The Big Cheese

Cheese Products

Every week here at Milk & Honey, we'll be featuring our favorite cheese related products! Here are a few things that have caught my eye this week:

1) Reclaimed Slate Cheese Board from Uncommon Goods























Slate is great for cheese. The naturally cool material keeps cheese at a perfect temperature. Slate is food safe, eco-friendly and can be written on with chalk! Perfect for labeling cheeses!


2) Cheese Honey from Savannah Bee Company
























It might seem strange to have honey specifically for cheese, but it actually does make sense. Cheese honey has a much lighter, milder flavor, allowing the flavors of the cheese to shine through. I can't wait to try this with a nice pungent Gorgonzola!

3) Tasting Party Cheese Knifes























Cheese cutlery comes in a variety of shapes and sizes and it can get a little confusing to know which ones you need. This basic set is perfect for a new cheese connoisseur. The set of 4 knives are dishwasher safe, labeled and very affordable at under $20.

Dolce Vita (Austin, TX)

Dolce Vita is a cute little cafe located in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Austin. They offer Italian desserts (including a large selection of gelato), coffee, wine and of course cheese! Dolce vita has a cozy patio and offers fantastic happy hour specials.

The last time I was in Austin, Shavonne and I decided Dolce Vita would be the latest locale for our cheese tasting, wine drinking, conquest!




Overall Score: 20 out of 50

The Breakdown:

Cheeses:
Awesome cheese provided by Antonelli's cheese shop in Austin, TX

St. Nectaire, AOC - Cow, France
Fiore Sarclo - Sheep, Itay
Trugole - Cow, Italy

Presentation: 8 out of 10
The cheese came out on a very nice cutting board with a unique knife. There was also a lot of color contrast on the plate.

Quantity vs Price: 7 out of 10
Overall we got a lot of food for the price ($9). However, there was not nearly enough cheese! The plate was filled with a lot of extras but we really were disappointed with the amount of cheese on the plate.

Extras on the Plate: 0 out of 10
The cheese plate simply did not make sense to us. The berries, though they brought a lot of color to the plate which we loved, were not in season and unfortunately just tasted like water. They did not do anything to to enhance the flavor of the cheese. The spinach, although brought nice color, were wilted! We liked the choice of baguette that was chosen, but it was way too thick and hard. They used canned nuts that tasted like the can and were far too salty. Had they used unsalted nuts or seasoned their own nuts it could have worked.

Uniqueness: 0 out of 10
We didn't see any creativity here. Adding honey to the plate (even though it was it's only saving grace) was very obvious.

Taste: 5 out of 10
We loved the cheeses that came form Antonelli's cheese shop! However, when constructing the plate, Dolce Vita did not put together enough of a variety of cheeses to excite your taste buds. The extras that came on the plate, as we already discussed, did absolutely nothing for the cheese. The herb crackers overpowered the mild, delicate brie.

Overall Experience:
Dolce Vita has a great Happy Hour. Our wine was half off and the selection was pretty large. We enjoyed the wine very much. The atmosphere was very relaxed and comfortable. Great place to go on a date with your friends, work on your laptop, or get a coffee. You can hang out a long time and not spend too much money. The cheese plate, clearly not our favorite, but Dolce Vita overall is a great place to go!

Say Cheese!

Here are things we look for in great cheese plate. These are also great tips if youre making your own cheese plate at home:

• A cheese plate should be diverse, but you don’t need more than a few options.
• A cheese board should consider factors like the style of cheese, milk source, appearance and flavor profile. There are a million ways you can go about this. One suggestion: I often like when restaurants offer a blue cheese, a hard cheese and a soft cheese. Be sure to please everyone with one of your selections. It’s usually nice to include at least one cheese from each of the three major milk categories: cow, sheep and goat.
• One thing is for sure: you must try the cheese you are going to serve. Any reputable cheese monger will be more than happy to serve you up a taste.
• Use a wooden cutting board or a marble or slate cheese platter. These make a good cutting surface and are pleasing to the eye.
• Allow the cheese to come to room temperature before serving your guests. Cold temperatures mute the flavors of the cheese.
• Keep the board limited to three to five cheeses. Unless you are feeding 50 people, three cheeses is enough to enjoy. More than five and your guests may lose track of what’s what.
• If you don’t have the time to discuss each cheese to each guest, label them. A simple white card with the cheese’s name, milk source and country of origin will do.
• Serve cheese with water crackers, sliced baguette or any type of plain cracker. It allows the flavor of the cheeses to be in the forefront. You don’t want a garlic-and-herb cracker overshadowing your delicate triple crème brie.
• Dried fruit, olives, chutneys, berries, nuts, honey, pears , etc. accompany cheese very well. They work as a palate cleanser between cheeses, and also taste really good with cheese. It’s a win-win.