This month we’re featuring our very popular City Goat. The milk from the city goat comes from the farm of Todd McDonald near Freemont, Michigan.  Working with Todd and our friend and consultant, Ivan Larcher, we discovered that by changing the timing of the various feed rations the goats are getting, the proteins, fats and overall happiness of the animals has risen. Needless to say, our happiness rises with it. The butterfat of the goats is now running about 4% which results in a richer, better flavored City Goat.  To make the City Goat, we pasteurize the milk, then add our cultures to the milk and allow it to ripen for about 7 hours at which point we add our rennet and leave the milk for another 13-16 hours until the proper acidity level has been reached. We then cut the curd and gently hand ladle the curd into cheese molds. The cheeses are allowed to drain overnight then submersed in a brine solution for 40 minutes, set out and allowed to drain overnight again. The cheese are unmolded wrapped and sent out the next day. We wrap the City goats in breathable paper to allow the cheese to naturally dry and change without the interference of plastic.

To welcome in the new president, Josh has created BARACKY ROAD gelato.  Rich vanilla gelato with handmade chocolate chips, roasted virginia peanuts and handmade Zingerman’s Bakehouse marshmallows. Josh blends and tempers two types of chocolate to create large chips of chocolate that hold together in the gelato without the usual waxiness of other chips. This special make flavor is only available from January 12 through January 31.  If you’d like to order this flavor and you’re not in the area, fear not, mail order will offer it prior to the inaguration in a “Joe Six Pack” box, so you can share it with friends.  Taste You Can Believe In!

This month we’re featuring our very popular City Goat. The milk from the city goat comes from the farm of Todd McDonald near Freemont, Michigan.  Working with Todd and our friend and consultant, Ivan Larcher, we discovered that by changing the timing of the various feed rations the goats are getting, the proteins, fats and overall happiness of the animals has risen. Needless to say, our happiness rises with it. The butterfat of the goats is now running about 4% which results in a richer, better flavored City Goat.  To make the City Goat, we pasteurize the milk, then add our cultures to the milk and allow it to ripen for about 7 hours at which point we add our rennet and leave the milk for another 13-16 hours until the proper acidity level has been reached. We then cut the curd and gently hand ladle the curd into cheese molds. The cheeses are allowed to drain overnight then submersed in a brine solution for 40 minutes, set out and allowed to set overnight. The cheese are unmolded wrapped and sent out the next day. We wrap the City goats in breathable paper to allow the cheese to naturally dry and change without the interference of plastic.

To welcome in the new president, Josh has created BARACKY ROAD gelato.  Rich vanilla gelato with handmade chocolate chips, roasted virginia peanuts and handmade Zingerman’s Bakehouse marshmallows. Josh blends and tempers two types of chocolate to create large chips of chocolate that hold together in the gelato without the usual waxiness of other chips. This special make flavor is only available from January 12 through January 31.  If you’d like to order this flavor and you’re not in the area, fear not, mail order will offer it prior to the inaguration in a “Joe Six Pack” box, so you can share it with friends.  Taste You Can Believe In!

Learn to make mozzarella-Our most popular class where you learn to make mozzarella from milk, then you get to stretch mozzarella curd into balls, a braid surrounded by fresh greek myrtle leaves and then we make burratas which are mozzarella balloons filled with cream. You’ll leave with enough mozzarella for a party. Class size is very limited so reserve now!

NEW CLASS! Gelato Making for the Kids!  If you’re looking for a fun idea for the winter break, Josh will be teaching a hands on gelato making class in December. We’ll team up in small groups to develop some REALLY unique flavors. Cost is $25 for a two hour class. Ages 9-13

In honor of the upcoming White House changing of the guard, we’re offering an extremely limited gelato run of Baracky Road. Chocolate gelato with marshmallows and toasted virginia peanuts. (Mcandy Cane is still available under the name of Peppermint)

Great Lakes Cheshire has arrived and is available at Zingerman’s Deli and the Creamery-Great Lakes Cheshire is our only raw milk hard cheese made from a recipe that dates back hundreds of years. Cheshire is related to cheddar, with a different texture and a sharper bite. These cheeses are aged anywhere from 60 to 120 days. The cheese has a natural rind with no plastic or wax coating, so as you get closer to the rind the flavor becomes more musty.

I like fruit baskets as much as the next guy, but…for a totally different spin you can send a loved one a variety pack of gelato, which includes our award winning chocolate, peppermint, vanilla, peanut butter, argentinian caramel and local fruit strawberry. Just click on the link gelato by mail

Finally, my favorite winter snack is spicy Liptauer cheese on caraway rye bread and a pint of Guiness-well, we’ve got everything but the beer. Available at the deli, the Creamery and through mail order. Liptauer by mail

Learn How to Make Mozzarella  Saturday December 6th and Saturday December 13th we’ll be starting up with our popular mozzarella classes. Learn how to make mozzarella starting with milk and learn how to stretch mozzarella curd into fresh balls, mozzarella braids with myrtle leaves and the tricky burrata. For details visit the “Cheese Shop” page.

The return of the Chelsea!  Back from a long vacation, reworked and better than ever, this full flavored goat cheese is great as is or topped with red pepper and very quickly broiled. The chelsea is a log ranging from 10-12 ounces and aged from two to four weeks (they can be aged out longer). It is coated with a rind of geotrichum candidum which is a golden butter colored mold which gives the cheese it’s distinct flavor.

Give the Gift of Gelato  Through the holiday, you can send friends or family a six pack case of our award winning gelato. This months package includes our award winning Chocolate, refreshing Peppermint, real Peanut Butter, Strawberry made from local farmer’s market fruit, rich Dulce de Leche, and our very strong flavored Vanilla. gelato by mail

We’re going Liptauer Crazy  This hungarian specialty is available through the holiday. Our real Cream Cheese, two kinds of paprika, garlic, fresh ground telicherry pepper, caraway and anchovies help make this a great spread to slather on hearty pumpernickel bread and wash down with a dark ale while watching the bowl games. liptauer by mail

It’s not too late to ship gelato for thanksgiving, but it’s close. Monday and Tuesday are the last days to have the Thanksgiving Gelato Box shipped. Josh has created a fantastic collection of flavors that go great on pies, like Cinnamon, Pumpkin, Vanilla, and our award winning Chocolate. Plus a last chance taste of Michigan summer with possibly the best Blueberry Sorbet you’ll ever taste and the unique, slightly exotic Paw Paw.  If you’ve never had the chance to taste a Paw Paw, this is your opportunity. gelato by mail

Calling all Hungarians! Zingerman’s Creamery Liptauer is our classic version of this Hungarian national spread (I don’t believe that Liptauer has actually ever been formally awarded this status-but maybe it should.) An amazing blend of Creamery Farm Cheese, two types of paprika, garlic, caraway, black pepper, sea salt capers and  touch of anchovy paste. This cheese spread is a natural with caraway rye bread and a pint of hearty ale. liptauer by mail

A dramatic way to serve the Manchester for Thanksgiving is to split the cheese horizontally (unflavored dental floss works extremely well) put a mixture of fig or plum preserve,  toasted nuts and dried fruit on the cut face of the cheese. Place the top back on and cover the entire cheese with puff pastry. You need to seal the puff pastry well to avoid leakage. Then place the cheese in the oven and bake until the pastry is lightly browned and serve. I like to bake it at a low temperature (325) to keep the pastry from puffing out too much and by pulling it out when the pastry is lightly browned, the cheese is softened and not liquified. You can also place the cheese in the freezer for an hour before wrapping it to help keep the cheese from melting too much.

Happy Thanksgiving from the gang at the Creamery.

In spite of it’s fickle nature or possibly because of it, the Manchester is my favorite cheese.  Inspired by a great cheese from southern Wales, the Manchester is a double cream cheese coated with a flavorful mold rind.  A double cream cheese is a cheese produced from milk that has had  cream added to it, so that the resulting cheese is at or above 60% butterfat. 

The mold that grows on the surface is one of the main sources of the uniqueness and somewhat unpredictable nature of the Manchester. The stark white mold that you see on Brie, Camembert and many others is penicillium candidum. It was developed and gained popularity because it is very sturdy and predictable. It is also very aggressive and wards off the development of wild molds (these are the multicolored molds that you may see on many cheeses). Penicillum Candidum also has the property off breaking down proteins as they develop and this is the action that helps make a brie get creamy when ripe. It’s flavor is also somewhat unobtrusive and mild.

The Manchester is coated with Geotrichum Candidum which is buttery yellow in color, does not break down proteins, but does break down fats. Geo as it’s commonly referred to (since everyone seems to pronounce it differently) is not particularly efficient at warding of wild molds, so it is not uncommon to see spots of blue, yellow or brown spots after the cheese has aged several weeks. By breaking down fats, geo releases a tremendous amount of flavor as the cheese ages. It is anything but unobtrusive and at times can challenge the taste buds.

A dramatic way to serve the Manchester for Thanksgiving is to split the cheese horizontally (unflavored dental floss works extremely well) put a mixture of fig or plum preserve,  toasted nuts and dried fruit on the cut face of the cheese. Place the top back on and cover the entire cheese with puff pastry. You need to seal the puff pastry well to avoid leakage. Then place the cheese in the oven and bake until the pastry is lightly browned and serve. I like to bake it at a low temperature (325) to keep the pastry from puffing out too much and by pulling it out when the pastry is lightly browned, the cheese is softened and not liquified. You can also place the cheese in the freezer for an hour before wrapping it to help keep the cheese from melting too much.

To serve the Manchester always let it come to room temperature (this is true for all cheeses)  then try it with plum preserves or chutney on course ground oatcakes.

Gelato has gone airborne through the New Year. That means that you can get or give a gelato sampler case.  To check out the available package just follow Gelato-By-Mail   For a complete description of flavors and what makes them special see our gelato section.  I will say that there is no better combination than our Peppermint and our Dark Chocolate.

Holiday Gathering Gelato Half Gallons-okay it’s a real mouthful, but through the holidays, the Creamery is offering half gallons of Vanilla, Chocolate and our seasonal favorites Peppermint and Pumpkin.

Coming Soon Great Lakes Cheshire! The first of our Cheshires will be ready in early December. This full flavored raw milk cheese will be available in very limited quantities until after the first of the year. As soon as it’s available we’d love to have you come by the Creamery or Zingerman’s Deli for a taste.

When I was growing up, the only thing I knew about Paw Paw was that it was a funny name of a town with an exit on the expressway to Chicago. I’m sure that at some time my father must have explained that the town was named for a fruit that grew in Michigan, but I never saw one and certainly never tried one. The fruit has almost disappeared in this region and I’m pretty sure you can look far and wide and not find anyone making Paw Paw gelato. But through a partnership to rescue this native fruit, Josh has created a fantastic and extremely unique gelato using the very temperamental and difficult Paw Paw. You can go to our gelato page and see Ari’s write up as to the history and complications in handling this tropical tasting fruit.

Also, if you’re not from around Ann Arbor, don’t feel left out. We’ll be offering a direct mailing of a gelato sampler through Zingerman’s Mail Order around the Thanksgiving holiday and Paw Paw is definately one of the flavors offered in that package. We’ll keep you updated on dates and the other flavors.

Growing up in the dairy business, I’ve been reluctant to push non-dairy Sorbets (sort of heresy to a dairy guy). That is until Josh had me taste his two entries into this field. Michigan Blueberry and Michigan Raspberry are without a doubt the most fruity, fresh tasting sorbets I’ve ever tasted. Using a very high percentage of fresh fruit, Josh has captured the essence of the fruit, without the overpowering sweetness that I usually associate with sorbet.

And one more note on the gelato front. Our most popular seasonal flavor has popped up for the fall, Pumpkin. Also making a seasonal appearance is one of my personal favorites, Cinnamon. Using Korintje cinnamon this gelato makes a great side to apple pie for the holiday.

Detroit St. Brick
Born of a love for all things pepper (yes, we even tried to develop a tellicherry black pepper gelato-it was, to put it politely, unpleasant) The Detroit St. Brick is an aged goat cheese with a thin layer of white mold and heavily studded with fresh cracked and ground green peppercorns. This cheese with a kick is great served as is (always serve cheese at room temperature) or with a little effort, you can utilize its versatility to both surprise and excite your family and friends.

Try a thin slice on a burger or a steak and very briefly put it under the broiler. I also love to spice up cooked spinach or arugula by sprinkling in chopped Brick and olive oil just before serving.

The Lincoln Log draws its inspiration from a cheese of the Loire Valley outside Lyons, France. It is a white mold covered goat cheese aged two to three weeks and its uses are nearly endless.

On the simple end, place a thin slice on bruschetta and cover with some roasted red pepper and a little olive oil and place it under the broiler until softened (about 15 seconds). Or take thin slices and dredge them in beaten egg, cover with breadcrumbs and briefly fry them. For this I like to throw the slices in the freezer for a bit so they hold up to the heat in the frying pan. You can then use the deep fried slices to top a salad or serve them as is with chutney or preserves.

Thank you for reading.

All the best,
John

P.S.  Have you ever wanted to share gelato with friends or family outside of the Ann Arbor area, but couldn’t quite figure out how to get it to them safe, sound, & cold?  This holiday season, it’s a snap! Our friends at Zingerman’s Mail Order are now shipping Josh’s hand-made Gelato all over the continental U.S.!  Check it out at: Gelato-By-Mail!

Burrata Beginning in August-Now that tomato season is here, we’re welcoming back our Burrata. If you’ve never had a burrata or heard of a burrata the idea is pretty simple. Take something really good, then add something really, really good.  We take fresh mozzarella, then we shape it into something that resembles a water balloon which is filled with shredded mozzarella and heavy whipping cream and tie the top. To serve it, I cover a dish with lettuce or arugula, cover that with sliced tomatoes and place the burrata in the center. Then slice open the burrata so that the cream and shredded mozzarella seep onto the tomatoes and lettuce, cut up the remaining mozzarella, spred that around, then a little olive oil, sea salt , pepper and spoon it on to a piece of paesano bread. My wife believes that the burrata serves two people, but that requires more discipline than I have.  The burratas are available Friday and Saturday. Because they are extremely perishable, we make a limited supply, so please feel free to give us a call and we’ll reserve them for you. Also, with a day’s notice, we can make them special order for any day of the week.

We have just received a fantastic Lancashire, and while I usually reserve this section to talk about cheeses we make, Lancashire holds very special memories for me and it ties well into tomato season.  I spent a number of months working with a particular cheesemaker in England who was very fond of serving Lancashire on a sandwich for lunch. I mean VERY fond of it, to the point that I believe we ate this sandwich four of the five days a week for three months. Spread Busha Browne’s Banana Chutney on a slice of Farm bread, lay two slices of garden tomatoes on top and cover with a slice of Kirkham’s Lancashire. Place it under the broiler very briefly, i don’t like to fully melt the cheese, i prefer to pull it out when the cheese aspires to melt. As many time as I ate this sandwich, I never tired of it. Alright, that might be a slight exageration. in fact I got very tired of it, but tomato season will end long before you reach that point.

Aubrey’s Green Thumb-Aubrey has planted herbs in front of the shop, so when you pick up your mozzarella, please help yourself to some basil leaves to go with it. There’s also fennel, thyme, rosemary, parsley and I’m sure something I’m missing.

Find us at the Farmer’s Markets

Tuesday 2-7 Ypsilanti Market (in the Key Bank Parking Lot on Ferris and Hamilton)     Wednesday 7-3 Ann Arbor Kerrytown Market  Thursday 3-7  Ann Arbor Westside Market   Saturday 7-3 Ann Arbor Kerrytown Market

After a lot of trial and error (mostly error) we’re finally ready to roll out our naturally smoked fresh mozzarella. I spent much of last summer trying to come up with overly complicated ways to generate a lot of smoke without exposing the mozzarella to the heat. We tried duct work, chimneys, cold smokers, and everything in between, but the results varied from a mess of very smokey melted goo, to a gray ball of cheese that tasted like you were sitting too close and downwind of the campfire.

But, as I all too often discover belatedly, the simpler-the better. We get a good fire going, then douse the flame using wet cherry wood chips, then place the smoldering fire in a cabinet which is filled with fresh mozzarella hanging in mesh bags. The trick is to keep the fire smoldering without the heat. The mozzarella is allowed to smoke for between 45 minutes to an hour and a half, removed and placed in cold brine. After about 5 minutes the cheese is wrapped and ready to go.

I’d like to say that I use cherry wood because it yielded better results than other wood, but the simple fact is that I spent several years living in Michigan’s cherry country and I have a fondness for cherry trees. We did try some other types of wood, but the difference was relatively insignificant.

Smoked Mozzarella is available at the Creamery Shop, the Ypsilanti Farmer’s Market on Tuesday, the Ann Arbor Kerrytown Markets on Wednesday and Saturday and beginning next week the Westside Farmer’s Market on Thursday. Supplies are fairly limited right now, so if you’ve got your heart set on it, please feel free to call us and we’ll make sure to hold some for you. (734) 929-0500.

FREE Gelato Saturday!
This Saturday, June 14th, everyone who visits the Creamery gets a free scoop of gelato. It’s a great way to try out the new summer flavors: Coconut, Lemon or Fresh Strawberry.

UPDATE: Thanks everyone for celebrating the Gelato Kick-Off with us!

Best Cheese of Late
Sometimes, the patron saint of cheesemakers, St. Andrew, seems to shine down and favor one cheese over another. (Many years ago, an English cheesemaker told me that cheesemakers’ patron saint was St. Andrew. I’ve never been able to confirm this, but I’m going to repeat it with this qualification)
Currently, our shining star of late has been the MANCHESTER. Rich and creamy, this cheese goes extremely well on a Nairn’s Oatcake with just a small touch of Busha Browne’s Banana Chutney.

Farmer’s Markets have begun. There is really nothing more fun or gratifying than farmer’s markets, so this year we’ve added the Ypsilanti Market along with the Ann Arbor Wednesday and Saturday market with the thursday Westside Market just a few weeks away. So far, the fresh mozzarella wrapped around layers of Prosciutto di Parma has been a big hit.

New Cheese. We’ve been trying out a new goat cheese at the shop and at the markets and we’re hoping to make it available to our wholesale customers very soon. The french call them Crottins (you don’t want to know what that means) but they are small mold ripen goat cheeses that will become, with time, hard and brittle. They can be split and broiled or after they’ve dried, can be grated on to pasta, a nice twist to parmagiano.

Summer Gelato is here. Starting June 1st Coconut and Lemon Gelato make their return. To further mark the occassion, we’re holding our annual Gelato Kick-off on June 14th. Come to the Creamery and get a FREE scoop of gelato.

Old McDonald’s Goat Farm. We’ve made arrangements with Todd McDonald to make all our goat cheeses using his milk. While Todd is quite young, he does call the farm, Old McDonald’s Farm. We’re extremely excited to partner with Todd and work together to continue to improve the cheese and the milk. More later on Todd’s farm and goats.