April, you love it or you hate it. I love it, and I love this month’s cravings. We kept it short and sweet for April since we’re all busy scrambling to clean up Easter eggs and get our taxes submitted. Here’s what we can’t get enough of this month:

CHEESE: Leonora

If you’ve visited any of our stores recently, namely downtown, there may have been an incredibly eager cheesemonger or two nearly force-feeding you a sample of this little beauty. What you’re experiencing is cheese geekiness in its more exhuberant, pure form. Leonora was an all-star staff favorite years ago at Caputo’s. We lost it for a long period. All of a sudden this winter, it was back, gracing our cases and palettes with its acidic perfection. This log of pure goat’s milk cheese from Leon, Spain has an intense acidity in its flaky, dry interior, but blanaces itself with a cream line just beneath its thin rind that makes it its own best friend. Wanna guess what I like to pair with Leonora? More Leonora. If that’s an unacceptable answer, then I’d say white wine. All the white wine, to be exact. Stay tuned for musings from Evan and make sure to come by for a taste of this cheese. It’s a knockout. But be warned, no one has ever loved Leonora more than Evan.

SWEET: Marou Ben Tre 78%

Don’t look at me, Matt always says it best when it comes to the chocolate obsessions.

“Marou evokes many thoughts and emotions. From exhilaration, lust, fear, and back to comfort. It is an incredibly complex and exotic chocolate. It manages to be ethereal and visceral at the same time. On the one hand it is like an exotic and mysterious woman whispering in a language you can’t remotely comprehend. On the other it is like a musical journey from slow Asian instrumentals to death metal.

Using 100% Vietnamese ingredients including shade grown cacao from 5 different provinces, Marou captures aromas and flavors never before experienced by our Western palates. While it will take us much more tasting to really get to know the soul of Marou’s chocolate, one is perfectly clear. The two French expatriates behind Marou live in Vietnam make chocolate that is a cousin to French, but distinctively Vietnamese. Marou makes globalization look sexy.”  -Matt Caputo

Yep. Marou. The Ben Tre region along the Mekong River lends itself to cacao that is well balanced and not too acidic. It’s a thing of Vietnamese beauty, and one that I’ve loved using this for budinos and flourless cakes. My craving extended beyond the bar, but be sure to give this a try next time you visit one of our stores. You’ll see what Matt’s talking about.

SAVORY: Salame Beddu Cacciatorini

We’ve got a soft spot for small batch salami, and boy does this fill that soft spot with delicious, porky goodness. Salame Beddu is a small artisanal production in St Louis that is nothing short of exciting. I first tried this at a recent dinner gathering with some work pals. One of our warehousing guys brought it along as an afterthought and hostess gift for yours truly. Turns out it was the star of the entire evening (even more so than my famous Amatriciana). We couldn’t get enough and immediately polished off the piece, and then we couldn’t stop talking about it. Seriously, half the night’s discussion was about this new brand none of us had ever heard of. Salame Beddu passed the taste test well before we heard their lovable story of artisanal passion and dedication to quality. Due to such a small production and recent well-deserved attention, we may run out of this little guy. But fear not, we’ll stock whatever we can get from our friends in St. Louis. Everything we’ve tried is equally as delicious as the devilishy spicy Cacciatorini.

After the Easter decorations are stashed away for 2016 and you’ve submitted those pesky taxes, you’re going to be hungry. And you’ll definitely want something tasty and satisfying, whether it’s pork, cheese, or chocolate. You deserve, we’ve got your back on this one.

Guys, it’s already March! We’ve dabbled in spring, I pulled out a pair of shorts, and then I had to dig my snow boots out again. It’s been a crazy few weeks for us here at Caputo’s. We’re adding new brands of chocolate and delicious new treats to the cheese and charcuterie cases almost weekly. The influx of exciting new ingredients and the crazy weather have us craving all sorts of things.

Here’s what we can’t keep our hands off of and how we play on consuming them:
CHEESE: Testun al Barolo

Testun al Barolo is a semi-firm mixed milk cheese from the Piedmont region of Italy. The cheese has a beautiful, complex flavor thanks to the sweet and grassy milk from alpine pastures and its aging process. It ages for a minimum of four months in small oak barrel under the residues of the Nebbiolo grapes, the grapes for making Barolo wine. The fruity wine flavors seep into the crumbly paste, adding sweetness and complexity to the paste. There’s no better presentation, in my opinion, than our testun cheeses. The packed Nebbiolo on the rind of this cheese is intriguing, lovely, and a fun center piece for a cheese plate.

CHOCOLATE: Rozsavolgyi Csokolade Trincheras 

Don’t let the name scare you. I know, it’s a mouthful of letters in an intimidating order, but this bar is so worth fumbling through the pronunciation. Our friends at Roszavolgyi in Hungary are making beautiful, award-winning bars we can’t help but devour. Awarded a Silver Medal by the Academy of Chocolate in the “Bean-to-Bar Best Dark Bar” main category, these cocoa beans from Trincheras, Venezuela are roasted at very low temperatures to preserve every little bit of their natural taste. Guys, this is the stuff dreams are made of. Just wait until you hear what Matt has to say about this one.

SAVORY: Salumeria Biellese Culatello

Prosciutto is often considered the king of Italian salumi. This is the one cured meat that will forever reign in our hearts. Salumeria Biellese makes their culatello in the most traditional and delicious way. Only the largest muscle mass from the hind leg of heirloom breed pork is used. Simple seasoning and over a year’s worth of curing results in a supple, delicious cured pork that is second to none. Slightly drier than traditional prosciutto and more robust in flavor, culatello is a remarkable item perfect for serving alongside other fine charcuterie. Wrap spears of asparagus, layer on flatbreads and pizza, or add to your favorite pasta and vegetable dishes.

SWEET (But also savory): Fennel Pollen

This is the main event, the creme de la creme, the Justin Timberlake of the NSYNC lineup for March. Blame Matt. I got so excited about this that we’re dedicating an entire week of March to this one ingredient. If you are familiar with the flavor of fennel, this is the more heavenly, aromatic, fantastic version of ground fennel seeds. I really can’t say enough about how much I love this. It belongs in cakes, on top of roasted chickens, as part of a crust for roasted red meats, even in semifreddo. Intrigued? Fennel pollen week will convince how versatile this is, and how desperately you’ll need a jar of your own.

I can’t wait to share our recipes this month. As always, eat deliciously, and feed those cravings.

While my friends are getting excited about the newest additions to their families, I’m excited to announce the newest addition to our cheese cave family: Greektown Blue. She’s a beauty, with a healthy weight and clean bill of health.

I’m going to stop the baby referencing now before things start to sound morbid. I mean, we are going to eat the cheese, after all.

Cheese Cave #2 is nearing completion!

Our first wheel of Greektown was released earlier this week after a four month long stint in our cheese cave. What I find most exciting about this cheese is the fun, geeky process of how it came to be. As we continue the process of developing our first house-aged blue cheese, the flavors will become more consistent and the process will become more rigorous and thorough. I spent a few minutes with our affineuse, Antonia, today to talk about the first wheel. Antonia will be releasing more in-depth information about this cheese very soon, but we just couldn’t wait to share it with you.

Antonia has been a busy, busy woman these days. Not only does she care for each wheel of cheese individually, she is also the master behind our house-made burrata while also helping to plan the build out of our second cheese cave. Yes, you read that right. Second cheese cave. We’re nearing the end of construction on cheese cave #2 to give us more space to continue our Basque reserve cheeses, Grotte Caputo cheese, and make way for even more delicious projects and releases. You’ll be seeing many more posts like this as soon as the space becomes available and ready to house all these magnificent cheeses. Speaking of cheese, let’s get back to the blue.

Through all of this craziness, Antonia was still able to pull off aging a fantastic blue cheese. I love a blue cheese this time of year, it suits my seasonal needs and is just the thing I want to snack on with a glass of wine after work.

Our first blue cheese comes to us from a farm near and dear to our hearts, Mesa Farm. Randy and his small herd of well-loved goats from Torrey, Utah send Antonia freshly formed wheels of raw goat cheese made with a feta-like starter culture. Antonia takes over from there, first by rubbing the wheel down with goat butter, salting it with local salt, and then spending time caring for it, taking notes on its progress, and helping develop it into the delicious wheel it is today. Each wheel is pierced upon entry to the cave and left to self-inoculate from there. The wheels are exposed to Antonia and I called a ‘blend o’ spores’ including (but not necessarily limited to) penicillium roqueforti, penicillium galucum, b-linens, and a host of other fun spores flying around the cave.

Flash forward four months to the release. We have a lovely wheel with a thin, skin-like rind reminiscent of a French rindless blue cheese. The loosely pressed curd that was originally full of air pockets are now tiny caverns that are home to delicious blue and green hued molds. We’re pretty much already in love. The best part is, it’s only going to get better. I love to see the process from the outside. Seeing Antonia and Matt collaborate on ways to improve flavor, experiment with different techniques, and, ultimately, make delicious cheese is one of my favorite parts of Caputo’s. A close second is always learning the names of our newest releases.

This one is perfect. The name pays homage to both farm, community, and family. Randy’s feta starters and light brining before sending wheels our way helped lead us toward a Greek inspired name. This lovely, developing community that is home to our downtown location is Salt Lake’s historical Greek community. With Holy Trinity across the street and their annual Greek Fest, it’s only fitting that we honor the roots of the cheese and our neighborhood. We can’t leave out Matt’s maternal Greek heritage, either. We have a lot to thank Greece for, this is our way of saying just that.

Come try this first wheel before it’s too late. Like I said, the most exciting part of these new cheese releases is the evolution from wheel to wheel. Taste your way through each release with us, you won’t regret it. We’re already hooked.

Question:

You had a cheese tasting in February of last year to compare Comte and Gruyere. Did you keep any notes? What did you decide? I am a Comte fan…so I’m dying to know.

– David Bennett

Answer:

Dear David,

Thanks for your inquiry. I am a huge fan of Comte too. We are cranking for Valentine’s so I will have to keep this quick.

What we found was is milk and cheese made according to European PDO laws are exactly the same on both cheeses. There are many, many producers of Gruyere and many, many producers of Comte (for example Comte is France’s most popular cheese). Some producers are great and some are less great. Therefore the best wheels of Gruyere are better than most wheels of Comte and vice versa. To say which is the best just based on the name is not a holistic comparison. They are essentially the same cheese.

I will say our wheel we just got of Rodolphe Le Meunier 16-18 month Comte is as good as cheese gets! It is a steal at $25.99/lb as it would be at least $32/lb in any other store. The Gruyere we have is from Emmi. Not a bad producer, but a big one. For $15.99/lb it is also a steal. It’s much more at grocery stores. We could easily do this same situation in reverse and buy a show stopping Rolph Beeler Gruyere and get a nice, but more common, Rivoire Jaquemin Comte. However, like you, I am more of a Francophile than a Swiss lover, so we go with show stopping French and value driven Swiss.

I am not known in the industry for making politically correct statements, so my explanation here sounds to me like an annoying cop out. But I assure you it is not. Both cheeses are truly great and were both the same cheese before the borders got redrawn. Great cheese makers and affinuers on both sides.

Hope that helps.

Thanks,

Matt

See ya, January! It doesn’t feel like a whole month has gone by, January was a whirlwind for me. So we move from January to… April? The weather has been absolutely whacky. If February wants to crossdress as a Spring, I don’t mind following suit. Sure, I love the warm weather and ability to wear a dress to work instead of layers and layers of clothing. I must say though, that I feel cheated. Winter is not holding up its end of the deal, and it’s throwing my seasonal cooking for a loop. All I want to make are stews, soups, and braised entrees, but the weather is dictating a warmer weather type of cooking. I’m reaching deep into the depths of a recipe box I’ve kept for years, searching for new things to help me find new inspiration to mesh the month and the truly absurd weather.

I’ve received inspiration from food magazine clippings, recipes picked up from past travel, and our newest cravings. These goodies will do the trick. I’ll be able to satisfy my cold weather food needs with ease. Check these out:

CHEESE: Raclette

Nothing says winter eats like melted cheese, and nothing melts nearly as well, or as famously, as Raclette. This Swiss gem is government protected to ensure the creamy, melty, and entirely decadent experience that comes along with this cheese. Melt this over boiled potatoes, roasted meats, or even apples and pickles. Everything is better with a gooey layer of melted cheese on it, right? Have yourself a raclette party with your favorite cheese geek friends and see what other treats can be layered with cheese. Heck, make a big pot of fondue and dip to your heart’s desire.

Hurry and get your melt on before February becomes June. I know I’d hate to miss melty cheese season aka the end of winter.

CHOCOLATE: Amedei Toscano Red
Amedei is top notch, but you knew that. What you may not know is the masterful and unexpected inclusion bars are nothing short of addicting. Here, deep, dark chocolate meet freeze dried raspberries, cherries, and strawberries pieces for a pleasantly tart crunch. This bar is actually perfect for this month. You get transcendent dark chocolate, which is exactly what I crave after a long, cold day or big meal, with pieces of fruit that really taste just like the middle of summer. My two favorite seasons meet in this lovely little package.

SWEET: Amour Spreads Blood Orange Rosemary Marmalade

Ok, let’s talk about addiction. My name is Adri and I am a blood orange addict. You name it, I’ve got it. Juice, candied peel, frozen pulp, and, of course, marmalade. I love Amour, their entire line of hand-crafted, local preserves are a treasure and Salt Lake City is so lucky to claim them as our own. I grew up with a love for the combination of rosemary and citrus, but this marmalade has made that love even stronger. Stay tuned for a recipe later this month. Layers of marmalade will be the spotlight of one of my favorite desserts.

SAVORY: Cornichons

We couldn’t talk about Raclette without talking about my favorite little pickles! Cornichons are small, tart pickles made from tiny cucumbers known as gherkins. These Maille cornichons are pickled in a mix of vinegar and aromatics including tarragon, cloves, baby onions, and mustard seeds, and are produced according to a rigorous French production process. My melty cheese needs a crunchy, tart little pop. This is it.

I’m excited to see what February has up its sleeve this year. Maybe some snow? Maybe some more crazy, warm days? Either way, it’s going to be delicious and I can’t wait to show you all what we come up with. Happy eating, friends!