1. Their milk is naturally emulsified.  The cream never rises to the top; it has to be mechanically separated.
2. More vitamin A, more B vitamins, more Calcium and less cholesterol than Cow’s milk.
3. Smaller casein size makes Goat’s milk easier digested.
4. Worldwide, more people drink Goat’s milk than Cow’s.
5. Goat’s are one of the oldest domesticated animals.
6. Goat’s milk is a rich source for the trace mineral Selenium, which is essential in immune function.
7. Fresh Goat’s milk and Goat Milk Cheese (‘Chevre’) is clean tasting with a hint of minerality, not “goaty” tasting.
8. Both male and female goats have beards.
9. Each girl averages about 3 quarts of milk a day.
10. Goats are inquisitive, intelligent and very friendly.

Farm fresh eggs are truly a different creature than traditional eggs bought in the store.  Here’s some scary facts:

• Most eggs that you buy in the grocery stores are from factory farms where the chickens are treated so horribly that it is absolutely tragic.  I won’t go into it, but recommend you learn more if you are interested.
• There is, generally, a 90 day expiration date on most eggs in the grocery store.  That’s 3 months they can be on the shelf!

Here are some fantastic, beautiful, amazing facts.  Compared to factory farmed, traditional eggs, farm eggs from chickens that are allowed to pasture and peck have:

• 1/3 less cholesterol
• 1/4 less saturated fat
• 2/3 more Vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more Vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene

Michael moved to Denver and got into real estate, but his passion came back to cooking, farming and cheese making.  The Ugly Goat Milk Company is in Parker, Colorado and consists of over 30 goats, chickens, ducks and now four cows!

Because milk is seasonal and cyclical depending on the animal, Michael is rotating the schedules of his goats and cows so we’ll be blessed with his cheese year-round.  The Truffle Cheese Shop has been encouraging Michael to add a cow to his pasture for years.  When a cow named ‘Truffle’ came along, he couldn’t resist!  Whether it’s fate or coincidence, we don’t know!  But, we’re pleased to have his cow’s milk ricotta, feta, and butter to add to the goat’s milk products he brings us.

If you’re lucky, you can purchase a dozen of his fresh farm eggs every week, Tuesdays and Fridays here at The Truffle Cheese Shop!

Ugly Goat Milk Company is an amazing farm.  Actually, we visited Michael Amen on his old property in 2010.  Now he’s got 40 acres to run and play!  He’s added 4 cows, upon our encouragement, many more goats, duck, geese and a few sheep!  Add to the mix 4 dogs, horses, alpacas and a couple llamas and you’ve got yourself a beautiful day at the farm.

We have had such a long wait list in years past that we’ve decided to add another day!

When:  Sunday, May 27th  or  Monday, May 28th

Where:  Meet here at The Truffle Cheese Shop at 8:45am on either day.  Our bus will leave promptly at 9:00am.  We will return to Denver at 3:00pm.

How Much:  $65 per person for adults, $55 for children

Cost includes transportation to and from the farm, personal tour of the farm from our cheese mongers and Farmer Michael, gourmet lunch prepared by our very own Chef Rob Lawler as well as getting to know the goats, chickens, ducks, cows and alpacas.

To reserve your space on the bus, please call the shop at 303-322-7363.  All of our knowledgeable staff can answer questions you may have.

Staff Picks

Tomme Crayeuse • Pecorino Romano • Valdeon

There is a plethora of cheese at the Truffle Cheese Shop! At any given time more than eighty, sometimes more than one hundred unique cheeses are in the case, and they are always changing! As a staff member we have the opportunity to taste, and learn about each and every one that comes in.

This month we asked three of our cheese mongers to share their current favorite cheese. It was difficult to narrow it down to just one, but they did. Each cheese was carefully and individually selected for taste, texture and appearance. All three of the cheeses are excellent choices. We are excited to share them with you. Each would be on all of our top ten lists! As you enjoy the cheese that our staff regards as their favorite, keep in mind the knowledge and experience behind the selection. Everyone that works at The Truffle Cheese Shop has a culinary background and a true love of food – not just cheese!

We included the name and a description of each cheese, as well as a short questionnaire that each staff member filled out with some fun questions and answers. It explains not only why they chose the cheese they did, but it will give you a bit of insight of the person themselves.

The Truffle Cheese Shop hopes you will enjoy the Staff Pick’s, and learn a bit about your local cheese mongers, and the cheeses they chose to share.

The add on item this month is a fantastic pasta from Italy.

Rustichella d’abruzzo Pasta – Some of the finest pasta in the world comes from east of Rome in Abruzzo, Italy. They say the salty Adriatic breezes and mountain spring water is the key. This pasta is made with durum wheat semolina and water – that is the ingredient list.  Enjoy it with your favorite sauce, or just buttered with grated cheese.

Cheese monger: Virginia

What is your favorite cheese that is in The Truffle Cheese Shop now?

Tomme de Crayeuse: This is a pasteurized cow’s milk cheese from the French region of Savoie, along the Italian Alps. It has a rough natural rind, grayish brown in color, developing yellow and white patches as it ages. This cheese ripens from the outside in, so it tends to be creamy near the rind and crumbly in the center. It has an earthy, creamy taste with slight notes of citrus. The flavor intensifies as the cheese ripens, especially near the rind. It is aged about six weeks before going to market.

Why did you choose this cheese? This cheese is everything I look for in a cheese, musty, grassy, and creamy in texture, yet fresh and chalky in the center. The cheese is the perfect age, allowing the variance in texture within the wheel.

What is the best way you like to enjoy this cheese? I love pairing beer and cheese and there is one beer that pairs fantastically with this cheese: La Folie from New Belgium. The creamy, rich cheese cuts through the tart ale wonderfully; the beer brings out the best in the cheese and vice versa. Add a little Zeppelin to the mix, and I’m in paradise.

If you could have a meal anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? I always got Greek island calendars for Christmas when I was younger, and have always dreamed of visiting Santorini. Now that my passion for food has increased dramatically, I imagine enjoying a meal of fresh cheese and vegetables overlooking the ocean on the picturesque blue and white hillside.

What is your favorite thing about working at The Truffle Cheese Shop? My passions lie in the agricultural side of food, as well as cooking and eating. I love sharing my knowledge and information with our customers, and then learning things from them about their travels through Europe and whatnot. I travel vicariously through our customers.

Cheese monger: Bre

What is your favorite cheese that is in The Truffle Cheese Shop now? Valdeon  This is a Spanish blue cheese produced in the Valdeon Valley in the northwest area of the Castilla-Leon region. This cheese is made year-round from a blend of cow or goat’s milk, or a blend of the two. It is a semi-cured cheese that is wrapped in chestnut maple or sycamore leaves, they give the cheese an earthy aroma that adds to the tangy, spicy flavor. This is a strong flavored blue that is very approachable. The paste is an off white color saturated with green-gray veins of bluing throughout.

Why did you choose this cheese? It is sweet, nutty and spicy. It has a lot going on.

What is the best way you like to enjoy this cheese? It is beautiful on a platter because of its perfect bluing and maple leaf wrap. I enjoy it with a fresh baguette; it is just creamy enough to spread.

If you could have a meal anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? Somewhere on the water. In New England we often go clam digging then take our treasures home to make a huge family feast. There is nothing like enjoying fresh seafood while smelling and hearing the water it came from.

What is your favorite thing about working at The Truffle Cheese Shop? Food brings people together. Our cheeses are as unique as our customers and I love finding the perfect cheese for each individual’s taste. My favorite days are when a new cheese arrives and we taste it for the first time, it is like meeting a new friend.

Cheese monger: Miguel

What is your favorite cheese that is in The Truffle Cheese Shop now? Pecorino Romano!   Ours is from Fulvi, the lone and last producer of Pecorino in Rome. This cheese is a hard, salty cheese that was originally made in and around Rome, Italy (although it gets its name not from the city but from the ancient Romans that originally made this cheese). Production was moved almost exclusively to Sardinia in the late 1880’s when the Roman city council prohibited salting of cheese. It is a raw sheep’s milk cheese that was a staple in the diet of the legionaries in ancient Rome. Today it is still made according to the original recipe and is one of Italy’s oldest and best known cheeses. It is made in large wheels, about eighty pounds, and produced only six or seven months of the year. It has a straw white color, and a hard crumbly texture. It has a sharp, nutty flavor with a rich saltiness.

Why did you choose this cheese? It is leagues better than any other Romano I’ve had – tons of fruit and spice flavor, as well as a solid backbone of salt and acidity. It is perfect for cooking and amazing on its own. Also, the wheel weighed almost ninety pounds when it arrived – I now have a grudging respect after struggling with it!

What is the best way you like to enjoy this cheese? With honey, apples, Madeira, and the music of Zapp and Roger.

If you could have a meal anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

I am currently obsessed with the Portuguese Azores. It’s Anthony Bourdain’s fault. On the island of Sâo Jorge, he boiled eggs in a hot spring, ate the rustic bread stew at a community kitchen, and drove two hours to a remote archipelago for a seafood fry. Sounds good to me.

What is your favorite thing about working at The Truffle Cheese Shop? I have a fairly limitless enthusiasm for tasting things and sharing with every one nearby. I think sometimes I can almost overwhelm a customer with new cheeses to taste.   I also think my co-workers are great, despite their cripplingly poor taste in music.

by Virginia Clarkson, Cheesemonger at The Truffle Cheese Shop

The end of winter brings new beginnings for not only Mother Nature, but also dairy farmers. This time of year the young cheeses like Chevre, Mozzarella, Burrata, and ricotta are the best. Spring marks the beginning of the fresh cheese season and the arrival of new animals.

Cow, sheep, and goats all have different cycles of having their offspring which determine when they are ready to be milked. The farmer will usually time the pregnancy over the winter, when only dry grasses are available. This way, when the calf, lamb, or kid is born, the mother is milked when she is eating fresh spring grass. The milk is at its peak of the season about one month after birthing.

In Parker, Colorado, Michael Amen of Ugly Goat Dairy is welcoming a calf as well as several kids to his herd of goats and three cows. Amen’s farm produces goat’s milk Feta, Ricotta, fresh Chevre, and fudge!  The dairy’s three cows provide the cow’s milk Ricotta, Mozzarella, and butter at The Truffle Cheese Shop. All of these products will be available by late March. Amen also offers both raw goat and cow’s milk shares. A diet of fresh grass in the spring gives many rich nuances to his milk, and therefore the cheeses they produce.

Cheeses during the spring are always soft, rich and barely aged. Sometimes they are rolled in ash, others are covered in fresh herbs, but rarely do these cheeses have rinds. Ricotta can be any milk and is the traditional rich and milky paste, perfectly paired with nuts, fruit, or honey this time of year. Mozzarella is a smooth ball of rich, buttery cheese soaked in a brine; add a little cream and ricotta in the center of the ball and it’s Burrata. The fresh, chalky goat’s milk cheese that comes in logs or small bricks is called Chevre and has a sour tang and crisp flavor.

The best way to enjoy these cheeses is to feature them with local, seasonal ingredients that are also very fresh. The spring and summer are great times to use the grill instead of the oven to keep the house cool; the following is a great recipe for grilled stuffed portobello mushrooms.

As spring rolls in and the ground thaws, it is the perfect time to start thinking locally and seasonally as produce and dairy are both available from organic farms all over the state. The use of cheeses from small producers gives the opportunity to not only stimulate the local economy, but also to be sure that your ingredients are of the highest quality.

Spring into action with your own garden or farm share this year and pair it with your favorite fresh cheeses that are utilizing the rich milk of this season.

When we tour cheese makers in Colorado, we do it right.  Over Memorial Day weekend we wait in front of the shop for the big bus to pull up.  We all board and watch cheese videos while we’re driving, get to know each other and bite our nails in anticipation. 

When we arrive, we take a tour of the farm, meet the farmer and the animals.  There’s cheese tasting involved, of course!  Then we all sit down for lunch and enjoy a farm fresh meal.

This October, we will be heading to Beaune, France to tour cheese shops, cheese farms and learn more about the wine capital of the world!  While this trip is fully booked, we are planning trips to the Loire Valley in France as well as regions in Spain, Holland and Italy.  These trips are small groups and intended to be focused on a small area in order to learn and explore more rural parts of the culinary world.

Would you like to come?  Give us a call here at the shop: 303-322-7363 and we can give you more information about our trips.  Or, watch for the date announcements through our newsletter or Facebook page.

Their pepperoni is such a nice surprise over grocery store or pizzeria versions.  It is somewhat spicy with flavors of fennel and paprika.  The fat content is higher (and of higher quality) making it rich and flavorful.  I like to put it on pizza after it comes from the oven so the fat stays in tact.

For more information, visit their website.  Or, come into the shop and sample their meats yourself.  Here’s Rob’s pizza dough recipe!