{"id":30118,"date":"2017-04-24T00:35:06","date_gmt":"2017-04-24T04:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=30118"},"modified":"2021-12-08T17:34:04","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T22:34:04","slug":"great-28-pairings-cheese-fruitcake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/great-28-pairings-cheese-fruitcake\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great 28 Pairings: Cheese + Fruitcake"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Great 28 was featured in our Cheese+ 2017 issue<\/a>. Check out 27 other pairings here<\/a>.<\/em><\/h4>\n

It\u2019s a New Year\u2019s tradition: In early January citizens of Manitou Springs, Colo., gather in a park armed with the fruitcakes they received during the holiday season. There, in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, locals toss the cakes\u2014by hand, by slingshot, by pressurized air gun, even by cannon\u2014hoping to win the year\u2019s trophy for the farthest-flung confection.<\/p>\n

Oh fruitcake, where did you go wrong? Maybe it was the moment somebody decided to sprinkle you with fluorescent candied fruits. Or perhaps it was in 1985, when talk-show host Johnny Carson dubbed you \u201cthe worst gift.\u201d (\u201cThere is only one fruitcake in the world,\u201d he quipped, \u201cand people keep sending it to each other.\u201d)<\/p>\n

But love \u2019em or hate \u2019em, these dense, divisive desserts shine alongside cheese. After all, the two foods have something in common\u2014they\u2019re both ancient preservation methods.<\/p>\n

From the Romans to the Crusaders, troops munched on spoil-safe patties made from dried fruit, barley mash, wine, honey, and nuts during long journeys. From these early cakes sprang a family tree of European varieties, expensive and labor-intensive mixtures that were aged just in time for holiday feasts.<\/p>\n

And old world or new, fruitcakes are achingly sweet\u2014which is another reason they\u2019re ideal alongside our favorite salty snack. The pairing is logical, says Jane Stammers, head cook at Sheffield, U.K.\u2013based fruitcake company Tipple Tails. \u201cIf you\u2019re happy eating fruits and nuts with cheese, it\u2019s not difficult to see why fruitcake works so well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yorkshire Christmas Cake<\/h2>\n

This version may be the most likely predecessor to our Technicolor incarnation, but don\u2019t blame the British. Traditional Yorkshire Christmas cake is darker, jam-packed with raisins and currants, and full of flavor. Ideally made at least four weeks before the holidays, loaves are wrapped in brandy-soaked cheesecloth, which is then periodically resoaked and rewrapped so the cake slowly ages, absorbing the alcohol. \u201cThe flavor develops with maturation,\u201d says Ursula Evans, author of the cookbook Fruitcake<\/em> (Middle Farm Press, 2015), which offers 60 variations on the British original.<\/p>\n

In the north of England, \u201cChristmas cakes\u201d have long been matched with wedges. \u201cThe pairing seems traceable at least to the Victorian era in Yorkshire,\u201d says Andy Swinscoe, owner of The Courtyard Dairy<\/a> shop in Settle, U.K., which sells curated cheese and fruitcake combos. Northern English wheels with a sharp finish and crumbly texture are the usual picks, with their \u201clactic bite that offsets the rich, dense, figgy, curranty notes of a proper boozy fruitcake,\u201d Swinscoe says. For cakes with a higher concentration of cherries or other red fruits, try a creamier, more pungent cheese, such as a Stilton. (Bonus: Its peppery notes complement the ginger and nutmeg in the fruitcake.)<\/p>\n

Recommended Pairings<\/em><\/p>\n

Fortmayne Dairy Richard III Wensleydale + traditional Christmas cake<\/p>\n

Stichelton Dairy Stichelton<\/a> + The Fortnum’s Fruit Cake<\/a><\/p>\n

Panforte<\/h2>\n

\u201cSome people call panforte the ultimate PowerBar,\u201d says Janice Thomas, owner of Wisconsin-based confectioner Savory Spoon. She\u2019s been making the dense, fudgy treat since a trip to Siena, Italy, where it\u2019s been a staple since the 13th century. Indeed, what this fruitcake lacks in flour it makes up for in dried fruits such as prunes, apricots, and figs, with a generous helping of sugar and honey that ups the sweetness considerably. That\u2019s why Thomas opts for a balancing salty blue. Offer little nuggets of the cake, \u201cabout the size of a pencil eraser,\u201d on a cheese plate, she suggests. For a more traditional approach, match panforte\u2019s sweetness and nuttiness with that of an aged sheep\u2019s milk cheese from the same region.<\/p>\n

Recommended Pairings<\/em><\/p>\n

Roelli Cheese Company Dunbarton Blue<\/a> + Savory Spoon Panforte<\/a><\/p>\n

Fattoria Buca Nuova Pecorino di Pienza<\/a> + Panforte di Siena IGP <\/a><\/p>\n

Pan de Higo<\/h2>\n

Spain\u2019s Valencians developed a decidedly simpler version made almost entirely of figs and almonds (occasionally punched up with honey, brandy, or spices). It\u2019s extradense, dark, and tannic, exploding with molasses flavors. When paired with a Malvarosa<\/a>, an aged sheep\u2019s milk wheel also from Valencia, the fig\u2019s toasty sweet-ness matches the butterscotch undertones of the cheese and brings buttery flavors to the fore. Caseophiles more partial to textural contrast should smother a thin slice of chewy pan de higo with soft, creamy b\u00fbcheron. (Who doesn\u2019t love figs with soft-ripened goat cheese?)<\/p>\n

Recommended Pairings<\/em><\/p>\n

Granja Rinya<\/a> Malvarosa + pan de higo<\/p>\n

S\u00e8vre et Belle B\u00fbcheron<\/a> + pan de higo<\/p>\n

Feature Photo Credit: Tayana Malova\/Shutterstock.com<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Don’t regift these confections: Eat ’em with cheese.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":30302,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[3976,1447,2087,2278,16969,16960,6740,638,16972,985,16954,16964,16953,16150,16951,1235,935,16970,16963,16968,16952,16967,16965,16959,16679,16955,16966,16962,2338,3975,16956,16961,16958,16971,978,16957],"coauthors":[290],"class_list":["post-30118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cheese-pairings","tag-andy-swinscoe","tag-bucheron","tag-cheese","tag-colorado","tag-fattoria-buca-nuova-pecorino-di-pienza","tag-fortmayne-dairy-richard-iii-wensleydale","tag-fruitcake","tag-goat-cheese","tag-granja-rinya-malvarosa","tag-italy","tag-jane-stammers","tag-janice-thomas","tag-johnny-carson","tag-malvarosa","tag-manitou-springs","tag-molly-mcdonough","tag-pairings","tag-pan-de-higo","tag-panforte","tag-panforte-di-siena-igp","tag-rocky-mountains","tag-roelli-cheese-company-dunbarton-blue","tag-savory-spoon","tag-settle","tag-sevre-et-belle-bucheron","tag-sheffield","tag-siena","tag-stichelton-dairy-stichelton","tag-stilton","tag-the-courtyard-dairy","tag-tipple-tails","tag-tipple-tails-cherry-orchard-fruit-cake","tag-ursula-evans","tag-valencia","tag-wisconsin","tag-yorkshire-christmas-cake"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Great 28 Pairings: Cheese + Fruitcake - 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