Marin French Cheese Launches a New Look

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Marin French Cheese Launches a New Look FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media inquiries: Lynne Devereux [email protected], 707-996-4477 Marin French Cheese Launches a New Look California’s Soft-Ripened Cheese Pioneer Turns Heads with Fresh Packaging, Adds Agritourism and Ripening Room Technology to its Northern California Location Petaluma, CA, May 28, 2013 – Following a year of upgrades to its historic creamery, Marin French Cheese will debut newly designed labels and packaging for its classic line of soft-ripened cheeses this month. Labels will sport original art depicting the creamery’s idyllic location at western Marin County’s Hicks Valley Ranch. In addition, new lightweight wooden cups will hold and protect the ripening cheeses while clear wrapping will allow shoppers to see the cheeses inside. The new labels were developed following a year of market research to study consumer familiarity with styles of cheese and how soft cheeses fit into today’s food choices. “We found that people want locally made, approachable cheese that they can enjoy and share with friends,” states Marie Giguere, General Manager. “The new design is fresh and bright — and reflects the uniquely Californian character of the cheese,” she adds. Giguere said the design, which was created by Sonoma County-based Firefly Creative Company, not only modernizes the Marin French brand but more authentically reflects its deep connection to Northern California through an artful depiction of the company’s historic Hicks Valley Ranch location. In addition to the redesign, Marin French Cheese has recently completed a series of high tech upgrades to its ripening rooms, which will monitor humidity and temperature. Philippe Chevrollier, who recently joined the company as business manager, says the upgrades make it easier to produce high quality, consistent cheese. “We’re preserving a 150 year old tradition of cheesemaking while using the latest technological advancements to support that tradition,” says Chevrollier. He adds the new packaging will ensure cheeses arrive in the best condition. Marin French Cheese plans to expand distribution of its products nationally in Midwest and East Coast markets through 2014. Along with ripening room upgrades, the company is responding to increased public interest in agritourism by diversifying and expanding the activities of its 700-acre Hicks Valley Ranch. “People are seeking a personal connection to the artisan atmosphere and rural environment we offer here, in addition to knowledge of cheesemaking,” states Charles Willard, Marin French Project Engineer. (over) Marin French Cheese New Look Page Two Marin French is in the process of developing pasture and crop lands on Hicks Valley Ranch where 281 acres are now actively producing vegetables and feed for dairy cows. Beehives have recently been introduced and plans are afoot to reintroduce livestock. “Our intention is for this land to become productive and vital to the community,” adds Willard. In 2011 Marin French Cheese was purchased by Rians — the same French family of cheese producers who own Laura Chenel’s Chèvre in neighboring Sonoma County. Under the new ownership, the company has been able to invest in an ambitious expansion, secure ongoing support of community projects, and enhance its stewardship of Hicks Valley Ranch. This May, Marin French Petite Crème was awarded Gold at CalExpo Cheese Competition, Sacramento, in the soft-ripened cheese category. About Marin French Cheese Company Founded in 1865, Marin French Cheese (www.marinfrenchcheese.com) is the longest operating cheese company in America, with a unique history of handcrafting traditional and original soft-ripened cheeses. Since the days of the Gold Rush, Marin French Cheese has been committed to practicing time-honored cheesemaking techniques using fresh, locally sourced milk from neighboring family dairy farms. At its idyllic Hicks Valley Ranch location in Northern California, Marin French Cheese hosts visitors from around the world to enjoy picnics, educational cheesemaking tours, and a country retail shop — open to the public year-round. ### Firefly .
Recommended publications
  • The Art of Cheesemaking
    The Art of Cheesemaking What was Little Miss Muffett doing while she sat on her tuffet? She was eating cheese, of course: curds and whey! Ever wonder how natural cheese gets produced? Cheesemaking is a process at once infinitely complex and delightfully simple. Here are the steps. Milk: Quality cheese begins as quality milk. In fact, cheese is why they’re also known as grana-style). To make softer 1 is sometimes referred to as milk’s leap toward immortality. cheeses, such as Mozzarella and Ricotta the curds are cut into Before the cheesemaking process can begin, fluid milk is larger pieces and then very gently maneuvered. tested for purity and quality. Fun fact: It takes nearly 10 pounds of milk to produce just one pound of cheese. Heating & Hooping: Gentle stirring and heating continues until 7 the desired firmness of the curd is achieved. Afterwards, the Standardization: Many commercially-produced cheeses whey is drained, leaving behind just the gelatinous solids. The 2 undergo a heat treatment known as pasteurization that curds are gently molded by being placed into appropriately eliminates the natural microflora of the fluid milk. Part of sized “hoops.” The shape of the hoop reflects the desired final what makes artisan cheese so special is that the cheese is shape of the cheese. often made on the same farm where the animals are milked. This is known as farmstead cheesemaking. Artisan cheese is Pressing: The pressing step helps to determine the final shape also sometimes produced with raw milk, which lends natural 8 and texture of the cheese, as well as to continue to regulate its starter cultures and taste-enhancing microbes.
    [Show full text]
  • Cheese Making Sources: One-Hour Cheese by Claudia Lucero; Edgewood Creamery Website; Science.Howstuffworks.Com;
    The Basic Science (It’s Magic!) Behind Cheese Making Sources: One-Hour Cheese by Claudia Lucero; Edgewood Creamery website; Science.HowStuffWorks.Com; Instructional video available on Driftwood Public Library’s new YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY39X-eSLLI&t=144s “Cheesemaking is the controlled process of removing water from milk. This process concentrates the milk’s protein, fat and other nutrients and increases its shelf life. Cheesemaking is one of the earliest examples of biotechnology.” – Edgewood Creamery Like sourdough bread, making cheese is one of the earliest forms of microbiology. The transformation of milk into cheese is one of the most extraordinary of all human discoveries. No one knows exactly when, but it is believed to have happened at about the same time as the domestication of animals such as goats in the fertile crescent region of the Middle East, around 6,000-7,000BC. It is unknown when the first cheese was made, but the legend goes that a nomad was carrying milk in a pouch made of a calf’s stomach lining. Over time (and at the right temperature) the milk fermented. Not wanting to waste the chunky milk, the nomad tried it and liked it. This legend about the first cheese is not unlike that of the first sourdough leavened bread. The components of Cheese: Milk: Made up of water, fats, proteins, bacteria, lactose (a sugar), minerals and more. Unpasteurized milk also contains the enzyme lactase, which helps you digest milk. Salt: Besides adding flavor, “salt is also a great preservative and, under the right conditions, can help turn a previously highly perishable substance (milk) into a stable cheese that doesn’t require regular refrigeration.” Note: When making one-hour cheese, we only use salt for flavor and to control the amount of whey we leave in the curds for texture.
    [Show full text]
  • Measuring and Controlling Acidity and Moisture
    CENTER FOR DAIRY RESEARCH DAIRY PIPELINE A TECHNICAL RESOURCE FOR DAIRY MANUFACTURERS WINTER 2020 | VOL. 31, No. 4 ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES OF CHEESEMAKING (PART 2): MEASURING AND CONTROLLING ACIDITY AND MOISTURE In the last issue of the Dairy Pipeline, we covered how we’re concentrating fat, we’re concentrating protein, and to establish and maintain a starter culture program. we’re using up a large majority of the lactose retained in In this article, we’re discussing how to measure and the curd to develop a significant amount of lactic acid, control acidity and moisture during the cheesemaking which drops the pH,” Sommer said. process. This article is part two of a two-part article that takes a deep dive into some essential principles that Milk has a pH of about 6.6-6.7, but during cheesemakers of all levels should know in order to make cheesemaking acid is developed and the pH drops, consistent, quality cheese. i.e. Cheddar has a pH of about 5.1. The cheesemaking process also reduces the moisture content—milk Part 1: Establishing and Maintaining a Starter typically has a moisture content of about 87% whereas Culture Program (last issue) Cheddar has a moisture content of about 38%. Part 2: Measuring and Controlling Acidity and Moisture During the Cheesemaking Process Why Measure Acidity and Moisture? “All cheesemakers should be monitoring acidity and moisture because they drive how the cheese is going to turn out,” explains Andy Johnson, outreach specialist/ assistant coordinator, CDR Cheese Industry and Applications group. Dean Sommer, CDR cheese and food technologist, agrees, “Controlling acidity and moisture content— those are two of the really big keys to successful cheesemaking.
    [Show full text]
  • Annual and General Meetings Cover Audit, Board, and Officer Elections
    OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE PARK SLOPE FOOD COOP Established 1973 Volume LL, Number 14 July 20, 2017 The June Double Feature: Urban Forester Guides Annual and General Meetings Cover Your Shopping Home Audit, Board, and Officer Elections By Heidi Brown cat had safely fallen from the ate one night this summer, tree. Galiley’s services were LJosh Galiley got a call from no longer required. a Fort Greene woman who If you’ve ever had a walker sounded desperate. Her cat help you get your purchases was stuck in a tree after being back home on a Thursday chased by a dog. An enter- evening, there’s a chance you prising rock climber had tried were accompanied by a pro- to rescue the cat and had no fessional tree climber. For the luck. A tree pruner had also last 10 years, Josh Galiley, a made the attempt without Park Slope resident and the success. A while later, Gali- son of a Brooklyn native, has ley grabbed his gear and was been the Tree Care Supervi- headed out the door when he sor for the Central Park Con- got another call: The woman’s CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 ILLUSTRATION BY DEBORAH TINT By Frank Haberle candidate for the Board, corporation.” Encouraging n June 27, Coop mem- incumbent Bill Penner, was members to ask questions, Obers filled the Saint overwhelming elected to a Joe introduced Robert Reit- Francis Xavier Auditorium new term, and the officers man of Cornick, Gabler and on President Street to par- of the corporation were all Sandler LLP, the Coop’s out- ticipate in a dual meeting— re-elected.
    [Show full text]
  • CHEESE and WHEY: the Outcome of Milk Curdling
    foods Editorial CHEESE and WHEY: The Outcome of Milk Curdling Golfo Moatsou * and Ekaterini Moschopoulou Laboratory of Dairy Research, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +30-210-529-4630 The present Special Issue is dedicated to both products of the cheesemaking process, that is cheese and whey. Cheese is an excellent and complex food matrix that preserves in concentrated form valuable milk constituents, such as proteins, minerals, vitamins, and biofunctional lipids. The formation of cheese mass requires the removal of whey, i.e., water and soluble milk substances—proteins, minerals, lactose, and vitamins—. According to Fox and McSweeney [1], cheese is the most diverse group of dairy products manufactured from a few kinds of milk by means of a protocol that is more or less common in respect to the first 24 h of manufacture. They suggest that cheese is the most interesting and challenging dairy product due to an inherent instability that results from a series of biochemical changes. Whey is the valuable byproduct derived from the cheesemaking process. Lactose and whey proteins are the main compounds of whey and the main reasons for its valorization, through the production of whey cheeses, functional/nutritional whey proteins concentrate, bioactive peptides, and oligosaccharides [2,3]. In the present article collection, two publications for the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese are included. Considering the demanding cheese making conditions and the long-term ripening of this cheese variety, relevant studies are of particular importance. Franceschi et al. [4] designed a two-year study in various cheese factories to assess the performance Citation: Moatsou, G.; of milk with high somatic cell count (SCC), i.e., from 400,000 to 1,000,000, when it is used Moschopoulou, E.
    [Show full text]
  • Burren Ood Trail Burren Food Trail
    BURRENBurrenBurren FoodFoodFOOD TrailTrail Trail Diners can enjoy chef-proprietor Come and experience the buzz on The Roadside Tavern which Aidan McGrath’s cooking served a Saturday morning in was established in 1865 as a in a relaxed setting in the Ennistymon. At present the pub, then was expanded into bar. Awarded a Michelin Bib market sells a variety of fresh a bakery, now also harbours a Gourmand within six months of organic vegetables and fruit in micro-brewery under its roof. opening, other awards include season, local rare breed pork, Why not sample the taster National Hospitality Awards farmhouse cheeses, fresh fish, menu of Burren Microbrewery ‘Best Pub with Food’ 2011 and fresh herbs and seedlings, beers: Burren Gold, a delicious 2012. The food emphasis is on plants, jams, chutneys and colourful lager; Burren Red, a the wild, free-range, seasonal preserves, breads and cakes, spicy, slightly sweet ale which and local, with a modern raw chocolate, gluten free even features a hint of smoke; bistro style. Our Signature baking, handmade soap and Burren Black, a smooth and Dish is Braised Pork Cheek, more, all made lovingly by Wild Honey Inn Ennistymon Farmer’s Market full-bodied stout. At the Burren Brewery at My Kaywa QR-Code wild mushrooms, gnocchi, our local farmers and artisan same time, meet the Master http://www.roadsidetavern.ie smoked bacon velouté. This Tel: 00353 (0) 65 707 4300 food producers. Ennistymon Mobile: 00353 85 760 7037 Brewer, Peter Curtin, and The Roadside Tavern Tel: 00353 (0) 65 707 4084 is a wholesome dish, full Mobile: 00353 (0) 87 681 4947 Farmer’s Market has 00353 86 053 6644 delve a little deeper into the of flavour, prepared using www.wildhoneyinn.com successfully met the criteria www.ennistymonfarmersmarket.com Mobile: 00353 (0) 87 830 0069 history of the brewery and www.roadsidetavern.ie the best of local seasonal Where: Wild Honey Inn, Lisdoonvarna.
    [Show full text]
  • Best Practices Guide for Cheesemakers Published February 15, 2017
    The American Cheese Society’s Best Practices Guide for Cheesemakers Published February 15, 2017 Copyright © 2016, 2017 American Cheese Society First Edition, 2016 Reprinted with revisions, 2017 All figures in this Guide and documents in the Appendix have been reprinted with permission from the copyright holders. Best Practices Guide for Cheesemakers Introduction In 2016, the American Cheese Society (ACS) released its Best Practices Guide for Cheesemakers (Guide). Its completion was a key strategic goal of the Board of Directors, and the central task with which the Regulatory & Academic Committee had been charged. ACS members requested such a resource, and by way of response, this Guide was created to encompass currently accepted best practices for cheesemaking. This second edition of the Guide includes updates based on changing regulations, incorporates direct feedback and clarification from reviewers at the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, and provides more current resources and templates where available. This Guide provides an easy reference for busy cheesemakers—especially small- to mid-size producers—one which can be readily accessed. Regulatory agencies and academics provide information in great detail, but it is often buried within volumes of text. This Guide gleans the key requirements, suggestions, and practices from that vast sea of information, and attempts to condense them into a more easily digestible format written in more accessible language. I hope you will find that the information provided in this Guide is useful and answers some of your key questions. Please keep in mind that this is not a static document. The Guide will continually grow and change based on feedback from members, academics, regulators, and others.
    [Show full text]
  • Home Cheesemaking
    Home Cheesemaking Making cheese at home is fun. Proper preparation and attention to sanitation will make good tasting cheese that is safe for the whole family to enjoy. Choosing a Cheese Recipe Home cheese making can be as simple as adding vinegar to warm milk to make ricotta for tonight's lasagna or as complicated as waiting months for a mold-ripened cheese to be ready to eat. For the best success, start with simpler recipes until you are familiar with the basic principles of cheese making. Recipes are found in cheese books, supplier websites, and other internet sites. There is no single recipe for making a cheese, so look around and compare recipes. Milk for Cheese Making Fresh milk with good flavor makes the best tasting cheese. For the home cheesemaker it is easiest to obtain pasteurized milk from the grocery store. This milk is usually homogenized. Pasteurization is a heat process that destroys pathogens (bacteria that cause human disease) that may be found in raw milk. Regular pasteurized milk is okay to use for cheesemaking, but ultra-pasteurized and ultra-high pasteurized (UHT) milk have higher heat treatments that interfere with the ability of the proteins to coagulate into curds, so these milks should not be used for making cheese. Homogenization is a physical process that makes milk fat globules more uniform in size so they stay evenly dispersed in milk. Most home cheesemaking recipes use homogenized milk, and this is may result in a softer curd. Commercial cheesemakers use unhomogenized milk. Some home recipes call for the use of pasteurized skim milk and cream to mimic unhomogenized milk.
    [Show full text]
  • Cheesemaking Is Unknown
    Cheese Making for Beginners – Organic Growers School – Saturday, March 10, 2018 Christina Gordon ~ Fun Frolic Farm ~ Yancey County, NC www.funfrolicfarm.com ~ www.womenswildernessworkshops.com 770-893-1616 ~ [email protected] Overview: A Very, Very, Very Breif History of Cheese... Seven Basic Styles of Cheese Milk – Type, Source and Qualities 6 Basic Steps to All Cheese Making 30 minute Mozzarella A Very, Very, Very, Brief History of Cheese... “The actual time and place of the origin of cheese and cheesemaking is unknown. The practice is closely related to the domestication of milk producing animals; primarily sheep, which began 8-10,000 years ago. The art of cheesemaking is referred to in ancient Greek mythology and evidence of cheese and cheesemaking has been found on Egyptian tomb murals dating back over 4000 years. Cheese may have been discovered accidentally by the practice of storing milk in containers made from the stomachs of animals. Rennet, an enzyme found in a stomach of ruminant animals, would cause the milk to coagulate, separating into curds and whey. Another possible explanation for the discovery of cheese stemmed from the practice of salting curdled milk for preservation purposes. Still another scenario involved the addition of fruit juices to milk which would result in curdling the milk using the acid in the fruit juice.” - Excerpt from “History of Cheese” on The National Historic Cheesmaking Center. The Seven Basic Styles of Cheese Fresh: These unaged cheeses are the ones without a rind. They are moist and soft with a creamy texture and mild taste. Examples include many goat cheeses, mozzarella, ricotta and queso fresco.
    [Show full text]
  • Traditional Cheesemaking Manual
    TRADITIONAL CHEESEMAKING MANUAL by Charles O’Connor International Livestock Centre for Africa Addis Ababa, Ethiopia CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by CGSpace Correct citation: O’Connor C B. 1993. Traditional cheesemaking manual. ILCA (International Livestock Centre for Africa), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. ISBN 92--9053--273--4 TableofContents Listof figures Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Milkcomposition Cleanmilkproduction Cheeseand cheesemaking Cheesemaking Milkcoagulants Wheyutilisation Cheesemaking inAfrica Cheesemaking recipes Ayib Wara,Woagachi White cheese Othercheese varieties Lacticcurd cheese Halloumi Gybnabeyda Scamorza Cheddar Mysost Usefulreferences iii ListofFigures Figure1.Eatingyoghurt Figure2.Cleaninga cow’s udder Figure3.Milkinga cow usinga clean utensil Figure4.Horizontaland verticalcurd-cuttingknives Figure5.Some mouldsused incheesemaking Figure6.Preparation of rennet Figure7.Separating curds fromwhey Figure8.Ladlingcurds andwhey intoa cheese mould Figure9.Wheydrainingand,in theforeground, cheese piecesin coolwater Figure 10.Wara cheese moulds Figure 11.Checkingthetemperature of themilk Figure 12.Addinglemonjuiceand stirringthemilk Figure 13.Curdformation Figure 14.Stirringthe curds andwhey Figure 15.Separating thecurds from thewhey usinga muslin cloth Figure 16.Addingsaltto curd Figure 17.Woodencheese mouldwithholes for wheydrainage Figure 18.Addingcurd toa muslin-lined mould Figure 19.Coveringthecurd by foldingover the muslin Figure 20.Pressing cheese Figure 21.Addingstarter tomilk
    [Show full text]
  • Turn Yogurt Into Cheese I
    Flavor homemade yogurt cheese with anything you like. The creamy texture and tangy flavor blend deliciously with fresh herbs, chopped garlic, or pungent spices like black pepper. Tu r n Yogurt into Cheese How can something so easy be so good—and low in fat, too? BY ANNE STERLING bland. Though the protein in the drained milk solids buffers the acid taste, the taste of the cheese will be similar to the taste of the undrained yogurt, so choose a yogurt that tastes good to you right out of the carton. Check the expiration date to get the often long for those snow-white, unripened freshest possible batch. Icheeses displayed in cheesecloth bundles in the Making your own yogurt can save money if you dairy shops of Paris, where I lived for many years. plan to make pounds of cheese. It may also be nec- That’s when I make my own yogurt cheese. It’s sim- essary if you want a richer cheese made from whole ilar to the French fromage frais I’m homesick for, milk. Many stores only carry low- and nonfat even though the authentic cheese doesn’t start out yogurts. Yogurt cheese made from whole milk will as yogurt. Yogurt cheese is easy to make and it’s ver- blend more smoothly in warm dishes and will stay satile (see the box above right), delicious alone or creamy when toasted under the broiler. Nonfat mixed into other dishes. It has a creamy texture, yogurt cheese gets chewy and crumbly when broiled. even when made with nonfat yogurt, and because There’s only one rule to follow when choosing of that, it’s been hailed as a “miracle” substitute for yogurt—don’t use yogurt that contains gelatin, be- high-fat cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sour cream.
    [Show full text]
  • AP-42, 9.6.1: Natural and Processed Cheese
    9.6.1 Natural And Processed Cheese 9.6.1.1 General1-3 The United States is one of the largest producers of cheese in the world. The total number of industry establishments in the United States in 1995 was 432. In 1995, total natural cheese production in the U. S., excluding cottage cheeses, was 6.9 billion pounds, and total processed cheese production was 2.3 billion pounds. Wisconsin is the leading producer of cheese in the United States, accounting for over 30 percent of all cheese production in the country. Popular types of natural cheeses include unripened (e. g., cottage cheese, cream cheese), soft (e. g., Brie, Camembert), semi-hard (e. g., Brick, Muenster, Roquefort, Stilton), hard (e. g., Colby, Cheddar), blue veined (e. g., Blue, Gorgonzola), cooked hard cheeses (e. g., Swiss, Parmesan), and pasta filata (stretched curd, e. g., Mozzarella, Provolone). Examples of processed cheeses include American cheese and various cheese spreads, which are made by blending two or more varieties of cheese or blending portions of the same type of cheese that are in different stages of ripeness. 9.6.1.2 Process Description4-9 The modern manufacture of natural cheese consists of four basic steps: coagulating, draining, salting, and ripening. Processed cheese manufacture incorporates extra steps, including cleaning, blending, and melting. No two cheese varieties are produced by the same method. However, manufacturing different cheeses does not require widely different procedures but rather the same steps with variations during each step, the same steps with a variation in their order, special applications, or different ripening practices.
    [Show full text]