Cheese, Glorious Cheese!

Over the holiday weekend, as many folks gave thanks over palatial buffets of food, Our Daily Green was able to share some artisan cheese we received from the Affinage Cheese Shop after winning a Twitter promotion. We became interested in this small independent business in New Jersey after mutually tweeting about a great recipe for spinach & shrimp risotto, which featured goat cheese.

Real Yorkshire Wensleydale
Ocean Spray Cranberries

Affinage Cheese Shop specializes in sustainably produced cheeses from around the world. Working with small farmers and artisans, they offer a selection of small batch cheeses that are not found in big box grocery stores. After winning their promotion, we received a lovely sampling of unique gourmet cheeses, shipped overnight.

What could be more suitable, yet different, for Thanksgiving than an English cheese with cranberries? Their comprehensive website describes the cheese: Wensleydale Creamery handcrafts their cheese using milk from local farms. Crafting this artisanal cheese by hand allows for the Ocean Spray Cranberries to be more dispersed throughout the cheese and adds the perfect complement to the slight saltiness of the cheese. 

Morbier with Ash, PDO

Another favorite cheese was the Morbier with Ash, with has the protected design of origin seal. That means that this cheese is from a very specific region in France. From the website:  The milk supply to make Charles Arnaud Morbier is coming from (only) 20 farmers and from the Montbeliarde cow. This cheese is known for its sweet, rich, nutty flavor, and creamy texture. 

Teahive

The last cheese we sampled was a Teahive, with black tea and bergamont. Originating in the United States in Utah, this cheese is made from cow milk. Bergamont is what gives Earl Grey tea its flavor. This unique cheese was also a favorite.

Affinage's selection of cheeses do not contain hormones, the milk comes from small dairies, not factory farms, and is not mass produced. They offer a selection of cheese from around the world and ship within 24 hours. Their cheese is handcut to order. We were also impressed that the cheese was not wrapped in plastic. Meats and cheeses should never touch plastic, as the petroleum used to manufacture the plastic will leech into the food.

Their website also offers a number of organic compliments to the cheese, including unique non-alcoholic natural wine sodas, an assortment of artisan crackers, honey (including some of my favorites from Savannah, GA), and accessories to suit any cheese aficionado. We appreciate food produced the slow way with local ingredients and crafting.

If you also appreciate such food, we encourage you to follow their shop on Facebook. When Affinage Cheese Shop reaches 900 fans (only 7 away!), all their followers will receive a special promotion. They also have weekly giveaways for their fans to receive a package very similar to the one Our Daily Green received.

Disclaimer: Our Daily Green received the complimentary package we described above. We have not been compensated in any other way for this review, but instead like to promote businesses we appreciate that follow practices we respect. We are thrilled to tell you about this great local company with unique offerings from around the world.

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