That’s right, you read that correctly.  Now, everyday at The Cheese Shop, you can get 3 12oz. drums for the price of 2!  We have all of our Winter flavors, like Paul’s Peppermint and Harvest Pumpkin in full effect, plus the usual suspects such as Roadhouse Vanilla, Dark Chocolate, Dulce de Leche.  For all of you taking notes, that’s 36 creamy, dreamy ounces of hand made Gelato for only $17.90 available every single day!

Mozzarella Classes at The Creamery!

Part of our mission at Zingerman’s is to provide a venue for education about the foods we make and sell.  The methods and recipes we use often have unique historical contexts, and part of keeping these old-world traditions alive is to share them with as many people as we can.  For their part, the Bakehouse has begun a school to teach the fine arts of bread and pastry making.  Here, at the Creamery, we offer a Mozzarella Making class where you get to make your own cheese, from start to finish, in our dairy with the help of managing partner John Loomis and cheesemaker Aubrey Thomason.  

Usually we offer the classes in the mid to late winter on through the spring, but this December, we will be proffering three early-bird classes on the 6th, 13th, & 20th in the dairy, from 12-2pm.  The cost is $45, and you will leave with enough mozzarella to start your own pizza shop, plus the knowledge to make this beloved fresh Italian cheese any time you want.

Space in the classes is very limited, so we can provide the best experience possible.  It really is a great time, and you will be amazed at just how simple it can be to make delicious, fresh cheese in your own kitchen, whenever you want in mere minutes!  Give us a call at (734) 929-0500 to reserve your spot today!  

CHEESE TRAYS

We are know offering pre-assembled cheese trays that you can order and pick up in the Cheese Shop.  We came up with three themes that should fit nearly any occasion, and they are all filled with enough fantastic cheese to feed 8-12 foodies for only $50.  

GELATO!!!

I can’t lie… I love Gelato.  As a person who usually leans more towards the savory end of the flavor spectrum, I completely melt when presented with a dish of gelato.  As a kid, I never thought dessert could get better than ice cream, but when I discovered the rich and creamy deliciousness of gelato, I knew it could.  And believe me, I never let a little thing, like a cold blustery winter, get in the way of my gelato-enjoyment.  For folks like me, or anyone that has a large gathering of folks to feed, the Creamery has achieved Gelato nirvana- a 64oz. tub.  Gelato Nirvana for only $25.

And don’t forget, just because you might live in Nevada, it doesn’t mean you can’t dig in to a drum or 6 of our gelato.  Click this link to have a 6-pack delivered to your door.

Good eating, everyone!

Mike

Learn How to Make Mozzarella  Saturday December 6th and Saturday December 13th we’ll be starting up with our popular mozzarella classes. Learn how to make mozzarella starting with milk and learn how to stretch mozzarella curd into fresh balls, mozzarella braids with myrtle leaves and the tricky burrata. For details visit the “Cheese Shop” page.

The return of the Chelsea!  Back from a long vacation, reworked and better than ever, this full flavored goat cheese is great as is or topped with red pepper and very quickly broiled. The chelsea is a log ranging from 10-12 ounces and aged from two to four weeks (they can be aged out longer). It is coated with a rind of geotrichum candidum which is a golden butter colored mold which gives the cheese it’s distinct flavor.

Give the Gift of Gelato  Through the holiday, you can send friends or family a six pack case of our award winning gelato. This months package includes our award winning Chocolate, refreshing Peppermint, real Peanut Butter, Strawberry made from local farmer’s market fruit, rich Dulce de Leche, and our very strong flavored Vanilla. gelato by mail

We’re going Liptauer Crazy  This hungarian specialty is available through the holiday. Our real Cream Cheese, two kinds of paprika, garlic, fresh ground telicherry pepper, caraway and anchovies help make this a great spread to slather on hearty pumpernickel bread and wash down with a dark ale while watching the bowl games. liptauer by mail

Thanksgiving is the ultimate Foodie holiday. Nothing sums up paradise better than a day dedicated to eating for the fine fare-loving set. So, the Cheese Shop here at Zingerman’s Creamery wanted to wish you all the very best this Thanksgiving, and here’s to another year of good eating!

Often times we’ve focused on our imports on the web site, but now I just have to turn the spotlight on to our own cheeses…

The Great Lakes Cheshire, the Creamery’s first-ever hard cheese, is out and tasting great. We’d love to share a taste with you. This recipe was the first cheese Managing Partner John Loomis ever commercially produced and it hadn’t been tasted for 25 years. The first wheels are coming out of the aging room and are available in the Cheese Shop.

The Aged Chelsea is another older recipe. We haven’t produced it on any sort of scale in several years, but for the past few months it was tweaked and brought back in to the rotation. I never got to taste the old recipe, but I’d be hard-pressed to be believe it could be any better. Quickly, the Chelsea has become one of my favorite Creamery cheeses.

Gelato

Gelato is the ultimate sweet treat. Rich and creamy, sweet and smooth, I love it all year round. Having real, hand-made gelato available to me at all times is easy to take for granted. But I really can’t think of any where else that you can get gelato, or even ice cream, that’s made from farm-fresh milk, the best chocolate, vanilla, caramel, and fresh fruits around, and packed by hand. I’d write more, but my dish of Paul’s Peppermint is starting to melt…

As always, thanks for supporting your local cheesemaker!

P.S. Just because you live in California, that doesn’t mean you can’t get our gelato: gelato-by-mail!

It’s not too late to ship gelato for thanksgiving, but it’s close. Monday and Tuesday are the last days to have the Thanksgiving Gelato Box shipped. Josh has created a fantastic collection of flavors that go great on pies, like Cinnamon, Pumpkin, Vanilla, and our award winning Chocolate. Plus a last chance taste of Michigan summer with possibly the best Blueberry Sorbet you’ll ever taste and the unique, slightly exotic Paw Paw.  If you’ve never had the chance to taste a Paw Paw, this is your opportunity. gelato by mail

Calling all Hungarians! Zingerman’s Creamery Liptauer is our classic version of this Hungarian national spread (I don’t believe that Liptauer has actually ever been formally awarded this status-but maybe it should.) An amazing blend of Creamery Farm Cheese, two types of paprika, garlic, caraway, black pepper, sea salt capers and  touch of anchovy paste. This cheese spread is a natural with caraway rye bread and a pint of hearty ale. liptauer by mail

A dramatic way to serve the Manchester for Thanksgiving is to split the cheese horizontally (unflavored dental floss works extremely well) put a mixture of fig or plum preserve,  toasted nuts and dried fruit on the cut face of the cheese. Place the top back on and cover the entire cheese with puff pastry. You need to seal the puff pastry well to avoid leakage. Then place the cheese in the oven and bake until the pastry is lightly browned and serve. I like to bake it at a low temperature (325) to keep the pastry from puffing out too much and by pulling it out when the pastry is lightly browned, the cheese is softened and not liquified. You can also place the cheese in the freezer for an hour before wrapping it to help keep the cheese from melting too much.

Happy Thanksgiving from the gang at the Creamery.

In spite of it’s fickle nature or possibly because of it, the Manchester is my favorite cheese.  Inspired by a great cheese from southern Wales, the Manchester is a double cream cheese coated with a flavorful mold rind.  A double cream cheese is a cheese produced from milk that has had  cream added to it, so that the resulting cheese is at or above 60% butterfat. 

The mold that grows on the surface is one of the main sources of the uniqueness and somewhat unpredictable nature of the Manchester. The stark white mold that you see on Brie, Camembert and many others is penicillium candidum. It was developed and gained popularity because it is very sturdy and predictable. It is also very aggressive and wards off the development of wild molds (these are the multicolored molds that you may see on many cheeses). Penicillum Candidum also has the property off breaking down proteins as they develop and this is the action that helps make a brie get creamy when ripe. It’s flavor is also somewhat unobtrusive and mild.

The Manchester is coated with Geotrichum Candidum which is buttery yellow in color, does not break down proteins, but does break down fats. Geo as it’s commonly referred to (since everyone seems to pronounce it differently) is not particularly efficient at warding of wild molds, so it is not uncommon to see spots of blue, yellow or brown spots after the cheese has aged several weeks. By breaking down fats, geo releases a tremendous amount of flavor as the cheese ages. It is anything but unobtrusive and at times can challenge the taste buds.

A dramatic way to serve the Manchester for Thanksgiving is to split the cheese horizontally (unflavored dental floss works extremely well) put a mixture of fig or plum preserve,  toasted nuts and dried fruit on the cut face of the cheese. Place the top back on and cover the entire cheese with puff pastry. You need to seal the puff pastry well to avoid leakage. Then place the cheese in the oven and bake until the pastry is lightly browned and serve. I like to bake it at a low temperature (325) to keep the pastry from puffing out too much and by pulling it out when the pastry is lightly browned, the cheese is softened and not liquified. You can also place the cheese in the freezer for an hour before wrapping it to help keep the cheese from melting too much.

To serve the Manchester always let it come to room temperature (this is true for all cheeses)  then try it with plum preserves or chutney on course ground oatcakes.

Gelato has gone airborne through the New Year. That means that you can get or give a gelato sampler case.  To check out the available package just follow Gelato-By-Mail   For a complete description of flavors and what makes them special see our gelato section.  I will say that there is no better combination than our Peppermint and our Dark Chocolate.

Holiday Gathering Gelato Half Gallons-okay it’s a real mouthful, but through the holidays, the Creamery is offering half gallons of Vanilla, Chocolate and our seasonal favorites Peppermint and Pumpkin.

Coming Soon Great Lakes Cheshire! The first of our Cheshires will be ready in early December. This full flavored raw milk cheese will be available in very limited quantities until after the first of the year. As soon as it’s available we’d love to have you come by the Creamery or Zingerman’s Deli for a taste.