Part II of our celebration of Vermont Creamery’s 30th Anniversary year — read more about our visit to the Creamery here, and continue below to learn about Bijou & our special holiday giveaway!
You’ll recall we’ve highlighted Vermont Creamery’s wrinkly cheeses before: Coupole was featured here, and Bonne Bouche here. Bijou is the tiny crown jewel of the collection — literally, “bijou” means jewel in French — a little button of bright, lactic, lightly yeasty and nutty chèvre that is just aged a week before shipping out. At this year’s cheesemakers festival, I attended a vertical tasting seminar where we tasted VC’s fresh crottin side-by-side with Bijou to taste how quickly the geotricum candidum (the mold that creates that wrinkly rind) begins to change the flavors of the milk.
Bijou must particularly be thriving in its new aging rooms; just this year it received a blue ribbon at the American Cheese Society awards, gold at the Fancy Food Show, and gold at the World Cheese Awards. Its petite size makes it hard to share; fortunately it comes two-to-a-pack. 😉
Bijou is perfect for slicing and toasting on a split baguette or baking and serving over greens for a classic French salad. I love it atop roasted beets, drizzled with pomegranate molasses and sprinkled with roasted hazelnuts.
Pair Bijou with a crisp chenin blanc or viognier, or a Belgian white ale. And baguette and hazelnuts.
GIVEAWAY!
And now for our holiday giveaway, sponsored by Vermont Creamery, 34 Degrees and Brooklyn Slate. We’re giving away the prize pack pictured above, including a Brooklyn Slate cheese board, chalk and wood cheese knife; two boxes of 34 Degrees crisps; and one of each of Vermont Creamery’s wrinkly cheeses, bijou, cremont, coupole & bonne bouche.
3 ways to enter the #WrinklesAreSexy + Curdwise Giveaway:
(1) Leave a comment below telling us, what is your favorite holiday cheese?
(2) Leave a comment on our giveaway post on Facebook; and/or
(3) Subscribe to our monthly cheese newsletter.
Contest closes at 11:59pm EST next Wednesday, December 17. (Winner must be a resident of the US.)
Disclosure: We each received the above package to facilitate our review; as always, all opinions are our own.
{ 23 comments }
I like brie warmed, covered in pecans and honey.
I love me some Harbison for the holidays!
Loved the Boune Bouche we had at Thanksgiving this year but I would have to say Kunik for me!
Kunik is always a favorite here, too.
I have become rather fond of eating Haloumi as my holiday cheese. Sadly I end up having to share it though, which is so hard!
My favor holiday cheese is blue
Rolf Beeler Appenzeller and Springbrooks Reading Raclette !
Vacherin!
For the last couple of years I’ve enjoyed bringing a Winnimere to parties, though often my standby is a really nice aged cheddar, along with some appelstroop (particularly with folks’ who just haven’t been thinking that hard about cheese…”Here, try this. Yeah, it’s cheddar, but it’s CHEDDAR.” I find it’s a good way to get people to start peering harder at a cheese case.
Yes! That is so true — it all starts with rocking people’s previous notions of what cheese is, and cheddar is a great starting point. (We like to keep our Winni to ourselves, anyway. ;))
I serve Bonne Bouche with hotpepper jelly, mustard, coarse salt and country pate. Mmmmmm
My favorite cheeses to serve at holiday parties are (baked) brie and camembert. (But I also love goat cheese and cheddar!)
Holiday cheese? We are cheese piggies around here, and wait for no excuse, really, to have all the cheese we please. If I had to claim a certain cheese treat as my holiday favorite it would be the popovers my husband makes around the holidays. Tied closely with a pastry wrapped baked brie with berries, pecans and honey-maple syrup concoction.
We like your philosophy! Cheese needn’t be saved for a special occasion, that’s for sure!
For holidays and anytime, my favorite cheese is aged white cheddar.
Love Murray’s Greensward for the family during the holidays, but when I’m on the go during the shopping rush, a crottin of Bijou for snacking is the best snack ever!
Brie! Wrapped in pastry and baked, or simply spread on a cracker or slice of bread and topped with a dollop of preserves.
I love baked brie!
My favorite is wisconsin cheese
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My favorite holiday cheese is one I’ve only had once. Not sure what it was called, but it was a provolone that had unsalted butter in the middle of it.
I love a brie topped with brown sugar and fruit preserves wrapped in puff pastry and baked until ooey gooey!
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