The Udder Way Artisan Cheese Co. is based in Hamilton, ON and manufactures Snow Peak. Snow Peak is a semi-soft goat's milk cheese with added bacterial cultures to give it a taste akin to raw milk cheeses. Snow Peak is aged up to six weeks to allow the strong flavours to fully develop, and strong is the word. Upon trying this cheese Mrs. ISMOTU asked if I was sure it was supposed to taste that way.
I assumed so. It has a strong tangy-sour flavour that reminds me of yoghurt or sour cream. Although this batch of cheese did sit in the post office for a few days before we were able to pick it up, I really don't think that had any real impact on the cheeses. Snow Peak would be the only one I'd consider susceptible to being too warm so I don't know. The first time we tried this cheese I thought it was very different but I liked it. That was over a week ago and now I'm oscillating. The sour aftertaste seems stronger now and there's almost a hint of blue cheese flavour that I didn't notice before. Overall this was a very interesting cheese, it had a unique flavour and texture, and was something new to me. On the other hand the thin rind was kind of slimy and I think maybe the source of some of the sourness that's putting me off. At any rate Snow Peak is not an everyday cheese, perhaps only an occasional member of a cheese platter.
Tentatively recommended.
No vital stats were recorded on the package. I'm pretty new to this whole blogging thing so I apologize for the low quality of the pictures. I almost always forget I have the ability to take pictures until I've opened everything up and started chowing down. For next month I hope to be more on top of things and take better pictures.
Hi there, this is Tor Krueger, the owner and cheesemaker of The Udder Way Artisan Cheese Co. I read your review with great interest, and I wanted to let you know that our cheese is not supposed to have the flavour profiles you are describing here, I suspect sitting at the post office for a few days is what altered the taste of the cheese. Snow peak is what we call a soft lactic fermentation cheese, and when fresh needs to be refrigerated below 4 Celsius. I am not sure where you are located, but if you are anywhere near Hamilton I would love for you to try and see what it's supposed to taste like. Let me know if that is possible :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your interest. I also had a suspicion that's what happened. Unfortunately that month's box arrived when I was away for a few days so I was unable to pick it up as quickly as I'd like. I would absolutely love to give Snow Peak another try to fully appreciate it's proper taste. Unfortunately I'm in the wilds of Northern Alberta and so Hamilton's not in close range at the moment. If I'm ever out that way though I'll definitely seek out "The Udder Way Artisan Cheese Co." Thanks for reading.
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