{"id":35691,"date":"2018-11-06T07:45:52","date_gmt":"2018-11-06T12:45:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=35691"},"modified":"2018-11-27T15:02:43","modified_gmt":"2018-11-27T20:02:43","slug":"shop-talk-fromagios-artisan-cheese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/shop-talk-fromagios-artisan-cheese\/","title":{"rendered":"Shop Talk: Fromagio’s Artisan Cheese"},"content":{"rendered":"

H<\/span>elen Howarth, a lifelong resident of Anchorage, Alaska, remembers the cheese of her childhood as being just one color: orange. \u201cVelveeta<\/a> was where<\/span> it was at,\u201d she recalls, \u201cand if you got a chunk of real cheddar from the store, that was the most amazing thing.\u201d A travel-heavy job in arts administration helped Howarth expand her tastes <\/span>and<\/span><\/i> her horizons; in 2010, seeking a career change, she decided to open Fromagio\u2019s Artisan Cheese, Anchorage\u2019s\u2014and perhaps Alaska\u2019s\u2014very first artisanal cheese store.<\/span><\/p>\n

Located in the city\u2019s Midtown area, Fromagio\u2019s is filled with\u2014for lack of a better word\u2014culture: In addition to carrying dozens of cheeses from around the globe, the shop shares space with a local art gallery. Customers can walk back and forth between the two storefronts, admiring paintings while savoring samples. <\/span><\/p>\n

But don\u2019t mistake Fromagio\u2019s for an exclusive, members-only joint. Howarth keeps the frontier spirit of America\u2019s 49<\/span>th<\/span> state alive by making her own crackers. Imported ones are always broken or taste stale, she says\u2014and pairing imported cheeses with locally-harvested ingredients. And when she\u2019s not whipping up unexpected beverages or accompaniments, she\u2019s convincing customers that cheese is meant to be savored; it shouldn\u2019t be stress-inducing. We\u2019ll lift our glasses\u2014and our homemade crackers\u2014to that.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

culture: <\/strong><\/span>What is the cheese scene like in Alaska?<\/h4>\n

Helen Howarth: <\/b>I would say it’s evolving, but it’s in its younger stages. Restaurants don’t really do cheese boards or anything like that\u2014or if they do, they get it at Costco. <\/span><\/h4>\n

We do classes and a variety of educational things. I think on average, we spend about 20 minutes with every person at the counter, just helping them taste their way to cheese Nirvana.<\/span><\/p>\n

culture: <\/strong><\/span>What sets your shop apart?<\/h4>\n

HH:<\/b> We don’t sell cheese as much as we sell an experience. <\/span><\/p>\n

culture: <\/strong><\/span>What\u2019s the most interesting cheese you have?<\/h4>\n

HH:<\/b> One of my favorite cheeses right now is [Briar Rose Creamery] Lorelei<\/a>. It’s a goat\u2019s milk cheese washed in beer from Oregon. It’s really good; it’s got that surface-ripened moisture going on.<\/span><\/p>\n

culture: <\/strong><\/span>How do you approach building a cheese plate?<\/h4>\n

HH:<\/b> It\u2019s totally customer-driven. We recommend one soft cheese, a couple of firms, and a blue, but maybe you don’t like blue cheese, and maybe you don’t want a soft cheese, and maybe you don’t like stinky cheeses. We make recommendations, but we don’t dictate; we just say try this, try this, try this. And then you end up with funky plates sometimes. What pulls it all together for me is the embellishments.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

culture: <\/strong><\/span>What kind of pairings are you obsessed with right now?<\/h4>\n

HH:<\/b> We make a variety of beverages using shrubs, and other botanical beverages that are brewed using local Alaskan ingredients.<\/span> I shrub a lot of fruits that are local. The other day, I made a shrub with currants, and then I had another shrub going with rhubarb and blueberries. I called it \u201cbluebarb.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

And here\u2019s an interesting one: kelp salsa, made with bull kelp, which you get out in the ocean.<\/span><\/p>\n

culture: <\/strong><\/span>Bread or crackers?<\/h4>\n

HH:<\/b> Crackers. <\/span>The right bread is critical, so I\u2019m picky about that.<\/span><\/p>\n

culture: <\/strong><\/span>What\u2019s the one accompaniment you can’t live without ever?<\/h4>\n

HH:<\/b> Fig <\/span>almond spread.<\/span><\/p>\n

culture: <\/strong><\/span>What do you tell people who have never been to your shop before?<\/h4>\n

HH:<\/b> That it’s a fun date night! <\/span><\/p>\n

I think people come in and they’re a little bit intimidated, and our goal is to demystify things. When people say \u201cI\u2019ve never been a fancy cheese shop before,\u201d I say, \u201cI\u2019ve never been in one either.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s just get down to earth and explore these cheeses that have been made by traditional makers out of necessity for maybe hundreds of years because they didn’t have a refrigerator and they had to make cheese to survive. You don’t have to have a big pocketbook, you don’t have to have a sophisticated palate, and you don\u2019t have to know anything about cheese to leave here with something that you truly love. You know what you like; put it in your mouth and taste it. If you don’t like it, then that’s all you need to know. <\/span><\/p>\n

culture: <\/strong><\/span>What’s the cheese question you get most often<\/h4>\n

HH:<\/b> I think it typically has to do with mold. \u201cShould I throw it away? Should I scrape it off? Is this edible?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

culture: <\/strong><\/span>What do you think the most common misconception about cheese is?<\/h4>\n

HH:<\/b> That it’s highfalutin food. It’s food for the common man.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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