{"id":31551,"date":"2017-09-26T10:00:01","date_gmt":"2017-09-26T14:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=31551"},"modified":"2017-09-21T16:42:35","modified_gmt":"2017-09-21T20:42:35","slug":"affinage-comes-age-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/affinage-comes-age-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Affinage\u00a0Comes Of\u00a0Age In\u00a0America\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

The classic image of affinage evokes cool subterranean caves lined with wooden shelves of slowly ripening, meticulously tended cheeses. But in the United States today, those who nurture wheels to their peak\u2014affineurs\u2014do it in glass-walled, temperature and humidity-controlled \u201ccaves\u201d within view of suburban Chicago wine bar customers. Or in repurposed historic brewery tunnels in Brooklyn; state-of-the-art vaults constructed in the Vermont countryside; or a supermarket-owned 12,300-square-foot building near Rochester, New York.  <\/span><\/p>\n

In Europe, young or \u201cgreen\u201d cheeses have long been purchased from makers and ripened under the supervision of expert affineurs in a central cave system. \u201cPeople are brought up in the profession, learning the art of aging cheese, of bringing it to perfect ripeness,\u201d says Janet Fletcher, a San Francisco\u2013based writer and publisher of the blog Planet Cheese<\/a>. Traditionally, explains Laure Dubouloz, general manager of the US division of Mons Fromager-Affineur<\/em>, affinage is a role distinct from cheesemaking. \u201cThose are two full-time jobs,\u201d she says. As affineurs, she continues, \u201cwe start with the work of the cheesemaker, which we have to respect and take on the aging and marketing of their cheese. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s rocket science, but you do need to know the rules. It\u2019s a whole ecosystem.\u201d  <\/span><\/p>\n

The steady growth of domestic artisan cheese has driven American awareness and practice of affinage. Expertise has been either imported or homegrown with input from the European tradition. Business models include contract affinage, in which cheesemakers pay for the service; consolidators who also handle sales, marketing, and distribution for small cheesemakers; and retailers with their own in-house programs.  <\/span><\/h3>\n

Across the range, the benefits are clear. At Boston restaurant L\u2019Espalier, long lauded for its impeccable cheese cart, manager Louis Risoli says that cheeses arrive these days in better shape than ever before. \u201cIt has just added a whole layer of sophistication and taste,\u201d Risoli says. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\"affinage\"

The glass-walled aging caves at Standard Market. Photo Courtesy: Standard Market<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Beyond the gustatory rewards, affinage delivers many advantages for retailers and cheesemakers. A cheesemonger with an affinage program conveys to the ever more sophisticated consumer that they\u2019re \u201cgoing the extra mile,\u201d observes Fletcher. New York-based Wegmans claims the first affinage facility owned and operated by a supermarket chain. Cheese production specialist Mathieu Callol came on board from his native France last year to continue building the program, which boasts eight rooms, each for different types of cheese. Both imported and domestic cheeses benefit from the care, Callol says, before they are shipped to the chain\u2019s cheese counters throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.  <\/span><\/p>\n

At Standard Market, in the western suburbs of Chicago, head cheesemonger Alyssa Stone ages cheese for two retail locations as well as a pair of in-store wine, beer, and cheese bars. The 70-square-foot, glass-walled caves are built into the bars. \u201cPeople can see us working in there. It starts conversations,\u201d she says. Meticulous testing and documentation are critical both for food safety and for replicating success. Several of Standard Market\u2019s regional collaborations have won awards, including a mixed-milk cheese made by Lovera\u2019s in Oklahoma and a goat\u2019s milk cheddar from Wisconsin\u2019s LaClare Farms<\/a>. Standard Market promotes cave-aged release events, and Stone emphasizes that no cheese is launched without the maker\u2019s blessing.  <\/span><\/p>\n

Sequatchie Cove Creamery<\/a> in Tennessee had sold their wheels to Standard Market for several years when Stone suggested an affinage partnership. Co-owners Padgett and Nathan Arnold jumped at the opportunity to learn and to deepen the relationship. On a practical level, Padgett notes, \u201cWe can send cheese out a little younger and [create more space] in our aging rooms.\u201d It also improves cash flow: \u201cThere\u2019s a long window between making cheese and the sale. Closing that gap is very helpful to our small business.\u201d   <\/span><\/p>\n

Open and trusting relationships are key to successful affinage. Brooklyn\u2019s Crown Finish Caves and Vermont\u2019s Cellars at Jasper Hill are two larger-scale examples of American affinage, each aging thousands of pounds of cheese for a select set of cheesemakers. \u201cWe have to feel completely comfortable that they have really good practices on the farm and in the creamery,\u201d says Zakia Babb, Crown Finish\u2019s cave manager. In turn, both Babb and Jasper Hill\u2019s Zoe Brickley stress how much care is taken with cheeses entrusted to them. The role of the affineur, Brickley summarizes, is \u201chonoring the intent of the cheesemaker and the potential of the cheese. You can\u2019t make a bad cheese better, but you can totally (screw) up a good one. It\u2019s a lot of responsibility.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Featured Image courtesy: Wegmans<\/em><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The steady growth\u00a0of\u00a0domestic artisan cheese has driven\u00a0American\u00a0awareness\u00a0and practice of affinage.\u00a0Expertise has\u00a0been\u00a0either\u00a0imported or homegrown with input from the European tradition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":31552,"comment_status":"open","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":[589],"tags":[992,1341,1342,1343,1340,1344],"coauthors":[1031],"class_list":["post-31551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cheese-talk","tag-affinage","tag-glass-walled-caves","tag-laclare-farms","tag-sequatchie-cove-creamery","tag-standard-market-chicago","tag-wegmans-affinage-facility"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAffinage\u00a0Comes Of\u00a0Age In\u00a0America\u00a0 - 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