The color of cheese

I'd never given a moment's thought to the color of my cheddar before this summer. I just knew that cheddar is white... and once in a while some off-the-wall store has the orange stuff, which honestly didn't taste as good to me. (Some say there is no difference in flavor, but I strongly disagree!)

Then a friend, visiting from the mid-western part of the country, went grocery shopping with me and had a mini-breakdown. In selecting our cheese, she could find no orange cheddar.

"What is it with New York?" she asked. "All you have is white cheddar! I want my orange cheddar!"

I was taken aback! Now, I love cheese. At one point in life I would have said "If you are what you eat, I'm a block of cheese." But honestly...so what if there was no orange cheddar? The white is better anyway! Most of our cheddar comes from Cabot Vermont, and I like to buy food made in our area, so it didn't matter a bit to me if the mid-western states sell almost exclusively orange.

Then, a few weeks later I ended up taking a tour of Cabot Creamery (a little bit of heaven on earth), and someone asked about the color of cheese.

Here are the, um, facts?

According to the tour guide, back during the War for American Independence or thereabouts, the British were changing tax on all imported cheese, so the Americans started adding a bit of carrot juice to color their cheeses, thereby identifying them as their own and not paying taxes on them. The custom lingered, and orange cheese became the norm around the country, until cheese makers in Vermont and other North East locations decided not to bother any more, to just let cheese be cheese. So, white cheddar is now the norm in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, maybe Virginia. Southern and Western states, however, thought something was wrong with white cheese, so to appease them, Cabot makes an orange cheddar using coloring from Annato seed.

Now, I like the sounds of this tale, but on doing further research I never found this same idea from anyone else. There are various theories about why people use the unneeded coloring.

The point of them all is this:

CHEESE IS NOT ORANGE.

Dye is.

You may be wondering - WHO CARES?

Well, I do. And my friend who brought up the topic does, in a twisted way. I'm sure it matters to other people too, but they are to proud to admit it.

I still feel sorry for those people from the rest of the country who just can't handle the fact that cheese is white, they are the ones who are living with an illusion. Yummy, tasty, white cheddar. I have a block of Wicked Sharp cheddar straight from the creamery in the fridge... I think I'll go have a slice.

The Real Deal

NOTE: I do not mean to attack anyone who lives with and prefers orange cheese. This article and my point of view are meant in fun.

Perogies

Apparently, the world has yet to determine perogies' exact global origin. If you google them, you'll find them described as Polish or Ukrainian food, but also served in Russia and Hungary... all over that area off the world. The recipe I originally started with is Ukrainian. They can be filled with just about anything from savory to spicy to sweet. I've never had any but the (americanized, I'm sure) potato-filled perogie, and they are comfort food! Not something terribly quick to whip up for lunch, but if you have an extra pair of hands in the house to help you assemble them before boiling, the process isn't that bad. A good idea would be to make a huge batch at a time and trow the extra in the freezer for next time.

At some point I want to try other varieties, especially some fruit filled, sprinkled with sugar and served with apple sauce for dipping. I'm sure you'll hear about it when I do.



Ukrainian Perogies


Dough

2 C flour
1/2 C warm milk
1/2 C mashed potato
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs oil

Filling

1/2 C finely chopped onion
1/4 C butter
2 C mashed potato
1 C grated white* cheddar

Mix all dough ingredients, adding a little more milk if it's too dry. Knead on a lightly floured surface until it forms a ball. You want it to be just slightly sticky. Place in an oiled bowl and cover with a towel to rest 30 minutes.

Sautee the onion in butter until well cooked and starting to brown. Mix with potato and cheese. If you use hot mashed potato, allow to cool before filling perogies.

Set a pot of water to boil (the wider it is the more you can cook at once).

Roll out dough very thin on lightly floured surface (0.125" to be precise! Yeah... measure that!) adding as little four as possible to keep it from sticking. Cut 3" circles with a wide glass/biscuit cutter.

Press scraps into a ball, and allow to rest again so they can be re-used. The dough relaxes significantly after 15 minutes or more.

Scoop 1 1/2- 2 tsp filling into each circle (you'll figure out how much is too much pretty quick, it'll gush out the corner!), fold and press closed. The dough sticks together very well compared to some other pastries. The first time I made these I thought they'd pop open, but they don't.


Place in boiling water to cook. Stir once to keep them from sticking to the bottom. They will float after about 2 minutes. Cook about a minute longer, then remove with a slotted spoon. Sprinkle cooked perogies with melted butter and toss. You can either eat them now as a ravioli-like dumpling, or....


.... fry them until golden, as we do. I actually like them either way, but most of my family only likes them fried.
I like to serve them as a main dish with veggies, for a hearty meatless meal.


* See my upcoming post on the thrilling topic of CHEESE coloring.

Flavors of the Season: Caramel Apple Cider

Now that you all know how to make good raw cider, here's something you can do with the pasteurized stuff (those of you who don't have a juicer) to make it taste better. I admit I used our home-made cider because, well, that's what we have.

Caramel Apple Cider

1/4 C heavy cream
1/4 C brown sugar
3 C cider
1/2 C water

Whip together till stiff: 1/2 C heavy cream
1 Tbs brown sugar

Bring the cream and brown sugar to a boil and add water and cider. Heat until steaming. Serve in mugs, topped with caramel whipped cream.

Introducing: The Juicer!

I am slowly growing to love Fall. Growing up, summer was such a whirl of hard labor and working at the family produce stand that we felt as though we didn't get a 'real' summer. And all fall meant was that winter is about to get here. Boo, hiss. Now though, I've been able to experience summer for all its worth, and by the time fall gets here, I'm ready for it. I have the time to really take in and savor some of the things fall brings. Like apples.


Here in upstate NY, apple orchards abound. In my family, buying apples means buying directly from the growers, which I love. I recently acquired a juicer from a friend (on loan) and when I discovered home made cider I was thrilled! Selling unpasteurized cider is no longer legal, (which annoys me NO end. Pasteurized can not even be COMPARED with the real thing.) so making our own seems like a good option! A bushel box like the one above costs $6, making it very affordable.




In case you every wondered what to do with all the giant pockets on the front of your apron, this picture illustrates their versatility! I fill my pockets with the apples we store in the unheated utility room, and carry them to the kitchen, bulging and laughing at myself.

And now, HERE it is! My (borrowed) industrial Champion juicer!


Oh, and that pitcher of heavenly foamy stuff is fresh cider; sweet, tangy, full of goodness and NOT pasteurized. It doesn't last long around here.

Teisen Cymraeg

AKA Welsh Tea Cakes. I've made them twice now, and they are very nice. They aren't the gorgeous dainty little desserts you'd find in a magazine, they are more like comfort-food. And so I shall share the recipe. It should be noted that this picture is NOT mine, but the cakes look exactly like what this recipe makes.

3 C flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 C butter
1 C dried currants
1/2 C sugar
1 egg
3-4 Tbs milk
extra sugar
Butter, honey or marmalade for topping.

Cut butter into dry ingredients. In a small bowl, mix together currants, sugar and egg. Add to dry ingredients. Sprinkle in milk 1 Tbs at a time, mix until all ingredients are moist and dough almost cleans the sides of bowl. Gather dough into a ball and roll out 1/2" thick*. Cut into 2 1/2" circles. Cook on a lightly greased griddle or skillet about 3-5 minutes until golden brown. Turn and cook on the other side, then roll in sugar.

*You probably want them a tad thinner than that, or you might end up with slightly doughy centers. I was amazed that they cooked in so short a time as it is.
Also, the recipe says this makes 5 dozen. Following the instructions exactly, I got two. I don't know why the difference, but it's so.
These cakes are best fresh with strong unsweetened tea (imo), but left-overs are excellent when slightly toasted. They also freeze very well.

My Favorite Baked Potato Soup

Cold-weather comfort food.

The picture is not mine, but it's the same recipe with garnish. Mmm. Looks good.

2/3 C butter
2/3 C flour
7 C milk
4 large potatoes, baked, cooled, peeled and diced. (about 4 cups)
4 green onions, chopped
12 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 1/4 C shredded cheddar cheese
1 C sour cream
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

In a large soup kettle, melt butter (I put the onions in here, I like them well cooked). Whisk in flour, heat and stir until smooth. Gradually add milk. Stir until thickened. Add potatoes, bring to a boil stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and stir until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
Makes 2 1/2 quarts, 8-10 servings.

Maple Walnut Apple Cobbler

6 C sliced tart apples (4 large)
8 Tbs butter
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C buttermilk or plain yogurt (In a pinch, I've also used vanilla yogurt, and part sour cream.)
1 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 C maple syrup
1 C chopped walnuts

Lightly grease a deep 8 or 9 inch square pan (I double the batch in a 15x10) and place the apples in it. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350*
Beat together butter and sugar until smooth. Add buttermilk, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and vanilla and beat again. Spoon the batter - it should be rather stiff- over the apples in the pan, using a spatula dipped in water to spread it.
Pour the maple syrup over the batter, then sprinkle with nuts.



Bake for 55-60 minutes, covering with aluminum foil, shiny side up, after the first 30 minutes. Let set at least 20 minutes before serving.

I am a person who would never in a million years buy imitation maple syrup for my pancakes. At the same time, the real stuff is insanely expensive (but I know it's actually a fair price, a LOT of work goes into a little syrup) and we haven't had any in the house for quite a while. (I miss making our own! :-( ) So for this recipe, I did the unthinkable. I made fake syrup. For this recipe, it works beautifully.

2 C sugar
1 C water
1 tsp maple flavoring

Heat water and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add flavoring.