Vegetarian Suitable Cheese & Raw Milk Cheese Chart

The Lady gets a lot of requests for cheeses that meet specific dietary needs. After goat cheese (ych…) the next two most requested cheese categories are “Vegetarian Suitable” and cheeses made from raw milk for those following the raw food lifestyle.

The Lady decided to build a chart to help these two lifestyle enthusiasts enjoy cheese more.

CHEESE	VEGETARIANSUITABLE	RAW/PASTEURIZED	SOURCE
Applewood Ilchester	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Asiago		Pasteurized	Cow
Beechers Flagship	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Beechers Flagship Reserve	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Beechers Marco Polo	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Beemster Mustard	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Beemster Vlaskaas	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Beemster Xo	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Berthaut Epoisses		Pasteurized
Black RiverGorgonzola	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Bleu d’Auvergne		Pasteurized	Cow
BlueShropshire		Pasteurized	Cow
BlueberryStilton	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Brescianella Aged
CabecousFeuilles		Pasteurized	Goat
Cablanca Goat Gouda	Yes	Pasteurized	Goat
Caerphilly Somerdale	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Cahill’s IrishPorter	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Cambozola	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Cantalet	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Castello Blue			Cow
Capretta
Champignon	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Chaumes	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Comte	Yes	Raw	Cow
CranberryWensleydale	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Cremier deChaumes
Crottin			Goat
Delice deBourgogne		Pasteurized	Cow
Denhay FarmhouseCheddar		Pasteurized	Cow
Double GloucesterSomerdale	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Emmenthaler	Yes	Raw	Cow
Explorateur		Pasteurized	Cow
Florette		Pasteurized	Goat
Fol Epi	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Fontina d’Aosta		Raw	Cow
Fourgerus		Pasteurized	Cow
Forme d’Ambert		Raw	Cow
Fresh Mozzarella curd		Pasteurized	Cow
Fromager d’Affinois		Pasteurized	Cow
Gaperon Garmy		Pasteurized	Cow
Gorgonzola Dolce		Pasteurized	Cow
Gorgonzola Mountain Aged		Pasteurized	Cow
Grana Padano		Raw	Cow
Greens of Glastonbury	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Gruyere	Yes	Raw	Cow
Humboldt Fog	Yes	Pasteurized	Goat
Iberico		Pasteurized	Cow, Sheep, Goat
Idiazabal		Raw	Sheep
Jarlsberg		Pasteurized	Cow
Kerrygold Blue		Pasteurized	Cow
Le Chatalain		Pasteurized	Cow
Livorot			Cow
Mahon		Raw	Cow (may have up to 5% sheep)
Manchego		Pasteurized	Sheep
Maytag Blue	Yes	Raw	Cow
Mimolette		Pasteurized	Cow
Morbier		Raw	Cow
Muenster Fleur de Sur
Ossau-Iraty		Pasteurized	Sheep
Parmigano-Reggiano		Raw	Cow
Parrano	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Pecorino Romano		Raw	Sheep
Pecorino Toscano		Pasteurized	Pecorino
Piave Vecchio		Raw	Cow
Pierre Robert		Pasteurized	Cow
Pont l’Eveque		Pasteurized	Cow
Provolone (Hanging)			Cow
P’tit Basque		Raw	Sheep
Quicke’s Bad Ass Goat Cheddar		Pasteurized	Goat, really nasty goat
Raclette	Yes	Raw	Cow
Red LeicesterSomerdale	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Rembrandt Aged Gouda	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Ricotta Salata		Raw	Sheep
Robiola Di Rocc		Pasteurized	Goat
Robiola 2 Milk		Pasteurized	Goat & Sheep
Robiola 3 Milk		Pasteurized	Goat, Sheep, Cow
Rogue Crater Lake	Yes	Raw	Cow
Rogue Echo Mtn.	Yes	Raw	Cow
Rogue Grape Leaf	Yes	Raw	Cow
Rogue Oregon Blue	Yes	Raw	Cow
Oregon Smoked Blue	Yes	Raw	Cow
Roquefort Societe		Raw	Sheep
Roth Kase Grand Cru Gruyere	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Roth Kase Grand Queso	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Roth Kase Petit Swiss	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Rozaire Brie de Nangis	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Saint Agur		Pasteurized	Cow
Saint Albray	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Saint Andre	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Soignon Chevrion Buche	Yes	Pasteurized	Goat
St. Marcellin
St. Maure		Raw	Goat
Stilton Blue	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Taleggio		Pasteurized	Cow
Tomme de Savoie	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Valdeon		Pasteurized	Goat & Sheep
Valencay		Raw	Goat
W.V. Brindisi	Yes	Raw	Jersey Cow
W.V. Perrydale	Yes	Raw	Jersey Cow
Winey Goat		Pasteurized	Goat

 

This list is comprised primarily of the cheeses The Lady sells in her kiosk and while not yet complete (it will be updated as more information is found), it’s a start to help all those cheeselovers who are vegetarians and/or raw foodies…

Istara Family of Cheeses – Part Three – Kaikou, Chistou and P’Tit Pyrenees

To conclude this series, I decided to combine the three least known cheeses from the Istara Family of Cheeses. In no way, is this meant as a slight; nor does it diminish the worth of these fine Basque cheeses.

Another Sheep’s Milk cheese from Istara, Kaikou is a slightly salty hard cheese, with piquant notes of sheep’s milk and overtones of olive oil, wild herbs and summer grasslands. (Terroir rears its lovely head one more time in the land of European cheeses…there must be a Monk somewhere in the neighborhood as well…) It is aged for a minimum of six months and is recognizable both for its rustic appearance and its rippled golden brown rind.

Kaikou’s texture is firm and almost crumbly with a distinctive taste.

Again, this cheese would pair well with black cherries…it must be the sheep thing here that creates the bridge to cherry preserves. Anything that includes black cherries makes the Lady one happy cheesemonger.

This feline foodie gives Kaikou 3 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving suggestions: In addition to going well with black cheery preserves, it also pairs well with quince paste. You can cube it and add it to a salad or shave it over your favorite gratins.

Wine Pairings: A sweet white wine such as Jurancon or a full-bodied Cab.

Source: Sheep’s milk.

 

Chistou is the newest cheese from Istara and has a nice twist: it is 50% sheep milk and 50% cow’s milk. Both milks are pasteurized and BGH-free (as are all Istara cheeses).

Chistou is a semi-soft/semi-hard cheese with a supple body encased in a natural rind, again typical of Basque cheeses. The flavor is tender with fruity nuances. It is smooth and pleasing and sure to satisfy a cheese novice as well as the most sophisticated connoisseur.

I give Chistou 4 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving Suggestions: This is a table cheese that works best as an appetizer or as a cheese course served before dessert.

Wine Pairings: Pair this cheese with an Oregon Pinot Noir and everyone will be happy.

Source: Equal amounts of Cow and Sheep’s milks

 

P’Tit Pyrenees also combines cow and sheep milk as Chistou, only in a smaller version (like P’tit Basque). It is fragrant and has a melt-in-your-mouth appeal.

As with Chistou, I give P’Tit Pyrenees 4 Paws out of 4 Paws…yep…cause that’s all I’ve got…I know a fellow observer living with The Lady’s mother who has six toes on his front paws…his name is Hemingway, some connection to Ernie’s cats in Key West…of course, this has absolutely nothing to do with cheese, just a little free-association going on, I suppose…back to the land of cheese from the Pyrenees. Another reason for 4 Paws is that I enjoy a little bovine with my ovine.

And as long as I am free-associating, doesn’t it surprise the heck out of you that such a warlike people (the Basque are a militant crowd…they prefer the term  “nationalistic” – and in the defense of the Istara cheese producers, there is less support for the Basque movement among the French Basque than among the Spanish Basque) could produce such sublime cheeses…beats the heck out of me…kind of like the Japanese who on the one hand have origami and bonsai and on the other hand embrace hari-kari…go figure…

Basque trivia: I am wading into dangerous territory here aka, what I am about to discuss may piss off The Brain and subject me to a nasty transmission from the Mothership…oh well. Did you know that the origin of the Basque language is unknown and has few or no similarities to the Indo-European languages written and spoken in all the regions and countries around the Basque regions in the Pyrenees? There are many theories as to why this is and where the Basque language originated. That sneaky buddy of mine known as The Man seems to have tumbled once more to my origins while analyzing the Basque language with The Lady. I overheard him telling The Lady that one theory is that the Basque descendents actually came from the Lost Continent of Atlantis. How in the world does he figure this stuff out? Everyone on the Mothership knows that Atlantis was originally populated by my ancestors…oops…my head just buzzed…The Brain is calling and his buzzing sounds angry…

Serving suggestions: As an appetizer with fruits or go commando and drizzle it with orange blossom honey and call it dessert. And here’s a surprise, it goes well with Black Cherry Preserves…I know…I’m as shocked as you are…

Wine Suggestions: I would love to pair this with any of the Temecula Valley medium to robust reds. That little-known wine producing area of Southern California is producing some decent wines these days. (The Lady played in a poker tournament there a few years back and made her first final table…woohoo…)

Source: Bovine and Ovine Milks in equal parts.

Not sure what cheese will grab my fancy next…been so busy reviewing cheese, I’ve missed some naps…time to curl up and catch a few zees…this feline foodie is signing off the computer and will be dreaming of ways to stowaway to Wisconsin with The Lady.

Istara Family of Cheeses – Part Two – P’Tit Basque

 

Istara's P'Tit Basqu

 

Made From Raw Milk

 Istara’s P’Tit Basque is a new addition to The Lady’s cheese kiosk and her customers love it!!

As the name suggests, this is a small-sized cheese weighing about one and a quarter pounds and standing about three inches high. It has the basket weave rind similar to Manchego and Iberico (the basket weave comes from the impressions left by the baskets used to drain the curds of these cheeses). This is about all it shares in common with those cheeses other than all three are also made from sheep milk.

This cheese may be small in stature, but it’s a terrific cheese. It is sweet and salty and pleasant on the tongue. As it melts it leaves a nice after taste. P’tit Basque is aged only about seventy days. It has a more yellow paste and lacks the complexity of its older, more mature “cousins”. It might be thought of as a “gateway” cheese…to introduce you to sheep cheese before graduating to the more flavorful and sheepy Manchego or Iberico.

Before shipping it is coated with a thin plastic film to keep the moisture in the cheese. Due to its size, it would dry out more rapidly than its larger cousins. The Lady has mentioned that wheels she uses for display become lighter in weight over time…her guess is that a bit of moisture is lost. As a result of this discovery, she rotates her display wheels more frequently than she did in the past.

The farmers that make this cheese enjoy serving it with a black cherry preserve. The Lady loves cherries and enjoys most anything served with black cherry preserves. This cheese is no exception.

Bit of trivia: Because of the mountainous terrain of the Basque country, bikes are the preferred mode of transportation. As a result, the Basque area has become famous for the Orbea bike which is a favored bicycle in the Tour de France competition…who knew…who cares???

I give P’tit Basque 3 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving suggestions: Try this cheese with a pate of suricata Suricata suricatta schmeared on top and add some of those black cheery preserves…yummy…ok, I don’t really care about the cherries and suricata Suricata suricatta can be schmeared on just about anything this feline foodie eats…

Wine Pairings: Bordeaux, Amontillado, Chateauneuf de Pape

Beer Pairings: Amber ales, Pilsner

Source: Sheep’s Milk

Istara’s Family of Cheeses – Part One – Ossau Iraty

Istara's Ossau-Iraty

Legend has it that Aristee, the sheep herder son of Apollo created this cheese.

 

Today the best version of this cheese is produced by the Benedictine Monks of the Belloc Abbey in the Western Pyrenees. You may recall my thoughts about why Monks produce the best cheeses, wines and liqueurs and based on this cheese, the defense rests…

This French semi-firm cheese is probably the least known of the AOC designated cheeses, a designation it received in 1980. As of the late 1990s there were only about 2000 farmers producing the milk for this exquisite cheese. This is a creamy and nutty cheese with a gentle richness that is quite pleasing. Its rind is edible with a slightly tart aftertaste. The cheese is a soft, light ivory color with the fragrance of toasted hazelnuts. To develop the nutty flavor and fragrance, it should be aged for at least ninety days.

This cheese is so pleasing to the palate that it can be served before or after dinner; actually it can be served before and after dinner.

The Lady’s friend, John, claims this as his favorite cheese. John has very good taste in this feline foodie’s humble opinion…and I’m not blowing smoke…well, maybe a little…

A bit of trivia: In Pays Basque and Bearn, the nickname of Ossau Iraty is “farmer’s dessert”.

I give Istara’s Ossau Iraty 4 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving suggestions: Excellent as a table cheese with a marmalade or fig spread such as Ficoco or Dalmatia Fig-Orange Spread. It also goes well with proscuitto and a baguette…of course, what doesn’t go well with proscuitto and baguettes…nothing in this feline foodie’s book of “what goes well with…”.

Wine pairings: Margaux or a smoky Pouilly-Fume

Fat content: 50%

Awards: 2006 World Cheese Award

Source: Raw Sheep’s’ Milk; primarily the milk of the Manech naiser ewes

Up next: Istara’s P’tit Basque