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

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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

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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