La Tur, Menage a Fromage at Pastoral

La Tur, Menage a Fromage at Pastoral



As I walked into Pastoral cheese store today, Daniel the Fromager directed my attention to a mound of perfectly ready-to-eat La Tur. This three-way cheese is made of goat, cow and sheep’s milk, which gives it remarkable depth, resonating with the varying flavors of these worthy ruminants. The Wife said it reminded her of a cave, and there is a lot of earthy dimension to this cheese, which is made in the Po Valley and suggests an ancient terroir, almost fungal, yet ethereally creamy.

It will probably be gone by now, but if you happen to be in the area of Belmont/Diversey any time soon, it’s worth stopping in to see if any is left, and at about twelve bucks a round, you get a lot of luscious value for your cheese-buying dollar.

Pastoral Artisan Cheese
2945 N Broadway
773.472.4781

Oh, man, that looks and sounds good. So, if it's gone by now, when does it come back? Is it seasonal, or is those once-in-a-lifetime things that has just evaded me forever?

Cynthia wrote:Oh, man, that looks and sounds good. So, if it's gone by now, when does it come back? Is it seasonal, or is those once-in-a-lifetime things that has just evaded me forever?

I'm guessing it will be back -- what they had in stock was at its peak, but I must admit, I was dazzled by several other cheeses they had there today as well. La Tur is a fresh cheese (I think it's aged less than two weeks); The Wife's favorite (and she tends to like harder, more aged cheeses, with nuttier notes) was Shepherd’s Logue from Valley Shepherd Farm in New Jersey -- also well worth a try.

I really like this cheese, too.

As good as it is on its own, drizzled with a little honey and consumed with a slightly sweet wine (2003 Merryvale Semillon, for example) it rises to ethereal heights. Terrific stuff.

It's also been available at Fox and Obel.

My 12 year old and I ate one of these for dessert on wednesday night. It is often available at Whole Foods, at least the one in Deerfield. There are 2 other cheeses that are sometimes available that have similar labels, both of which are thinner and wider, also from Italy. They are all very good and have varying amounts of cow/goat/sheep milk in them. Since they are so fresh and ripe, you have to be careful that they havent turned. Watch out for ammonia odors and mold blooms that are not white. They all price out in the low 20's/lb.

-Will

David Hammond wrote:Shepherds Logue from Valley Shepherd Farm in New Jersey -- also well worth a try.

Hammond,

Picked up a terrific funky washed rind cow's milk cheese, Jasper Hill Farm's Winnimere, at Pastoral. Wrapped in bark, runny soft, verging on Epoisses but with a bit brighter flavor. Winnimere is beer washed with local Vermont micro brew. I forgot to get La Tur, but did pick up a small hunk of Shepherds Logue, though was not on the same page as you, I found it neutral flavored with a slight, and I mean very slight, nuttiness.

Jasper Hill Farm's Winnimere


Daniel was not there, I asked, I was assisted by nice young woman whose friendly enthusiasm offset her tendency to deflect questions to the manager who was busy with a supplier.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:did pick up a small hunk of Shepherds Logue, though was not on the same page as you, I found it neutral flavored with a slight, and I mean very slight, nuttiness.

As I mentioned, The Wife liked this one a lot, but it was mild and a relative lightweight compared to the La Tur.

When I asked owner O'Neill what cheese he thought was the most interesting in his shop, he named Shepherds Logue.

The Jasper Hill in your pic looks fab.

De gustibus, etc.

Hammond

At the Deerfield Whole Foods today they had Rocchetta, which is made by the same people as La Tur. I believe that it is just cow and sheep's milk. It is larger and wider that La Tur, but a bit shorter. I havent cut into this one yet, but I remember it to be similar to the La Tur, but perhaps a bit less dense in the middle. Almost a marshmallowy consistency. Quite good. It was $22.99/lb at WF.

-Will

http://www.caseificioaltalanga.it/prodotti.htm

Oh yeah, I really like Caseificio Alta Langa, the company that produces, among other things, La Tur, Robiola Bosina, Brunet and Rochetta. The cheeses aren't that young, unfortunately -- by the time the store gets them, they're likely about 3-4 weeks old at the very least. Usually the cheeses must be ordered in advance for air shipment from Italy. There are two large importers who supply it - Atalanta in NJ and Cheeseworks in NJ. Both distribute here, though not sure if by truck or air freight.

And if you attended the NRA this week, you could have tried the entire Caseificio line at the Atalanta booth. mmmmmm.

About a year ago I wrote a piece on Winnemere...for a while they changed the cheese so the folks at Whole Foods wouldn't be challenged to package it (too runny). Glad to see it is back to its old form.