I keep meaning to do a winter gift guide, but all I
want to do is talk about Rush Creek. It is the meaning of Christmas, the star
of David, the liquid heart of Santa – yes, yes, it is all of these things
rolled into a cheese and bound with bark.
Here’s why:
1. Rush
Creek is made by Uplands Cheese in Wisconsin, the same folks who make Pleasant
Ridge Reserve -- easily the most decorated cheese in America.
2. Cheesemaker
Andy Hatch spent months perfecting this beauty. He uses unpasteurized milk so
he had to develop a slow maturation process in order to legally sell these
wheels (raw milk cheese must age 60 days or more).
3. If
you’ve had Vacherin Mont d’Or, this is the U.S. equivalent – it’s made by hand
using extraordinary milk from well-loved cows.
4. Rush
Creek has the texture of unset pudding – its center is molten. You will want to
spoon it into your lover’s mouth. Check out the New York Times photo.
If you have a trusted cheesemonger, ask him or her to
order this cheese for you. Prepare to spend about 30 bones, and don’t blanch
at the thought. Andy Hatch has a baby, and he needs to earn a living.
Cheesemaking is hard work – it requires milking cows twice a day, tending the
land on which they graze, and then becoming trained in the art of hand-crafted cheese.
When you eat Rush Creek, you are eating a little
bit of Van Gogh.
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| For a perfect pairing, eat Rush Creek with a starry Riesling. ( Photo by Stefania Patrizio) |
