Dairy Pairy

In our experience as vegetarian cooks, meat has always been easier to give up than cheese. Maybe it’s because it doesn’t conjure up images of flogged turkeys and force fed baby cows in cages. Maybe its because its so goddamned good that attempts at strict veganism have been demolished again and again by reoccurring dreams of sweet salty lactic love…

Whatever the reason, eating and cooking with cheese continues to be a big part of our culinary endeavors. This week we’re introducing a new thread for the Hot Knives blog: “Dairy Pairy,” which will highlight a cheese we think rules — especially when served side by side with an amazing brew. If you ever have a great bottle and want some cheese pairing advice, or vice verse, send us an email (hotknivez@gmail.com) and we’ll send you some options.

A caveat: This section is not meant as an affront to all you vegans out there. As we all know, most cheese isn’t even technically vegetarian, as it is produced using animal obtained rennet. However, we will be focusing on mostly artisinal cheeses from both home and abroad, which, even when rennet is present, are pretty safe bets for cruelty free products. Remember those California Cheese Commission commercials about happy cows making happy cheese in happy California? Think about how blissed out Bessie (Bijou) could be wandering unfenced in the Alps, eating as much clover and sweet high-altitude grass as she wants, or gigantic herds of sheep reared from birth by a single family in La Mancha lazily roaming the Quixotic countryside.

As an exemplar, we decided that the kick-off post for this section would be dedicated to cheeses made with vegetarian rennet, making the product as close in ideology (at least) to veganism as possible. Not only are the sheep, cows or goats that make these cheeses cared for more like family than livestock, their milk isn’t coagulated with the chemically derived innards of their would be kids, calves, or lambs. Thistle flowers, cultured molds, and microscopic mushrooms are the thickeners in these stick-to-your-ribs slices.

So tell us about your favorite suds and we’ll steer you toward some of our favorite curds in a future post here at Digest or better yet, feature the cream of the crop, so to speak, in a veggie cheese din-din for L.A. Ur-ho bloggaz.