COMTE... the unveiling of a piece of history!

The 100lb wheel rolled its way into liberty village early this week all the way from France. Made with pure unpastuerized milk from only the Franche-Comte region of western France (bordering with Switzerland). Roughly 40,000 tonnes of this beautiful cheese is produced annually making it the highest production cheese of all French aoc protected cheeses. Interesting fact: it takes up to 600 liters of milk to make one wheel of Comte (keep that in mind the next time you pick your milk up!) This cheese comes rich with history dating back to the early 12th century when shepherds would spend the summer months in their remote huts of the Jura massif. The distance from towns of any size meant that any cheese they made would need to mature over a period of months. The milk was pooled between neighboring shepherds and the huge wheels would be stored until being taken to the market at the end of the season. This massive wheel that now braces our shelf here at The Village Cheesemonger has been carefully matured for 2 years by a master affinure to ensure you the customer get to enjoy its wonderfully complex flavor notes. It has a nice sharp taste with undertones of mushrooms and caramelized notes. This cheese is bound to be the talking point of any family Dinner or get together. check out this yummy reciepe for a Zucchini Gratin using COMTE: http://www.comte-usa.com/uploads/PDF/recipes/Gratin_Zucchini_Comte.pdf

Pairs wonderfully with dry arbois whites, vin jaune, champagne or Alsace Pinot noirs.

QUICK DINNER FIX... THE CHEESE GUYS GOT YOU!

Everyone has been working hard all week and its finally friday. You finish work get home and think "i want to have a fun night BUT i need fuel and DONT want to spend hours in the kitchen! well have no fear we have you totally covered at The Village Cheesemonger. Aside from our ever expanding cheese assortment we are slowly introducing delicious locally sourced and produced meats from right here in Toronto and the surrounding area. Tonight we suggest making a simple quick and easy fall classic meal, Grilled Smoked Pork Chops with Baked mashed potatoes loaded with our Avonlea PEI clothbound cheddar accompanied by a pear and roasted garlic chutney. From At "This little Pig" @thispig we proudly introduce there succulent smoked ethically and locally raised pork chop grill for 4 minutes on each side and your ready to serve. For our "PEI AVONLEA Clothbound Cheddar Mashed Potatoes" simply boil up four nice size spuds (peeled and cubed) until nice and tender. Remove from water and mash with a nice generous serving of our Cows Creamery Salted Butter (nothing wrong with 84% butter with sea salt get stuck in folks!) add one egg yolk and 3/4's of a cup of grated Avonlea Cheddar. Mix together and place in a 410 degree pre heated oven for 15 mins or until golden brown on top (crispier the top the better). If your feeling confident go ahead and turn on your broiler on high to execute the perfect browned top on the taters. serve with the smoked pork chop and add a dollop of our friends at @stasispreserves pear and roasted garlic chutney just to add a little zing to the chop. good eats folks...

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