms Creamery Vintage Van Gogh, MezzaLuna Fontina, Herbed Curd, Camembert, Brie, Fresh and Smoked New Gloucester, ME Smoked Rofumo, Lace Kase. Mozzarella, R&R Farmhouse Cheddar, Hathor’s Cow milk. Farmstead Cheddars — various ages, Fortune, Crème Fraiche, Yogurt Monterey Jack, curd, plain and flavored, and Feta. Rumiano Cheese Co. Available year-round. Cheeses: Onion and Garlic Crescent City, CA Smith’s Country Cheese, Inc. Jack, Salsa Jack, Monterey Jack, Smoked Jack, Cow milk. Specialty: Dry Monterey Jack, aged a Winchendon, MA Cheddar, Smoked Cheddar, Cheddar Curd, Onion minimum of nine months. Low sodium, reduced Cow milk. Farmstead cheese. Plain, aged, and Garlic Curd, Feta fat and organic varieties. Cheeses: Cheddar, smoked and flavored varieties. Cheeses: Gouda, Mediterranean Jack, Calico, Pepper Jack, Cheddar, Havarti, Sundried Tomato and Basil Point Reyes Farmstead Habanero Pepper Jack Gouda, Cumin Gouda Cheese Company Point Reyes, CA Salemville Cheese Cooperative Specialty Cheese Company, Inc. Raw Holstein cow milk. Handmade blue-veined Cambria, WI Reeseville, WI cheese, aged six months or more. Suitable for vege- Cow milk. Blue-veined cheeses made from milk Cow milk. Indian, Hispanic/Caribbean, and tarians, certified Kosher. Cheeses: Original Blue collected daily from family farms within 50 miles of Middle Eastern varieties made from Wisconsin the factory. Salemville Gorgonzola — Silver Medal, milk: Bharatma, LaVacaRica, Rich Cow brands. Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery 2007 World Cheese Awards. Cheeses: Salemville Cheeses: Paneer, Queso Blanco, Panela, Queso Para Sebastopol, CA Amish Gorgonzola, Salemville Amish Blue Freir, Queso Fresco, Queso Quesadilla, Asadero, Goat milk. Handmade, soft-ripened French- Queso Jalapeño, Queso Media Luna, style cheeses, raw milk feta and fresh chévre , Sankow’s Beaver Brook Farm Cotija, Anejo Enchilado, Duroblando, Ackawi, traditional and flavored. Certifications: Kosher, Lyme, CT Naboulsi, Basket Cheese, Jibneh Arabieh, Kenafa HFAC Humane Raised & Handled. Cheeses: Sheep, cow milk. Fresh and aged farmstead Camellia, Crottin, Bucheret, Raw Milk Feta, Chévre sheep milk and Jersey cow milk cheeses. Sprout Creek Farm Cheeses: Sheep: Pleasant Valley, Shepherd, Farm- Poughkeepsie, NY Rising Sun Farms stead, Fresh Summer Savory, Fresh Cracked Cow, goat milk. European-inspired, original Phoenix, OR Peppercorn, Ricotta, Feta, Yogurt. Cow: Nehantic mold-ripened firm farmstead cheeses. Aged raw- Cow milk. Layered cheese tortas. Cheeses: Abbey, Pleasant Cow, Camembert, Feta. milk cheese. Seasonal fresh chévre. Cheeses: Cow: Pesto Dried Tomato Cheese Torta, Gorgonzola Toussaint, Ouray, Barat, Eden, Ricotta, Batch 35; Cheese Torta, Key Lime Cheese Torta, Marionberry Sartori Foods Goat: Fresh, Sophie Cheese Torta, Artichoke Lemon Cheese Torta, Plymouth, WI Roasted Garlic Cheese Torta, Mediterranean Cow milk. Traditional Italian varieties. Stravec- Spring Hill Jersey Cheese Company Cheese Torta, Sweet Pepper and Chipotle Cheese chio Parmesan — Gold Medal, 2006 World Cheese Petaluma, CA Torta, Curry Cheese Torta, Lite Pesto Dried Toma- Awards. Cheeses: Stravecchio Parmesan, Dolcina Pasteurized, hormone-free Jersey cow milk. to, Chocolate Mocha, Cranberry Orange Gorgonzola, Bellavitano 100 percent USDA Certified Organic cheese. Cheeses: Fresh Cheese Curd, Jersey Jack, Rivers Edge Chévre Seymour Dairy Products, Inc. Zesty Italian Jack, Mike’s Firehouse Cheddar Logsden, OR Seymour, WI Goat milk. Chévre from Oregon’s Central Coast Cow milk. Blue-veined cheeses. Several styles, Sweet Grass Dairy Range. Cheeses: Siletz River Drums, Siletz River ages. Made from original recipes based on Thomasville, GA Stones, Valsetz, Cape Foulweather, Humbug European blue cheeses. Ader Kase — Bronze Cow and goat milk. Handmade fresh, Mountain, Mary’s Peak, Euchre Mountain, Yaquina Medal, 2007 World Cheese Awards. Cheeses: Ader soft-ripened, semi-soft and firm/hard styles. Bay Pavé, Up in Smoke, Sunset Bay, Heart’s Desire, Kase, Ader Kase Reserve, Blue Crest, Green Crest, Young cheeses made from pasteurized milk and Petite Bonheur, Old Flame, Saint Olga Crocker Hills Organic Blue Cheese a few aged raw-milk varieties. Cheeses: Goat: Fresh Chévre, Georgia Pecan Rogue Creamery Shelburne Farms Chévre; Lumiere, Holly Springs. Central Point, OR Shelburne, VT Cow: Green Hill, Thomasville Tomme, Georgia Cow and goat milk. Line of six artisan blue Raw Brown Swiss cow milk. Farmstead Gouda, Myrtlewood cheeses. 2007 World Cheese Awards: Silver Medals Cheddars. Cheeses: 2 Year Cheddar (Extra Sharp), for Oregon Blue and Crater Lake. 2006 NASFT Best 1 Year (Sharp), 6-9 Month (Mild), Smoked Sweetwater Valley Farm Product Line. Crater Lake Blue — Bronze Medal, Philadelphia, TN 2006 World Cheese Awards. Cheeses: Rogue River Shepherd’s Way Farms Cow milk. 6th generation family farm. Blue, Smokey Blue, Oregon Blue, Crater Lake Blue, Nerstrand, MN Cheeses: Tennessee Aged Yellow Cheddar, Oregonzola, Echo Mountain Blue, Extra Sharp Sheep milk. Handmade farmstead cheeses, Mountain White Cheddar, Flavored Cheddar Cheddar, Raw Milk Sharp Cheddar, Rosemary fresh, aged, and blue-veined wheels. Cheeses: Big (Italian Pesto, Jalapeño, Roasted Garlic Pepper, Cheddar Woods Blue, Friesago, Shepherd’s Hope (Original Tomato Herb, Garden Blend, Adobo, Fiery Fiesta, and Herb/Garlic), Ricotta Black Pepper), Volunteer Jack, Buttermilk, Colby 2008 Specialty Cheese Guide Deli Business 55 

Taylor Farm Traders Point Creamery Londonderry, VT Zionsville, IN Cow milk. Handmade farmstead Gouda-style Cow milk. Handcrafted. Milk of grass-fed cheese, traditional and contemporary. herd. USDA Organic,Cheeses: Fleur de la Terre Cheeses: Maple Smoked Gouda, Vermont (available Pasteurized or Raw), Fromage Blanc Farmstead Gouda, Chipotle Gouda, Garlic Gouda, (Plain, Spicy, Garden Herb), Cottage Cheese, Aged Gouda, Natural Rind Gouda Drinkable Yogurt (Plain, Flavored)

Thistle Hill Farm Tumalo Farms North Pomfret, VT Bend, OR Raw organic Jersey cow milk. Artisanal aged Goat milk. Classic artisan, aged goat cheese cheese made in the style of the Savoie region of the wheels, in 9- and 18-pound versions. Flavored French Alps. Cheeses: Tarentaise varieties include Capricorns (peppercorns), Fenacho (fenugreek seeds, butterscotch finish), Three Sisters Farmstead Cheese Pondhopper (Oregon hops), Remembrance Lindsay, CA (high desert rosemary). Cheeses: Classico, Raw, hormone-free Jersey cow milk. American Capricorns, Fenacho, Pondhopper, Antigo, originals, cloth-wrapped and aged six months or Nocciola, Remembrance more. Cheeses: Serena, Serenita Uplands Cheese Co. Tillamook County Creamery Association Dodgeville, WI

PHOTO COURTESY OF TRADERSPOINT CREAMERY Tillamook, OR Unpasteurized cow milk. Alpine Beaufort- Unpasteurized cow milk. Farmer-owned dairy inspired. Aged four to 12 months. Silver Medal, cooperative. Cheddar aged a minimum of 60 days. 2006 World Cheese Awards. ACS Best of Show Cheeses: Tillamook Medium Cheddar, Tillamook 2005 and 2001. Cheeses: Pleasant Ridge Reserve Sharp Cheddar, Tillamook Special Reserve Extra Sharp Cheddar, Tillamook Vintage White Extra Veldhuizen Family Farm Sharp Cheddar, Tillamook Vintage White Medium Dublin, TX Cheddar, Smoked Black Pepper White Cheddar, Cow milk. Line of aged, semi-firm wheels Garlic Chili Pepper Cheddar made from raw milk of year-round pasture-grazed herd. Cheeses: Paragon, Jalapeño Cheddar, Car- away Cheddar, Classic Cheddar, Greens Creek Gruyère, Romano, Texas Gold, Texas Star, Sharp Shooter

PHOTO COURTESY OF TUMALO FARMS

PHOTO COURTESY OF SEYMOUR DAIRY PRODUCTS.INC. Reader Service No. 108

56 Deli Business 2008 Specialty Cheese Guide Reader Service No. 100 

Vella Cheese Company, Inc. Winchester Cheese Company Sonoma, CA Winchester, CA Cow milk. Bear Flag brand Monterey Jack, Raw, hormone-free Friesen Holstein cow milk. Italian-style and Cheddar cheeses. Cheeses: Mezzo Artisanal, traditional Dutch Gouda-style cheeses. Secco, Original High Moisture Jack, Special Select Natural-rind cheeses aged 60 days to more than Dry Monterey Jack, Dry Monterey Jack one year. Sharp Gouda — Bronze Medal, 2006 World Cheese Awards. Cheeses: Gouda (Mild to Vermont Butter and Cheese Super Aged), Garden Herb Gouda, Jalapeño Gouda, Websterville, VT Smoked Gouda, Cumin Gouda Cow and goat milk. Fresh European-style cow’s milk specialty cheeses, fresh and signature aged Wisconsin Farmers Union artisanal goat cheeses. Mascarpone — Gold Medal, Specialty Cheese Co., LLC 2005 World Cheese Awards. Kosher. Montfort, WI Cheeses: Crème Fraîche, Fromage Blanc Cow milk. Farmer owned cooperative. (fat-free), Mascarpone, Quark, Chévre, Creamy Montforte brand artisan blue cheeses, Cheddars. Goat Cheese, Bonne Bouche, Bijou, Coupole Cheeses: Montforte Blue, Montforte Gorgonzola, Cheddar Vermont Shepherd, LLC Putney, VT Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Raw sheep milk. Pyrenees-style, 7- to Cooperative (WSDC) 1 9⁄2-pound brushed rind wheels, cave aged three to Spooner, WI

PHOTO COURTESY OF WOODSTOCK WATER BUFFALO CO. four months, ACS Best of Show 2000. Seasonal, Sheep milk. Farmer-owned Northwest available August to early March. Wisconsin cooperative. Artisan cheese produced Cheeses: Vermont Shepherd seasonally from fresh milk, aged 6 months minimum. Dante: 100 percent sheep milk; Mona: Westfield Farm, Inc. sheep and cow. Cheeses: Dante, Mona Hubbardston, MA Goat and cow milk. Handcrafted Capri line Woodstock Water Buffalo Company includes fresh, surface-ripened, blue, external South Woodstock, VT blue, flavored and aged cheeses. Hubbardston Water buffalo milk. Vermont Spoondance Blue — ACS Best of Show in 1993. Bluebonnet — Creamery and Woodstock Water Buffalo lines. ACS Best of Show 1996. Cheeses: Hubbardston Farmstead. Cheeses: Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella, Blue, Classic Blue Log, White Buck, Hubbardston Fresh Water Buffalo Milk Yogurt (Low Fat, Whole Blue Cow Milk, Plain, Flavored)

Widmer’s Cheese Cellars Woolwich Dairy Theresa, WI Orangeville, ON, Canada Cow milk. Handcrafted aged, washed-rind Goat milk. Producer since 1983. Kosher. cheeses, Cheddars aged one to 6 years, and Cheeses: Madame Chévre, Elite, Crottin, Brie, traditional Colby (plain, caraway or with herbs and Mozzarella, Feta, Gouda, Cheddar, Chevrai, vegetables). 2007 World Cheese Awards: Bronze for Gourmet Goat Cheddar with Jalapeños. Cheeses: Washed Rind Brick, Cheddar, Traditional Colby, Colby with Yancey’s Fancy Jalapeño Pepper Corfu, NY Cow milk. Handmade classics, flavored Cheeses: PHOTO COURTESY OF WISCONSIN FARMERS UNION SPECIALTY CHEESE C O., INC. Willamette Valley Cheese Company specialty cheese. Cheddar (Sharp, Salem, OR Extra, XXX-tra, Jalapeño Peppadew, Champagne, Jersey cow milk, sheep milk. Certified organic Buffalo Wing, Roasted Garlic, Horseradish, pastures and production facilities. Traditional Habanero Jalapeño, Fire Roasted Tomato, European varieties and Perrydale. Strawberry Chardonnay), XX Sharp Ol’ Timer, Cheeses: Brindisi, Farmstead Gouda, Perrydale, Bergenost, Smoked Gouda, Gouda, Farmstead Fontina; Creamy Havarti, Cumin Gouda, Fresh Cheddar Cheese Curds Eola Jack York Hill Farm Willow Hill Farm New Sharon, ME Milton, VT Goat milk. Fresh and aged farmstead cheese, Sheep and cow milk. Original recipes, established 1984. Cheeses: Fresh Chévre, Chévre cave-aged, seasonal availability. Alderbrook — Gold Roll Dill and Garlic, Chévre Roll Black Peppercorn Medal, 2006 World Cheese Awards. Vermont Brebis and Garlic, Chévre Roll Green Peppercorn and Nut- — Silver Medal, 2006 World Cheese Awards. meg, Capriano Cheeses: Mountain Tomme, Summer Tomme, Alderbrook, Vermont Brebis Zingerman’s Creamery Ann Arbor, MI Cow and goat milk. Handmade fresh and soft-ripened cheeses, some evoking traditional French varieties. Cheeses: Cow: Zingerman’s Cream Cheese, Bridgewater, Manchester, Argyle, Liptauer. Goat: Detroit St. Brick, Lincoln Log, Little Dragon, City Goat, Aged Chelsea, Little

PHOTO COURTESY OF EIDELWEIS CREAMERY Napoleon, Goat Cream Cheese

58 Deli Business 2008 Specialty Cheese Guide PROCUREMENT STRATEGIES Natural Deli Meats

More retailers are responding to consumer concern for both a more healthful product and animal welfare.

BY BARBARA ROBISON

he culinary concept called “natural” is ing foods natural and making its way into many niches of organic can be difficult, today’s food markets, including the deli. according to Gifford. T Many supermarket delis are now offer- “The movement began ing natural meats. in the 1980s, and when “The movement toward more natural federal organic standards food is a process rather than event. The con- were established, a ‘nat- sumer belief that natural foods are better is ural food’ took on a intense and growing stronger. Smart food broader scope and marketers are aware of these changes in the became a looser term. marketplace,” explains K. Dun Gifford, presi- Although there have dent of Oldways Preservation Trust, been surprisingly few Boston, MA. A nonprofit food issues advo- outbreaks of food-safety cacy group, Oldways translates complex problems with details of nutrition science into the familiar [processed] meats, one of language of food and focuses on nutrition, the major concerns grew tradition and sustainability. out of the fact growth Southern California is a good example of hormones used in raising how the retail move to serve more natural cows were finding their food is growing. Whole Foods Markets, Inc., way into the cows’ milk. based in Austin, TX, recently opened a 2- Today, initial consumer story market in Pasadena, CA. It will be the concern over what’s chain’s largest store west of the Rocky been added to foods has Mountains. In addition, the British retail grown beyond cows and giant Tesco, headquartered in Hertfordshire, their milk to a vast array England, is currently establishing small Fresh of food products.” & Easy Neighborhood Market stores in the “The category of Southwest, including six in Southern Cali- natural foods has not fornia. It will offer prepared foods, particular- been completely defined, ly fresh and organic items. Sprouts Farmers but the USDA’s [U.S. Markets, Phoenix, AZ, is opening three new Department of Agricul- stores in Orange County. ture] definition is that “The new interest in natural meats is there should be no artifi- driven by the end buyer, the consumer,” says cial ingredients and the Charlie Moore, vice president of sales, Mav- product should be mini- erick Ranch Association, Denver, CO. mally processed,” states PHOTO COURTESY OF VOLPI FOODS, INC. Stephen McDonnell, CEO of Applegate Kyle Maas, product mar- Farms, based in Bridgewater, NJ, adds, “We keting manager, Michigan Turkey Producers makes formulation more difficult when you feel the changing needs of the deli are Co-Op, Inc., Grand Rapids, MI. “We feel don’t use them and still want a great tasting becoming increasingly in line with what this provides a great opportunity for our product. We’ve had an excellent response to we’ve been doing for the past 20 years. The turkey products, which are very lean and the taste of our products from both cus- shift at the deli is now toward premium prod- high in protein. Using no artificial ingredients tomers and consumers, and this has spread ucts, and natural/organic meats have become or preservatives seemed like a logical pro- to mainstream markets.” Maverick recently synonymous with high quality. The fact that gression.” introduced a full-service deli line of products, conventional brands are entering the natural In order to carry the natural label, including roast buffalo. market is a testament to the high demand, processed meat must not contain any Volpi Foods, Inc., St. Louis, MO, is mov- and expected growth, in this segment.” nitrates or nitrites as added ingredients, ing toward producing natural meat products according to USDA. “These ingredients by removing nitrites and other ingredients Labeling Requirements have been added to meats for flavor and from its products, according to president Understanding the requirements for label- shelf-life preservation,” Moore explains. “It Lorenza Pasetti. “At this time, we have just

DEC./JAN. 2008 DELI BUSINESS 59 PROCUREMENT STRATEGIES

one all-natural product, a wine salami made Differences In Processing tarian feed without animal by-products. with Pinot Grigio or Chianti wine. Our Oldways’ Gifford believes natural meats They are also never administered antibiotics. dried, cured meats take a year to make, so have extended beyond specialty food stores Saag’s Specialty Meats, San Leandro, we can’t make the good-tasting, high-quality because so many people who have come CA, is currently processing and marketing a product we market overnight. Volpi is a 105- here from other countries have a tradition of natural/ABF turkey breast for supermarket year-old company, working with smaller purchasing the fresh, natural product. They service delis. The company also offers a line family farms in Iowa and Illinois. We are cus- are accustomed to shopping more frequently of six all-natural/ABF poultry sausages for tomer driven. We also have a long heritage at local butchers, bakeries and produce mar- the self-service section. The demand for the of producing outstanding products, so we kets, and they’ve carried this tradition with products comes primarily from upscale inde- are moving cautiously in this new direction.” them to the United States. Also, many pendent markets. “Our products are Jim Reed, president of Plainville Farms, American meat suppliers market globally, processed at the beginning of our production LLC, Plainville, NY, notes there is a definite and consumers in other parts of the world, day to avoid exposure to ingredients, such as boost in natural meat sales at mainstream particularly Europe, are demanding meats sodium phosphate and sodium nitrite,” notes markets because more consumers are produced with fewer additives and from Tim Dam, president. “In addition to not con- requesting natural, wholesome products for humanely treated animals. taining sodium phosphate, nitrite or nitrate, their families. “There is also more concern The difference between traditional all- our natural products are also free of MSG with what goes into the product and how natural, organic all-natural and antibiotic [monosodium glutamate], HVP [hydrolyzed animals and birds are treated,” he adds. “Our free/animal by-product free (ABF) all-natur- vegetable protein], gluten and antibiotics. turkeys are certified ‘American Humane.’” al turkey products begins at the farm level, We feel the natural/AFB product is an Applegate Farms continues to experi- explains Maas of Michigan Turkey. His ABF affordable protein solution. The organic meat ence sales growth beyond specialty food turkeys are grain fed, minimally processed and poultry supply is inconsistent and unpre- stores as a result of consumers becoming and free of artificial ingredients. They are dictable, and it’s too expensive.” more educated about food and the impact of never administered antibiotics and never fed Pâté is another deli meat category that their food choices. “There is a greater under- animal by-products. The all-natural organic has joined the natural foods group. Alexian, standing of how food consumption affects products are derived from turkeys raised on Neptune, NJ, produces about 25 varieties of health, and more people of all ages are being certified organic farms — completely sepa- country-style and spreadable mousse-style diagnosed with food allergies,” McDonnell rate from their traditional counterparts. The pâtés. “Our product’s value lies in what is reports. “There are environmental, social birds are allowed access to the outdoors and not put in it,” explains Laurie Cummins, and economic implications, as well.” are fed a strict diet of certified organic vege- president. “We use no cereal fillers or artifi- Reader Service No. 137

60 DELI BUSINESS DEC./JAN. 2008 Reader Service No. 138 PROCUREMENT STRATEGIES

cial colors. We don’t use any preservatives, humane standards to raise its livestock in longer hung on shackles. When a gas system such as sodium nitrite or sodium erythor- open, spacious facilities and pastures that runs correctly, 100 percent of the birds will bate, and all our meat and dairy ingredients allow plenty of sunlight and outside air. The be rendered insensible before shackling and are certified to be free of added hormones company uses only humane slaughter meth- bleeding. The gas will effectively stun smaller and antibiotics. We are able to obtain a shelf ods as defined by Temple Grandin, professor runt chickens that miss a water bath stunner. life of up to 65 days with the help of state- of animal sciences at Colorado State Univer- Some systems may also improve meat quali- of-the-art packaging technology. Our pre- sity, Ft. Collins, CO, and designer of live- ty. Grandin recommends commercial sys- packaged pâté slices are now selling in stores stock handling facilities. She consults with tems be evaluated by direct observations of country-wide.” the livestock industry on facility design, live- the birds when they first enter the gas until stock handling and animal welfare. they fall over insensible. Direct observation is Corporate Responsibility Currently, Applegate is addressing its the only way to verify a commercial system Not only are natural meat suppliers see- packaging to find ways to make it smaller is inducing insensibility with a minimum of ing increased sales in more mainstream mar- and more environmentally friendly. discomfort. kets, but they are also seeing consumers “The concern for animal welfare is a Once a supermarket deli decides to han- look to them to assume more corporate growing trend among retailers and restau- dle some natural meat products, what are responsibility for environmental concerns. rant chains,” says Michigan Turkey’s Maas, suppliers doing to help alert consumers? “We have a green mentality throughout our adding that consumers sometimes write to Types of product support vary. company and we are constantly looking for the company to find out how its animals are Some of the support available includes ways to improve,” says Saag’s Dam. raised before making a purchase. “This is so POS materials from Applegate Farms, Michigan Turkey recycles 100 percent of true that buying preference is given to which is in the process of posting informa- its production waste. Inedible waste is con- processors who utilize controlled-atmos- tion about how its products are produced verted to feed, wastewater is treated and phere stunning,” he notes. “We were one of and how its animals are raised onto its Web used to irrigate growers’ crops, and used fry- the first in the nation to implement this sys- site; Saag’s uses signage, in-store product ing oil is converted to feed and biodiesel. tem aimed at reducing handling stress. In demonstrations and ad features to reach Reed says Plainville Farms is using addition to being much more humane, we’ve consumers; Alexian samples its products at renewable wind energy to raise its turkeys found this has greatly improved the quality of trade shows and in retail stores; Plainville and continues to research new ways to sus- the meat.” Farms offers customized signage for its retail tain the environment. According to Grandin, controlled-atmos- customers; and Michigan Turkey uses trade Animal treatment is also a growing con- phere stunning reduces handling stress shows, its Web site and print media to reach sumer concern. Applegate Farms uses because live chickens or turkeys are no retailers and consumers. DB ader Service No.117 Reader Service No.128 Re

62 DELI BUSINESS DEC./JAN. 2008 MERCHANDISING REVIEW Viva Italy!

Learning about the background of imported Italian deli products spurs effective marketing and increased profits.

BY LISA WHITE

ith the advent of The Food Net- work, the increasing popularity of upscale food items and the atten- Wtion garnered by international prod- ucts, it’s no wonder Italian meats, cheeses and other items are making their way into today’s supermarket delis. Mainstays in upscale markets for years, authentic Prosciutto de Parma, Parmigiano- Reggiano and Italian olive oils are becoming more common across the country. Evidence of this is the recent decision of the Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma, based in Parma, Italy, to exhibit at the Annu- al Seminar and Exposition of the Interna- tional Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA), Madison, WI, in June 2008. “This is because of the increasing interest of supermarkets,” says Ruth Lowenberg, senior vice president of New York, NY-based Lewis & Neale, Inc., the food-marketing agency for Prosciutto de Parma. This popularity also has resulted in more domestically produced Italian deli items, which some importers say has caused con- fusion among consumers. “Italian products have transformed into Italian-American products, which are not authentic,” says Alberto Minardi, general manager of Principe Foods, Los Angeles, CA. Many question whether products are truly Italian if they are produced in North America rather than Italy. “There is an ongo- ing debate on what constitutes an Italian product and if these items can be accurately reproduced in the United States,” notes Luca Bertozzi, vice president of marketing for the specialty foods group at Management Resources of America, Inc. (MRA), Nor- walk, CT.“Realistically, Italian products in the deli are entirely produced, processed and packaged in Italy and imported.” MRA works with Italian product produc- ers to help them market their lines in the United States. Its deli items include Bertozzi Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Urbani truffles and Parma Cotto cold cuts and meats.

American companies mimicking the Ital- PHOTO COURTESY OF LEWIS &NEALE, INC.

DEC./JAN. 2008 DELI BUSINESS 63 MERCHANDISING REVIEW ian style by using the name of a product of identify the products and ensures that the which include Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, origin, such as Gorgonzola cheese, is a dis- food meets the appropriate characteristics.” Campania, Sicily, and Sardinia. Pigs from turbing trend, notes Nancy Radke, president The Italian Trade Commission, also these areas are used to produce sausages, of Ciao Ltd., Syracuse, NY. “We are seeing known as the Italian Institute for Foreign salame, sopressata, hams, salt pork and lard, a lot of this going on in the salami industry.” Trade, based in Rome, Italy, divides Italy into which is used as a substitute for olive oil. MTA’s Bertozzi admits there are different three sections comprised of food producing Cheese is fundamental in southern diets. interpretations as to what makes an Italian regions that it describes as follows: Sheep provide pecorino, which may be eaten deli item authentic. “If the quality and Northern Italy, which boasts the coun- at early stages of ripeness or aged for grating. process initiated in Italy are the same in the try’s highest standard of living and richest Goat’s milk is the source of Caprino. Ricotta United States, many say domestically pro- diet, includes the Aosta Valley, Piedmont, from sheep is eaten fresh, used in pasta fill- duced products are up for consideration on Liguria, Lombardy, Veneto, Trentino-Alto ings, pastries and desserts, and salted and whether they are truly Italian. It can be diffi- Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Emilia- dried for slicing and grating. The most promi- cult to generalize, because products may be Romagna. The plains extending along the Po nent family of southern cheeses includes produced in Italy but packaged in the United and smaller rivers from Piedmont to the pasta filata types, such as Mozzarella and States,” he says. northern rim of the Adriatic are rich with Caciocavallo, which are primarily produced Norba Import and Export, Inc., Pom- grain, corn, rice, fruit, livestock and dairy from cows’ milk. pano Beach, FL, produces a variety of Italian products. Premium wine is produced from items, including olive oil, fresh Mozzarella the area’s vineyards on slopes along the great Meats From Italy and pasta, at facilities in the United Most American consumers are States and in Bari, a province of somewhat familiar with Italian southern Italy. President Vito Volpe meats, such as salame and prosciut- says importing the proper ingredi- to. The cognoscenti also know ents and following traditional recipes about Parma ham, which debuted in and production methods can be the United States in 1989. almost as costly as importing fin- The Consorzio del Prosciutto di ished product from Italy. “People Parma represents all 171 producers buy these products because of the of Parma ham. Paolo Tramelli, mar- quality,”he says. keting manager, says the Consorzio The importability of Italian prod- guarantees the identity of the prod- ucts, which include raw, uncured uct, controls its production and meats and cheese made with unpas- helps promote it all over the world. teurized milk, is also an issue.. “So The United States is the second much of what is available in the biggest importer of Parma ham, United States is determined by behind France. “In the first nine whether the items meet the stan- months of 2007, American sales of dards of the USDA [U.S. Depart- this product increased 18 percent,” ment of Agriculture],” Radke says. Tramelli says. “These restrictions don’t make imported arc formed by the Alps and Apennines. David Biltchik, chairman, Consultants products less worthy of being here, but it Northern Italy is a paradise for cheese lovers. International Group, a Washington, DC- does mean the Italian producers had to fol- Parmigiano-Reggiano and Grana Padano based business development firm, notes that low USDA guidelines.” together account for a third of Italy’s cheese total U.S. prosciutto sales are $100 million Many retailers want to get these prod- along with blue-veined Gorgonzola, buttery annually with worldwide prosciutto sales ucts into their stores due to the growing Fontina, tangy Asiago and a vast array of totaling more than $1.5 billion. consumer interest in products of origin. mild, creamy, ripe and sharp cheeses from Italians refer to their salt-cured, air-dried “Regions are a way to communicate the cows, sheep and goats. Pork from this region and smoked meats as salumi, according to product’s story to consumers,” Principe’s plays a prime role in salt-cured meats. The the Commission. Most are made from Minardi notes. Many Italian food importers area is known for prosciutto from Parma and minced or whole cut pork. The minced meat say the romance behind these items and San Daniele, salt-cured hams featuring a ripe variety, called insaccati, is encased in protec- their origins are what attract buyers. “These flavor and soft texture from a year or more tive coverings or sausages. These varieties products are a part of the Italian culture. If of maturing, and for speck (lightly smoked include salame, cotechino, sopressata, they are tied to a territory, it helps to make ham) from the Alto Adige region. luganiga, zampone and mortadella. consumers aware of this. Whether or not Central Italy is about country cooking The second type of salumi covers whole they are familiar with the region, they will be that emphasizes simplicity and balance. Its cuts, such as prosciutto (ham), spalla (shoul- drawn to the story.” six regions include Tuscany, Umbria, March- der), capocollo (neck), pancetta (belly), es, Latium, Abruzzi and Molise. The diet in culatello (aged filet of rump) and speck, The Regions these regions conforms to Mediterranean according to the Italian Trade Commission. When it comes to Italian food, origin is standards and is dependent on olive oil, In addition to pork and beef, salumi sources extremely important, says Cesare Gallo, grains and seasonal produce. This area is dis- include goose, goat, boar, chamois and president of Savello USA, Inc., Wilkes- tinguished by its olive oil, which is made turkey. Barre, PA. “Italy is recognized as the produc- throughout the central hills of Tuscany, Principe’s Minardi estimates 90 percent er of certain specialty food products from Umbria, northern Latium and Abruzzi. of supermarket chains are unfamiliar with various regions. Only a few provinces are The popular Mediterranean diet has its Italian specialty meats. “More are becoming allowed to create these items. This helps roots in Italy’s southern and island regions, aware of prosciutto but not the entire line.

64 DELI BUSINESS DEC./JAN. 2008 MERCHANDISING REVIEW

And it is impossible to find Italian salame having protected designation of origin (PDO) and includes Romano, Sardo (Sardinian) and because, under USDA requirements, it has status from the Italian government, accord- Toscano (Tuscan). Goat’s milk cheese made to be pasteurized to be sold in the United ing to the Italian Trade Commission. In the in various places is called caprino. Ricotta, a States.” north, cow’s milk cheeses prevail, led by soft cooked whey, and Mascarpone, a lightly Retailers are more likely to purchase Parmigiano-Reggiano and Grana Padano. fermented cream, are popular everywhere. domestically produced Italian-style meats These two firm granular cheeses are used Rome produces cheese with more fat due to lower costs. “We are still in the pio- primarily for grating, although Italians also and protein than other areas produce, such neering stage with imported Italian meats. consider them table cheeses. as creamy Pecorino Romano, explains Most retailers don’t have the knowledge and Other popular northern cheeses are Gor- Michele Buster, vice president of Forever are not prepared to offer these products gonzola, Fontina, Taleggio, Asiago, Stracchi- Cheese, Inc., Long Island City, NY. “We are yet,” he adds. no and Robiola. In central and southern Italy, seeing increasing popularity in cheeses from The challenge, Biltchik states, is helping cheese from sheep’s milk is called pecorino the North and are currently looking at American consumers understand what makes the Italian meats unique and why they are worth the extra cost. For this reason, product should include information for those behind the deli counter. “This makes it possible to present the prod- ucts in the best way possible. It also allows consumers to have experience with tradi- tional products from Italy,” Savello’s Gallo notes. “There is a lot of tradition attached to these items.” Still, new-to-the-United-States Italian meat varieties have given this category a recent lift. During the last three years, Tom Gellert, vice president of Atalanta Corp., Elizabeth, NJ, has observed growing sales in speck, a dried and smoked pork loin. “It can be used in sandwiches or as an ingredient. Speck can be sliced, diced or sold in chunks from the service deli,” he says. Many experts say pre-sliced is the biggest trend in Italian deli meats. Minardi attributes this to Americans seeking more convenient, easy-to-store products. “It is no longer diffi- cult to find pre-sliced prosciutto in large supermarket chains. The interest in this product is growing,” he says. Lewis & Neale’s Lowenberg also notes the growing market for pre-sliced Italian meats. “The availability of this product allows more supermarkets to stock prosciut- to, whereas before they did not have skilled slicers to properly cut the meat at the service counter,”she says. “Because it is pricier, cus- tomers want it perfectly sliced. Pre-sliced packs address this.” If Prosciutto di Parma is going to be pre- sliced, it must be sliced and packaged in Italy at the point of production, explains Biltchik, who estimates that 15 to 20 percent of pro- sciutto di Parma sold in the United States is pre-sliced. “During the last couple of years, pre- sliced prosciutto has been trending upwards because it has a longer shelf life, is easier for grab-and-go shopping and is always cut cor- rectly,”explains Ciao’s Radke.

Italian Cheeses Italians produce some 450 different types

of cheese, or formaggio, with 30 varieties Reader Service No. 123

DEC./JAN. 2008 DELI BUSINESS 65 MERCHANDISING REVIEW

importing cheese from Sicily,”she says. cess of American-made cheeses. For exam- Along with the popular Parmigiano-Reg- ple, many companies produce Gorgonzola, giano, an assortment of 2- to 3-month-old even though this is a specific variety pro- E.U. Legislation soft, fresh cheeses from Sardinia, Lombardi duced in Gorgonzola, Italy,” Ciao’s Radke and Trentino are up and coming, Gallo says. explains. Systems The specialty cheese import sector, as a The origin of the cheese makes it unique, whole, has grown, notes Radke. “People are Atalanta’s Gellert explains. “There are great n 1992, the European Union creat- eating more types of cheese and broadening fresh cheeses coming out of the North from ed a system to protect and promote their palates.” the Piedmont region. These offer authentici- I traditional and regional food prod- As with Italian salame, there has been ty that consumers get excited about.” ucts. According to a brochure pro- much duplication of Italian origin cheeses John Nitti, president at Isola Imports, duced by European Authentic Tastes domestically. “Imports have driven the suc- Inc., Chicago, IL, is seeing strong sales for (EAT), New York, NY, the system was devised to encourage diverse agricul- tural production, protect product names from misuse and imitation, and help educate consumers. Labels were developed to corre- spond to specific product requirements. Below is a description of the various Designation of Quality labels, accord- ing to EAT. Protected Designation of Origin (PDO): These products are most closely linked to the concept of terroir, or a sense of place discernable in the flavor of the food. PDO products must be produced, processed and prepared in a specific region using traditional pro- duction methods. The raw materials also must be from the place indicated on the product. The quality or charac- teristics of the product, such as cli- mate, the nature of the soil and local know-how, must be due essentially or exclusively to its place of origin. Protected Geographical Indication (PGI): Less closely linked to a specific geographic area than PDO, PGI still requires the product to be produced in the geographical region that bears its name. The geographical link must occur in at least one stage of produc- tion, processing or preparation. Unlike PDO, it is sufficient for only one of the production stages to have taken place in the defined area. For instance, the raw materials may come from another region. This allows for a more flexible link to the region and can focus on a specific quality, reputation or other characteristic attributable to that geo- graphical origin of the place. Traditional Specialty Guaranteed (TSG): TSG labels are linked to tradi- tional production methods rather than the region where they were made. They must be produced either from traditional materials or following tra- ditional techniques. However, any pro- ducer can use the name as long as reg- istered specifications are respected. DB Reader Service No. 120

66 DELI BUSINESS DEC./JAN. 2008 MERCHANDISING REVIEW unique Italian cheeses. “Burrata is well fle, which is generally round, varies from the fles and consequently more expensive. Apart known in southern Puglia. This is a delicate, size of a grape to the size of a small or medi- from the obvious color difference, white fresh Mozzarella on the outside with cream um potato. The outer texture of Italian black truffles have a more pungent aroma that is on the inside. It has a shelf life of between 15 truffles is quite rough and the surface is highly prized in Italy. White truffles are gen- and 21 days,” he says. irregular. Black truffles grow underground so erally harvested between October and Jan- Norba’s Volpe says Burrata has become dogs are often used in the search for them, uary and are believed to grow primarily in popular in high-end restaurants and, “We are because dogs smell them and identify where the Piedmont region. seeing more interest in fresh Mozzarella.” the hunter should dig. This prevents people There are other Italian products geared Italian cheese making groups allow pro- from needlessly digging up the soil, which toward U.S. delis. For example, All Things ducers to make and market their cheese. “A will decrease the chances of black truffle cul- Sicilian, Lawrence, MA, offers a pistachio cheese is made organically or with a specific tivation in subsequent years. cream that can be used as a cheese condi- herd or cow breed,” Radke says. “PDO is White truffles are rarer than black truf- ment. According to Kristine Lioni, manager then used as a merchandising tool to bring the cheese to consumers’ attention.”

Olive Oil And Truffles Italy produces nearly a third of the world’s olive oil — and is distinguished by the superior class of its extra virgin — made in all regions of the Center and South and in a few places in the North, according to the Italian Trade Commission. Olive oil is used raw in dressings or as a condiment for salads, vegetables, pastas, soups, seafood and meats. The Commission reports the best oils show distinct character due to terrain and climate, the varieties used and the methods of harvesting. The Commission further explains hand picking of under-ripe olives renders oil of deep green color, fruity aroma and full flavor that is sometimes a touch piquant. Mature olives make oil of paler color and subtler fla- vor. Traditional extraction by stone crushing and mat pressing is practiced mainly in mills in Tuscany and Umbria, where oil is especial- ly prized. However, most is processed by mechanical mashing and centrifuging. By law, olio extra vergine di oliva (extra virgin olive oil) must come from the first pressing of olives by mechanical, not chemi- cal, means. It must contain less than 1 per- cent oleic acid, which is the key measure. The lower the acidity, the better the oil. Olio vergine di oliva may have a maximum of 2 percent acidity. Regular olive oil may be rec- tified and de-acidified. Such oils are best used within a year of the harvest since flavor slowly fades. Italian truffles, a delicacy used in Italy to create oil, butter and meat sauce, are highly prized due to their rarity. A fungus like mushrooms, truffles grow up to six feet underground and are picked in the fall. According to MRA’s Bertozzi, a truffle hunter network seeks out the approximately 10 truffle varieties grown in Italy. Each type differs in color, texture, aroma, taste and size. The most popular are black and white truffles, which grow at high altitudes. Black truffles provide a rich aroma and taste and are found mainly in the Umbria

region, near the city of Perugia. A black truf- Reader Service No. 121

DEC./JAN. 2008 DELI BUSINESS 67 MERCHANDISING REVIEW

Truffles — A Gourmet's Ultimate Treasure

BY CAROL BAREUTHER, RD ruffles. Just say the word and gourmets swoon. It's not and preserved truffle just the heavenly fragrance and flavor of these warty, products, such as condi- T subterranean fungi that can lead to a foodie's near faint ments.” — it's also the price. Fresh truffles sell for $150 per ounce or Urbani's truffle oil, more, depending on type and quality. made from white or black Considering this, you can imagine my surprise last summer, truffles, is available in 1-, seeing baskets upon baskets filled with summer truffles and 2-, 8- and 16-ounce bot- stacked three feet high during a private tour of the Spoleto, tles. The company uses a Italy-based world headquarters of Urbani Truffles USA, LTD, a proprietary process that fourth-generation family-owned company that controls 65 per- utilizes the natural charac- cent of the world's truffles. teristics of fresh truffles in Fresh truffles are available year-round but only certain its oils and other preserved types are available at any one time, notes Luca Bertozzi, vice truffle products. Truffle oil president of marketing for Management Resources of America cross-merchandises best PHOTO COURTESY OF DEAN L. BARNES (MRA), Inc., the Norwalk, CT-based U.S. marketer of Urbani with pasta, rice, meats and fresh fish. truffles. “The popularity of these products is strongly driven by Urbani's black truffle butter and white truffle butter prod- the time of the year. White truffles are the best known variety ucts are available in a 1-pound log, 3-ounce container and in the United States, however, black truffles are the most popu- special-order 8-ounce container. Fresh breads, rice, pastas and lar because there is greater availability of both fresh and pre- fine steaks are all perfect for cross-merchandising. served black truffle products.” Black and white truffle sauces are sold in a variety of sizes 1 Fresh white truffles are available from September through from 1 ⁄4- to 27-ounce jars. They can be used over pasta, grilled December; bianchetto or “little white” truffles come in March. meat, classic roast beef and grilled or poached fish. Black winter truffles are harvested in January and February, Other preserved truffle products available include truffle and black summer truffles from April through August. purée, whole truffles preserved in natural juices and salt water, Urbani has a network of more 18,000 cavatori — truffle truffle carpaccio, truffle cream, truffle-flavored flour, truffle hunters — who search for and source out truffles in Italy, tortellini and truffle chocolates made with real truffles. France, Spain and parts of Croatia. In addition, the company As well as being a global Mecca for fresh truffles, Urbani's works with more than 400 collectors who go door to door to Italian headquarters is home to an inventory of preserved truf- pick up 3- to 5-ounce truffles and deliver them to Urbani. fle products housed in a vast high-security underground stor- “The best way to merchandise fresh truffles is to display age area. The underground labyrinth is so perfumed with the them as if they were just picked off the ground,” advises aroma of truffles that it sticks to your clothes for hours after a Bertozzi. “One way to do this is to have them displayed in a visit. basket.” New truffle uses and products are on the horizon. In 2006, Some supermarkets offer customers special seasonal sales Urbani opened the Academia del Tartufo, a state-of-the-art test on fresh truffles. In early November, Byerly's stores in Edina kitchen at the company's Italian headquarters, dedicated to and St. Louis Park, MN, promoted fresh white and black truffles inspiring chefs and other culinary professionals to use truffles. from Italy for a limited 2-day sale. Byerly's, which is owned by To celebrate the opening of the Academia, the company created Edina, MN-based Lund Food Holdings, Inc., also carries truffle the first annual Urbani Truffles Academy Grant program in products such as white truffle oil and black truffle butter year- 2007. The chef winners will embark on a week-long culinary round. The upscale retailer sold the truffles in .03-pound incre- think-tank venture that includes a tour of the Urbani facilities, ments — about the weight of one truffle — according to market a day of truffle hunting, a lesson in the truffle supply process price on the day of sale. During the sale, Peter Kuhr, the chain's and a lesson in cooking with truffles led by Academia chefs. A corporate chef, was available for questions about truffles, their list of winners will be announced in January 2008. unique flavor and their many uses. “The goal of the Urbani grant program is to showcase the “The most popular preserved truffle products are truffle oil, versatility and incredible magnetism of truffles, how they truffle butter and truffle sauce, because these products are the enhance a meal and menu, stir up emotions amongst customers most versatile for use,” Bertozzi explains. “In the deli, it's and positively impact a restaurant's or retailer's profitability,” worthwhile to cross-merchandise fresh truffles with fresh pasta Bertozzi relates. DB of the firm’s wholesale operation, the prize- sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil. those who recognize the superiority of the winning sweet nut butter originates in “For customers to make the move from a traditional regional products of Italy. With- Bronte, Sicily. The company also produces mediocre brand to the real thing, they need out an understanding of where they come olives stuffed with either sun-dried tomatoes to taste the difference,” Lewis & Neale’s from, the market for Italian products in this or garlic as well as anchovies rolled around Lowenberg says. “These products are for country would not exist.” DB

68 DELI BUSINESS DEC./JAN. 2008 DELI MEATS Salami And Cured Meat: Renaissance With An Ethnic Flair

Effectively merchandise a range of salami and cured meats as high-end unique products.

BY BOB JOHNSON

ighly flavored salami and cured meats are making a comeback in the deli. From traditional Italian, Polish and HHispanic to spicy Cajun, the name of the new game is intense, authentic and exotic taste. “Cured meats are definitely increasing in the deli section,” states Davide Dukcevich, part owner of Pascoag, RI-based Daniele, Inc. “We’ve found a mounting interest in our line since we opened our doors in 1977. Salami and prosciutto have been mainstream for a few years now, but it’s incredible how products that were once of secondary inter- est — like pancetta and dry-cured capicola — are starting to take off.” Cured meats offer strong flavor profiles and provide unique products. “Dry cured meats have a flavor that is richer and more pronounced than cooked meats,” he explains. “Once you eat a piece of dry-cured capicola — so savory, so aromatic — it’s hard to go back to your run-of-the-mill cooked ham.” The upward trend for cured meats began a few years ago, but this is not a fad. The cured meats contribute to the role of the deli as a source of high-end unique food products. “Cured meats remain a steady and popu- lar category in the deli section,” notes Samantha Alderfer, marketing manager, Alderfer, Inc., Harleysville, PA. “However, items such as turkey, roast beef and ham products recently increased in popularity with new alternatives. Now, deli meats come in a variety of flavors and serve as more healthful alternatives. Organic products are now appearing in the deli section, as well.”

Meats With An Ethnic Flair The demand for highly flavorful meat products begins with ethnic or regional core consumers. As the country grows more ethnically diverse so, too, does the profile of the foods

DEC./JAN. 2008 DELI BUSINESS 69 DELI MEATS

new populations want from the deli. “The selection of deli meats available today is so much different than that of only 10 years ago,” explains Laurie Groezinger Cummins, president of Groezinger Provisions, Inc., Neptune, NJ. “I think the ethnic diversity of our population in urban and suburban areas as well as greater numbers of people travel- ing between continents has contributed to this trend.” For nearly four decades, Cibao Meat Products, Bronx, NY, has produced Hispan- ic salamis. Demand has increased in recent years along with the Hispanic population. “We see an increase in demand, but only where there is an increase in the Hispanic population served by the store,” says Edgar Soto, vice president for sales and marketing. In contrast, many producers are finding the demand for their products expanding beyond the core ethnic market. “As far as we’re concerned, there’s been a resurgence,” firm produces 100 different products, includ- Travel Channel — celebrity chefs play a big says Stan Bobak, president of Bobak ing a sliced, smoked bacon. “Polish is our part in this.” Sausage Company, Chicago, IL. “Our busi- specialty, but most of our customers are not This more informed public is eager to try ness is growing.” Polish,” Bobak notes. new meats, particularly the varieties they Bobak’s core market is in Chicago and “People are looking for something differ- have recently heard about. “The staples are the Midwest, but in the last couple of years, ent,” he adds. “The deli cases have turned a still increasing, like Genoa salami and pepper- demand has increased from as far away as bit bland. Some of the increasing demand oni,” Caputo says, “but we’re also seeing the Southeast and the West Coast. The stems from the ever-broader appeal of meats more demand for pancetta, prosciutto and with long regional traditions.” capicola. The consumer hears about capico- Bobby Yarborough, CEO of Baton la and sopressata and says, ‘I’m going to see Rouge, LA-based Manda Fine Meats, Inc., if I can find those.’” which produces a line of Cajun meat prod- Even some television dramas carry mes- ucts, including deli hams and turkey breasts, sages about new and exciting food possibili- believes, “The demand has been increasing ties. “Television and movies has helped our steadily, but I don’t think there’s been any field immensely,” Dukcevich says. “The surge. It’s not a ‘me too’ product; it’s original chefs on the Food Network constantly cook and it’s authentic,”Yarborough says. with pancetta. Tony Soprano and his pals on A niche of the buying public is looking for HBO’s The Sopranos are constantly scarfing something different and better, and its mem- down capicola, mortadella and sopressata. It bers are willing to pay a little more for the all looks delicious and fun, and people want right products. to get their hands on it.” “There has been a trend in the United Much of this new wave of food educa- States since the 1990s of ‘trading up’ — tion also comes from the direct experience spending more money to improve quality of of a new generation of world travelers. life — whether it’s better cars, better golf “I believe the resurgence began as the clubs or better food,” Daniele’s Dukcevich younger generation started traveling to explains. “Good, dry-cured meats cost more, Europe and were exposed to different ethnic but they’re a small luxury that more and products,” says Frank Pocino, president of more people are willing to indulge in.” Pocino Foods Company, based in City of Industry, CA. A More Informed Public Pocino says many young travelers return Consumers are becoming aware of food home and hope to find the meats they dis- products from an ever-widening area of the covered in Europe. “Dry sausage has grown world. Many cable television programs are in sales for the past few years,” he explains. providing information about meats, and audi- “With the introduction of specialty dry ences are viewing them as flavorful and at sausage and cured meats and the wide vari- least a little exotic. ety offered, the consumer has decided it is a “We’ve got access to so much more nice departure from the typical sausage information about food,” explains Kevin products that were the old standbys.” Caputo, vice president of sales and market- ing, Carando Gourmet Foods, Springfield, Handling The New Product Line

Reader Service No. 110 MA. “We’ve got the Food Network and the Since many of these flavorful meats are

70 DELI BUSINESS DEC./JAN. 2008 DELI MEATS new to most consumers, the secret to suc- matter of policy or regulation, we ask that explains. “Allowing the product to continue cessful merchandising is getting people to try only the cut face of the product be wrapped its drying process and thereby continue the the products. “The key on the retail level is with clear food-wrap,” advises Lorenza reduction of the water activity will only help being able to get the display area that you Pasetti, president of Volpi Foods, Inc., St. improve the product safety and quality.” need,” Caputo suggests. Louis, MO. “Prior to slicing for the day, we A new level of education and care may Because space alone may not be enough ask that it be faced off.” be required to effectively merchandise a to get the products noticed, it may help to Not all deli retailers rely exclusively on range of cured meats, but the potential build sections in the deli of similar ethnic refrigeration to maintain freshness. “If they rewards to the retailer make the investment foods. “We recommend merchandising with are an ‘old world’ retailer, meaning that they well worth it. “I think the sky is the limit,” other related products, like Hispanic wish to display the products by hanging out- states Carando’s Caputo. “People want the cheeses,” advises Soto of Cibao Meat. side of refrigeration, we recommend the best their money can buy. They want some- It may be necessary to take the extra products not be vacuum-packaged,” Pasetti thing unique and exotic.” DB step and sample the various products. “You’ve got to demo, you’ve got to get peo- ple to try it,” Bobak’s Bobak recommends. The demo has to begin with properly sliced product. “The biggest problem I’ve seen retailers encounter with our products is people behind the counter who don’t know how to slice them,” explains Daniele’s Dukce- vich. “Even a terrific prosciutto can be ruined if sliced too thick or too thin in soft shavings. Many supermarkets in Italy are facing the same problem. This will probably make pre- sliced products even more popular.” Once the customer tries the meat, the taste has to have enough kick to complete the deal. “A good tasting product is the key,” according to Manda’s Yarborough. To attract repeat customers, the cured meats have to be of consistently high quality to justify the price. “To ensure freshness and desired flavor of our products, we take pride in hand-trim- ming our products, which allows for less fat and higher quality and consistency,” notes Alderfer of Alderfer. “We use only fresh meats that are never frozen and contain absolutely no MSG. In addition, we naturally wood smoke our meats using no artificial liq- uid smoke flavorings for that old fashioned taste.” Others agree quality starts with the ingredients. “As to quality and shelf life, you have to start with the best ingredients and proper processing procedures,” recommends Pocino of Pocino Foods. “The retailer needs to follow the manufacturer’s recommenda- tions for proper temperatures and handling.” Cured meats have a naturally long shelf life. “Dry-cured meats have an incredibly long shelf life to start with because of the meat’s low-water activity,” Dukcevich explains. “Most of our meats have a 1-year shelf life. To improve quality, you have to constantly tinker, constantly assess and constantly improve. Dry-curing meat is an intersection of art and science. That means buying the most modern, high-tech equipment and employing the most knowledgeable staff.” Proper slicing is the key to presentation. “If the retailer is what we call ‘new world,’

those that must refrigerate everything as a Reader Service No. 116

DEC./JAN. 2008 DELI BUSINESS 71 TechNews

FDA Issues An Advance Notice Of professor in the University of Arkansas Proposed Rulemaking To Revise System’s Division of Agriculture who led the The Reference Values And Mandatory research for the Food Safety Consortium. Nutrients “We have also included red meat in our The U.S. Food and Drug Administration studies as well. In all these products, we (FDA) issued an advance notice of proposed have observed a protective effect of rulemaking (ANPRM) in the Federal Register, antimicrobial incorporated edible films Docket No. 2006N-0168, titled, Food against the pathogens.” Labeling: Revision of Reference Values and The researchers used a whey protein film Mandatory Nutrients. The ANPRM requests coating as a vehicle for the antimicrobials. artin Mitchell, technical direc- comment on what new reference values the The actual barrier to pathogens was provided tor of the Refrigerated Foods agency should use to calculate the percent by various combinations of grape seed MAssociation (RFA) and manag- daily value (DV) in the Nutrition Facts and extract, the nisin (a peptide, protein ing director of Certified Laboratories Supplement Facts labels and what factors fragment), malic acid and EDTA, which is a compiles TechNews. the agency should consider in establishing ring-forming compound of metal ion known The information has been such new reference values. In addition, FDA as a chelator. complied from press releases, news requests comments on whether it should The tests showed effective results in articles and government announce- require that certain nutrients be added or controlling the growth and recontamination ments and policy clarifications. Addi- removed from the Nutrition Facts and of Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella tional information may be obtained by Supplemental Facts labels. typhimurium and E. coli O157:H7 on contacting RFA by phone at 770-452-0660 or online at On Nov. 8, 1990, the Nutrition Labeling ready-to-eat meat products. Hettiarachchy’s www.refrigeratedfoods.org. and Education Act (NLEA) of 1990 was team tried different combinations of the signed into law amending the Federal Food, antimicrobials and found some variances in Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act). In response levels of effectiveness. For example, in to the NLEA, FDA, in 1993, issued several experiments on turkey frankfurters, a and some companies are looking into rules to modify how nutrition information is combination of nisin, malic acid and EDTA its use for coating fruits, vegetables and presented on food labels. When the agency was more effective against E. coli O157:H7 even flowers. issued those rules to modify the nutrition when grape seed extract was not part of the Adapted from materials provided by Uni- label information, it considered the diet and mix than when it was included. versity of Arkansas. health information that was current at that “In most of the cases we focused on the time. New information has since become type of meat products,” Hettiarachchy said. FDA To Hold hearing On Salt In Food available on nutrient values that the agency “The types of proteins, lipids and other com- 22.oct.07 believes may impact what nutrients it should ponents will vary in each meat product. The Institute of Food Technologists consider requiring to be listed on the food protective effect is based on the type of www.ift.org/news_bin/news/newsFrames.php?aN label and what nutrient values it should use antimicrobials and the product matrix, and ame=1193092029 as a basis for the DVs on the food label. the film acts as a vehicle to deliver The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Interested persons can submit written or antimicrobials.” She said the film containing (FDA) has announced public hearing electronic comments by Jan. 31, 2008, as per antimicrobials was effective for reducing concerning FDA’s policies regarding salt the instructions provided in Docket No. pathogens on raw chicken, ready-to-eat (sodium chloride) and sodium in food. FDA 2006N-0168. chicken and red meat, and the degree of also is announcing the availability for www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/fr071102.html effectiveness was dependent on the product. comment of a citizen petition, submitted by The key to the workings of edible film on the Center for Science in the Public Interest Edible Coatings Of Whey Help Keep meat is the ability to sustain the release of (CSPI), requesting that FDA make changes to Pathogens Off Meats antimicrobials against the pathogens. The the regulatory status of salt, require limits on 12.nov.07 antimicrobials are held in the film matrix by salt in processed foods, and require health Science Daily weak forces, not by chemical bonding. messages related to salt and sodium. www.sciencedaily.com/releas- “The antimicrobials can be released The purpose of the hearing is for FDA to es/2007/11/071109214121.htm immediately or the release can be delayed share its current framework of policies Fayetteville, AR - Ready-to-eat meats are from the film matrix based upon the affinity regarding salt and sodium and to solicit popular with consumers. But after the initial of antimicrobials to various amino acids and information and comments from interested food processing, they are also vulnerable to others that are present in the film,” persons on this current framework and on recontamination by pathogenic bacteria. A Hettiarachchy said. “A greater affinity of potential future approaches, including solution turns out to be an application of an antimicrobials to the film matrix will approaches described in the citizen petition. antimicrobial-incorporated edible film facilitate sustained release of antimicrobials The public hearing will be held on Nov. 29, coating that will fend off the pathogens. and will extend the shelf life of the product.” 2007, from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Registration “We have used film coatings with raw Some industrial interest is already being began Oct. 22, 2007. and cooked ready-to-eat meat products,” shown in the edible film. Hettiarachchy said www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/05p- said Navam Hettiarachchy, a food science there are prospects of its commercialization 0450-nhc0001.pdf

72 DELI BUSINESS DEC./JAN. 2008 MARKETING PERSPECTIVE There’s No Place Like You For The Holidays

There’s a great jazz tune from the ‘40s called Brown Norwegian Cows only between 5 and 6:15 AM, it’s T’aint What You Do, It’s the Way That You Do It. wrapped in hand-woven burlap and aged on freshly-hewn The lyric notes “that’s what gets results.” red beech planks for 18 to 24 months. . .” If someone felt Thanksgiving through New Year’s is a finish line. out of his/her league before, you’ve likely reinforced that. The holiday throngs present our best opportunity Far better than factoids is stressing deliciousness. “I love to introduce new cheeses and cross-promote them this cheese!” For real. Feel it. Personalize it. Want to cross- with other categories merchandise? What is your throughout the store. favorite pairing? What will But too often this you be serving at your annual turns into a misguided Christmas Eve Egg-Nogger? merchandising night- You can mount any merchandising A note on sampling: There mare of our own extravaganza you choose, so are few greater expressions of By making. Instead of focusing on generosity than leaving trays David smoothness of operations and long as it reflects who you are and baskets of samples out for reinforcing what we’ve been to and is executed well. your customers. Yet, I am not Grotenstein our customers in the three a big fan of passive sampling. Merchandising quarters prior, we get wrapped Neither are many of my cus- up in externalized, theme-park tomers, as it turns out. I often manager, Union notions of what shoppers will respond to. hear complaints about how some guy just dipped his mitts Market, Brooklyn Should I run a Tuscan promotion? A Scandinavian pro- into a bowl of cheese cubes, as if it were a bucket of pop- NY,and chair- motion? A regional promotion of Napa Valley wines and corn at the Cineplex, ignoring the strategically placed tooth- cheeses? A gastro-tour of the Iberian Peninsula? Gastro picks — and then went back for seconds. man of judging pub-inspired pairings of new-wave comfort foods? A gas- I doubt whatever we’re giving away has been justified by and competition, tro-intestinal bypass of America’s heartland? comparable sales of that or any other cheese. It would prob- The American It is my firm belief that you can mount any merchandis- ably be more effective to simply station someone at the front ing extravaganza you choose, so long as it reflects who you door saying, “Welcome to Union Market,” handing out quar- Cheese Society, are and is executed well. That does not mean just setting up ter-pound chunks of yellow cheddar and a napkin. We all Louisville, KY eye-popping displays, slashing prices and handing out hot tend to dish out lower-priced, mediocre cheeses to soften mulled cider. This the most critical moment of the year to the financial blow and try to please as many of the masses as make sure the basics are in place. Service is everything. possible. Again, it’s generous, but to a fault. Nobody talks, During the holidays, your store is filled with my idea of everyone just eats, and it’s usually nothing special. the ideal customers: regular shoppers and newcomers who Active sampling is where it’s at. When providing nibbles, like cheese and specialty foods in general, know something I’ll sit those samples in close proximity to a meaningful, well- about them, would like to be a little adventurous this signed display of my best cheeses of the day. This usually Christmas and are willing to spend more for something ter- provides some interesting sightseeing while snacking and rific. But they’re nervous. Maybe even scared. puts my staff and me about two feet from the customers. Send them to me. I have no other mission on a busy day We always say hi first, then ask if they’d like to try that than to rest all fears and send people home with something thing they can’t take their eyes off of. “It’s a little out of my they can’t wait to serve to their guests or devour themselves. price range,” is a common reaction. For me, it’s not “salesmanship.” Honestly, I’m not think- “All the more reason to seize this opportunity,” or words ing about making a sale at all. I’m not pitching. I’m not pro- to that effect, is our response. I will keep a wedge of this moting. There’s no technique. All I want to do is have a glorious dairy product out on the counter at room temp for good time with my customers. Just chatting, asking what a maximum dining experience, and shave or nip a piece off. they like, if money’s an object and if so, how big an object. They taste. Most of the time, because it is what it is, they Then we’ll start sampling. (More on that in a second.) love it. Often, they buy it. If they still find it too expensive, The lynchpin of retail, at any time, is the personal con- you’ve still shared a taste of the good life and shown a gener- tact you and your staff make with your customers, especial- ous spirit. If they don’t care for it, you’ve allayed their worst ly important now because the store is so jammed. This is fear: spending a lot of money on something they didn’t want not an intellectual exercise. It’s great your staff is knowl- in the first place. In each scenario, those customers will feel edgeable but it’s even more important they’re cheerful, good about shopping with you and likely feel safer asking for enthusiastic and genuinely like what they’re selling. help the next time they want to step up in class. We do not necessarily help a nervous customer by So, what to do this season? Dress up as yourself for showing off. “It’s from a 10th generation family farm on the Christmas/Chanukah/New Year’s and remind your loyal, western edge of the Carpathians,they milk their herd of 22 hungry customers why they walked in in the first place. DB

DEC./JAN. 2008 DELI BUSINESS 73 Blast From The Past

n 1967 Russell McCall opened The Cheese Shop on Pharr Road in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, GA. Specializing in imported and domestic cheeses, the shop also carried unique breads and crackers, I divine chocolates, aromatic coffee beans and other specialty food items once scarce or unavailable in the South. This humble beginning grew into six thriving retail shops throughout the metro Atlanta area and a commissary to service them. Demand for the product line from other shop owners, restaurants and grocery deli programs provided the impetus to cre- ate Atlanta Foods International (AFI). The service area now covers all 50 states and the product line has grown to an extensive inventory of more than 8,000 specialty items, including one of the country’s premier cheese programs. Besides the main warehouse in downtown Atlanta, there are now two Gourmet Foods International locations in Florida, and Sheila Marie Imports in Boston, MA. The intense passion for sourcing and supplying specialty food items has driven AFI to become one of the leading importers and distributors in the nation.

Blast From The Past is a regular feature of DELI BUSINESS. We welcome submissions of your old photos, labels or advertisements along with a brief description of the photo. Please send material to: Editor, DELI BUSINESS, P.O. Box 810217, Boca Raton, FL 33481-0217 or e-mail [email protected]. For more information contact us at (561)994-1118 GENERAL POLICIES Advertisers and advertising agencies agree and accept responsibility for all statements and product claims made in their advertisements for themselves or their organizations. The publisher is not responsible, nor does he necessarily agree with any of the opinions or statements expressed in such advertisements. Advertisers and advertising agencies agree to accept responsibility for all content of such advertisements, and agree to assume liability involving any claims arising from such advertising that are made against the publisher. Advertiser and advertising agencies agree to indemnify the publisher and to hold him harmless and to defend him from any such claim or claims, and to be responsible for the payment of any expenses or legal fees incurred by the pub- lisher associated with such legal action or claims. The publisher reserves the right to accept or reject advertising that he believes does not meet the publication’s standards. Advertising appear- ing in editorial format may or may not be accepted by the publisher, and if published will be properly labeled “advertisement.” Publisher is not liable for non-delivery or delays, caused by any federal or state agency or association, or by fire, flood, riot, explosion, strike, embargo, either legal or illegal, material or labor shortage, transportation or work interruption or slowdown, or any condition or act of God affecting delivery and beyond the control of the publisher. INFORMATION SHOWCASE Receive supplier information fast using the Deli Business Information Showcase By Phone • By Fax • By the Reader Service Cards in each issue of Deli Business. Here’s How: 1) On the reader service cards between pages 18-19 and 58-59, just circle the numbers that correspond to the ads and information showcase listings 2) Mail or fax the reader service card today or phone the supplier of your choice directly. COMPANY PAGE# READER# CATEGORY PHONE FAX Alexian Pates...... 41 ...... 130 ...... Pates...... 800-927-9473...... 732-775-3223 Atlanta Foods International ...... 23 ...... 115 ...... Cheese ...... 404-688-1315...... 404-223-6637 BelGioioso Cheese, Inc...... 7, 57 ...... 100 ...... Cheese ...... 877-863-2123...... 920-863-8791 Busseto Foods ...... 70 ...... 110 ...... Salami...... 800-628-2633...... 209-957-9570 Chloe Foods, Inc...... 11 ...... 131 ...... Deli Salads ...... 718-827-9000...... 718-547-0052 Ciao Ltd...... 20 ...... 122 ...... Fontina Cheese ...... 315-475-0475...... 315-475-0557 Comte Cheese Association...... 26 ...... 112 ...... Cheese ...... 212-947-5655...... 212-689-0989 ConAgra Deli Group ...... 2 ...... 107 ...... Deli Meats...... 800-766-7783...... 770-232-4419 Conroy Foods...... 15 ...... 133 ...... Condiments ...... 800-317-8316...... 412-781-1409 Costanzo’s Bakery, Inc...... 18 ...... 136 ...... Breads ...... 716-656-9093...... 716-656-9218 Creta Farm...... 61 ...... 126 ...... Deli Meats...... 866-942-7382...... DCI Cheese Company ...... 51 ...... 135 ...... Cheese ...... 800-782-0741...... 920-387-2194 George E. DeLallo Co...... 76 ...... 101 ...... Olives & Antipasto ...... 800-433-9100...... 724-523-0981 Fiorucci Foods, Inc...... 9 ...... 105 ...... Roasted Ham...... 800-524-7775...... 804-520-2681 Food Match, Inc...... 37 ...... 129 ...... Organic Olives...... 800-350-3411...... 212-334-5042 Great American Appetizers, Inc...... 61 ...... 138 ...... Potatoes ...... 800-282-4834...... 208-465-5059 Laura Chenel’s Chevre, Inc...... 53 ...... 125 ...... Cheese ...... 707-996-4477...... 707-996-1816 Madrone Mountain Vineyards...... 41 ...... 114 ...... Dessert Wines ...... 541-899-9642...... 541-899-5962 Marcel et Henri ...... 39 ...... 104 ...... Pates...... 800-227-6436...... 650-871-5948 MDS Foods, Inc...... 49 ...... 134 ...... Amish Cheese ...... 330-833-8358...... 330-833-1252 Meyenberg Goat Milk Products...... 43 ...... 106 ...... Goat Cheese ...... 209-667-2019...... 209-668-4753 Michigan Turkey Producers Co-op Incorporated ...... 60 ...... 137 ...... Turkey ...... 616-245-2221...... 616-475-4192 Montchevre-Betin, Inc...... 44 ...... 118 ...... Goat Cheese ...... 310-544-0450...... 310-541-3760 Nuovo Pasta Productions, Ltd...... 5 ...... 103 ...... Pasta...... 800-803-0033...... 203-380-4091 Piller Sausages & Delicatessens Ltd...... 71 ...... 116 ...... Deli Meats...... 800-265-2628...... 519-743-7111 Plainville Farms ...... 62 ...... 117 ...... Deli Meats...... 800-724-0206...... 315-638-0659 Redondo Iglesias USA...... 75 ...... 132 ...... Serrano Ham...... 718-729-2763...... 718-937-3250 Rogue Creamery ...... 54 ...... 127 ...... Cheese ...... 541-665-1155...... 541-665-1133 Roth Kase ...... 56 ...... 108 ...... Cheese ...... 888-KASE-USA ...... 608-328-2120 Rubschlager Baking Corporation...... 62 ...... 128 ...... Bakery ...... 773-826-1245...... 773-826-6619 Saputo Cheese USA, Inc...... 29 ...... 102 ...... Italian Cheese ...... 800-824-3373...... 847-267-0224 Savello USA, Inc./Carozzi...... 35 ...... 119 ...... Italian Cheese ...... 570-822-9743...... 570-822-6622 Savello USA, Inc./Leoncini ...... 65 ...... 123 ...... Italian Deli Meats ...... 570-822-9743...... 570-822-6622 Savello USA, Inc./Prunotto...... 67 ...... 121 ...... Piedmont Produce ...... 570-822-9743...... 570-822-6622 Savello USA, Inc./Recla ...... 66 ...... 120 ...... Recla Speck...... 570-822-4558...... 570-822-6622 Smithfield Deli Group...... 13 ...... 113 ...... Deli Meats...... 800-444-5226...... 757-357-1606 Tillamook County Creamery Association ...... 33 ...... 109 ...... Cheese ...... 800-899-1931...... 503-842-4481 Valley Lahvosh Baking Co...... 32 ...... 111 ...... Bakery ...... 800-480-2704...... 209-485-0173 Woolwich Dairy ...... 27 ...... 124 ...... Cheese ...... 203-324-5620...... 203-325-3189

74 DELI BUSINESS DEC./JAN. 2008 Reader Service No. 132 Reader Service No. 101