This Week's Warehouse Tasting

When the Veldhuizens first sent us the new cheese pictured on the left, Stuart gave us no clue as to what type of cheese it might be so we just had to plug in and taste it. Stuart likes to experiment from time to time and we're lucky he does because his curious nature leads to some delicious and unique product.

The mystery cheese, we're calling it Stuart's Special for now, will be on our tasting plate at the warehouse this week but we won't ruin the surprise for you by describing it. Come by Friday or Saturday to try it firsthand.

We'll also have a special batch of Marieke Gouda with cumin seeds in it and San Andreas, a sheep milk cheese modeled after Pecorino from Bellwether Farms.

This Week's Warehouse Tasting

Photo by Flickr user jbelluch

We've long stopped counting on the Easter bunny to bring us treats so in order to celebrate the upcoming weekend, we're featuring some special cheeses to treat ourselves.

First on the plate will be Pure Luck Dairy's June's Joy, which is a great breakfast cheese thanks to the mix of sweet honey and smokey pepper flavoring the creamy goat cheese. We'll also have Shaker Blue from Old Chatham, a 100% sheep milk cheese in the Roquefort style, luscious with plenty of blue veining. And to crown the selection is a truly exceptional cheese, the elegant Mt. Tam from Cowgirl Creamery in California. This buttery, triple-cream round is made with organic milk and has a mellow, earthy taste reminiscent of white mushrooms. If you've never tried this cheese, well, you simply haven't lived.

We'll be open the usual hours at the warehouse (Friday 3pm-6:30pm and Saturday 10am-2pm) so please come spend some time with us. If you decide to play the big bunny to someone else, we'll have Dairymaids gift boxes available and are more than happy to package the cheese for you.

This Week's Warehouse Tasting

All signs are pointing to spring (and quickly to summer): the azaleas have bloomed, birds are chirping and the Houston Dairymaids are plating seasonally appropriate cheeses.

If you're already a fan of the Marieke Gouda, come try our newest batch that's been aged 18-24 months (that's twice as long as usual), giving it an extra rich caramel flavor. A new release from Sweet Grass, the Greystone, will also be on the tasting plate and it's similar to the Camembert-style Green Hill but made with a blend of goat and cow milk. We're also restocked on Pure Luck chevre and burrata so drop by the warehouse this Friday or Saturday!

Get 'Em While You Can: Fresh Burrata

We're super excited to announce that at this week's warehouse tastings we'll have a limited and exceptional batch of fresh burrata available--and when we say exceptional, we really mean it. In the words of our friend and Twitter follower @Que_Linda, "I think it's made from baby dreams and unicorn shavings."

Burrata is a relative of mozzarella. In fact, it's basically mozzarella stuffed with mozzarella--the outer skin is the same pasta filata curd, and the filling is a rough mix of unfinished curd and heavy cream. The producer, La Gioia from California, will make a batch for us on Thursday and it will arrive fresh on Friday. Burrata is very perishable. It lasts about five days, but once you try it we don't imagine you'll have any trouble eating it in time.

We got our hands on some samples last week and it would be no exaggeration to say that all the Dairymaids went nuts for it. The play of textures, the salt content, its milky white--all of it was absolutely perfect. So please come by during our normal hours on Friday and Saturday and try it for yourself.

Grilled Cheese Updates from the City Hall Farmers Market

There are some very easy ways to upgrade your lunchtime sandwich. Add a fancy condiment. Apply some toasted and unusual bread. Or come to the City Hall Farmers Market on Wednesdays and let us make you a grilled cheese.

We've been stationed there for a few weeks now and we wanted to give you an update on how things are going. Pete and Charlotte have been grilling them up to order (they're pros) and although we only have one cheese available each week, we've been swapping them out frequently for variety.

In the past, we've used super smooth Granbury Gold and Sand Creek Gouda and Brick. Back at the warehouse, we gave brie a test drive and this week we'll be using Veldhuizen Green's Creek Gruyere. As always, you have a choice between Slow Dough Harvest or challah and the results are melty and warm like a loving embrace.

Come by for a sandwich and let us know if you have any cheese or condiment requests! We love to hear feedback.