Inspired by the full-flavored, elegantly simple taste of Askinosie’s bars we’ve incorporated them into a special mixture of our signature Roadhouse Vanilla Gelato. Exhibiting some of the characteristics of a traditional cookies’n'cream, the El Rustico Gelato is perhaps the best combination of vanilla and chocolate we’ve ever attempted, and we’re happy to say that we have limited quantities available at both the Creamery Shop and the Deli in Ann Arbor. Visit either location for a taste of this exciting new gelato!

One of America’s oldest sheep’s milk cheeses, the Vermont Shepherd is made and cave-aged by the Ielpi Major family on their 250-acre farm in Westminster West, VT. This farmstead, hand-crafted cheese is only made with the milk of sheep while they graze the healthy, wild pastures of Southeastern Vermont, which leads to a very rich and complex flavor owing to the variety of wild grasses and flowers the sheep ingest. Refusing to compromise on quality, the family only makes 10 to 30 wheel batches 3 days a week during the grazing season, so this cheese is sold in necessarily limited quantities.

The texture of the Vermont Shepherd is smooth and creamy, and the flavor is sweet, rich and earthy with hints of clover, mint and thyme. We are fortunate to have nearly two wheels of it left, so come in soon to taste this New England delight before we sell through it!

Named after the headwaters of the Kokosing River Northeast of historic Mount Gillead, Ohio, this delicious hand-made cheese comes to us from the Kokoborrego Cheese Company. Made from raw cow’s milk and aged 3 to 4 months, it features a “river” of ash that runs through its center, adding a distinctive look to the cheese and intensifying its sharp flavor. The Headwaters Tomme has a very well-rounded, buttery flavor with slight acidic notes. For those interested in putting together a decadent raclette, this cheese is a great addition owing to its perfect melting characteristics.

Unable to care for his herd, the farmer let the sheep go in the wilds of Wisconsin hoping that one day he might be able to round them up when he had the means to properly care for them. A few years go by, and Mark wants to get into sheep dairy and hears a rumor about this rogue herd. He gets a hold of the unlucky farmer and the guy tells him if he can get them to come in from the woods he can have ‘em. Pretty soon Mark heads to Wisconsin in the winter with a trailer of hay and waits for the sheep to come in… And eventually they do! So Mark has now spent several years getting this feral heard of sheep reined in whilst learning the art of cheese making. We think he’s been doing a bang-up job of it—recently he took 1st place at the American Cheese Society for his Dulcinea. Stop by the shop for a taste of something wild!

Rocky Ride: Our take on an old standard, we start with a dark chocolate base then add both vanilla and chocolate marshmallows from Zingerman’s Bakehouse, and some in-house butter-roasted peanuts. (Pictured)

Chocolate Heat: An extraordinarily rich and smooth blend of our dark chocolate with cinnamon, ancho and cayenne. This slightly spicy gelato recalls classic Mexican chocolate, and for a unique treat we recommend using this as the à la to your strawberry shortcake’s mode.

Pistachio: We use 100% pure pistachio paste from the Piedmont in Italy to make this remarkably velvety traditional gelato. Because we want to showcase the amazing taste of the pistachios themselves, we use nothing but Calder dairy milk, Guernsey dairy cream, a little Demerara sugar to highlight the pistachio paste’s natural flavor.

Paul’s Peppermint: We use the very best peppermint oil we can find—Boyajian—and mix that in with some chopped-up Hammond’s peppermint candies for a very clean, bright mint flavor that is just ridiculous on freshly baked brownies.

We’ll be featuring these flavors through the end of February, and in March we’ll start to carry our Spring flavors. Stop by the Creamery to try these awesome wintertime sweets.

This aged sheep’s milk gouda is delightful. Developed through a partnership between CheeseLand importers in Seattle and a small Dutch farm, Ewephoria is sweet and slightly nutty with a very balanced and smooth finish. Featuring a very pronounced buttery mouthfeel, it’s the perfect entry-level sheep’s milk cheese. Sure to be a hit at any holiday party, this gouda pairs exceptionally well with amontillado or oloroso sherry, and complements any number of stouts and porters. Stop by the Creamery to get your hands on a piece of this Dutch original.

Our most recent batch of Great Lakes Cheshire will be ready and available in the shop on Thursday, November 17th. This “winter cheshire” is a quick-ripening variant, which features a wonderfully complex, slightly crumbly paste and a super-earthy rind. Aged for 60 days, we make this traditional Welsh cheese with unpasteurized milk from Andy Schneider’s herd of Dutch-Belted cows in Westphalia, MI (just outside of Lansing). We hope you all like it as much as we do. Come in on Thursday for a taste!

You can say hi to us at the following locations:

Downtown Ypsilanti Farmers Market
Tuesdays, 2-6 pm, May-October
Ferris Street, Ypsi (next to the Post Office)

Kerrytown Farmers Market
Wednesdays, 7-2 pm, April-November
315 Detroit Street, Ann Arbor

Northville Farmers Market
Thursdays, 8-3 pm, May-October
Northville Downs
301 South Center Street, Northville

Westside Farmers Market
Thursday, 3-7 pm, June-September
Zingerman’s Roadhouse Parking Lot
2501 Jackson Ave, Ann Arbor

Dearborn Artisan & Farmers Market
Fridays, 8-1 pm, June-October
Michigan Ave between Mason and Howard, Dearborn

Kerrytown Farmers Market
Saturdays, 7-2 pm, Year Round
315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor

Eastern Market
Saturdays, 5-3 pm, Year Round
2934 Russell Street, Detroit
Shed #2

Canton Farmers Market
Sundays, 10-2 pm, May-October
Preservation Park
500 North Ridge Road, Canton

Adina’s Pick – Fondue Fantasia

As Chief Tastings Officer, Adina has a wide-range of foodie loves but thanks to our most-recent tasting, she has found a new love – fondue.  It doesn’t get much more comforting on a cold winter night than settling in with some home made fondue for the evening.  Her go-to recipe is the traditional Swiss, with some Emmentaler and Comte (we have a younger-than-usual wheel in house that she loves in fondue) plus some great Fondue pots, cheese graters, and other accessories made by Boska.

Fondue Kit

• Boska Fondue Pot – $54.99
• Boska Cheese Grater – $6.99
• 1# Emmentaler $16.99
• .5# Comte – $12.50

Josh’s Pick – Michigan Paw Paw Gelato

Still our gelato guru’s favorite taste of the season, this obscure Midwestern fruit has become a local star in it’s new role as gelato ingredient.  The custardy fruit is de-seeded and pulped when we begin to receive the paw paws in early November and we will keep cranking out the trays until we run out of fruit, currently trending to be some time in the beginning of 2011.

Paw Paw Gelato

• 12 oz. Drum – $8.95

Mike’s Pick – Rush Creek Reserve

Mike is a softie and I guess it shows in his pick, the Rush Creek Reserve.  Made by our friends in Wisconsin, the Uplands Cheese Company, this is a recent addition to their repertoire.  Uplands has been making Pleasant Ridge Reserve for quite some time now, using the milk of their own herd only when they are out to pasture and selling the autumnal and winter milk to other local dairies.  This year, cheese-maker Andy Hatch began crafting these gorgeous little wheels, aping the French Beaufort-maker’s (the cheese Pleasant Ridge is modeled after) tradition of crafting Vacherin Mont D’or in the off season when Beaufort-production ceases for the year.

Rush Creek Reserve

• $26.99 per wheel

Jack’s Pick – Ricki’s Cheesemaking Kits

As our longest-tenured monger, Jack has been selecting and selling choice cuts of cheese to guests for quite some time.  But during his impressive tenure, he hasn’t been presented with many opportunities to make cheese.  So, this year, Jack’s holiday gift pick is one of Ricki Caroll’s Home Cheesemaking Kits.  We were one of the first retail shops that had her cheese kits available and they have been a huge hit since day 1.  We have 3 varieties, Mozzarella & Ricotta, Hard Cheese, and Goat Cheese, available in the Cheese Shop.

New England Cheesemaking Home Kits

• Mozzarella & Ricotta – $30.00
• Hard Cheese – $34.99
• Goat Cheese- $20.00

The possibilities are practically endless!

Happy Holidays from Your Local Cheese Makers and Mongers!

For this year, we have expanded into a nice little line up of soft-ripened and washed-rind cheeses for the holidays.  WIthout a doubt the best we have ever offered.  Below there is featured two of our offerings and we have several others including Uplands Cheese’s Rush Creek Reserve, Ardrahan from Ireland and Gabietou from France.  Be sure to ask for a taste the next time you are in the Cheese Shop but be warned, supplies are very limited and I don’t expect too many to make it to next year.

Epoisses de Bourgogne

Few cheeses truly approach life-altering status, despite countless hyperbole to the contrary.  But there are few turophiles out there who could possibly argue with Epoisses’ place on the short list of truly life-changing cheeses.  A perfectly-ripened wheel, with its’ characteristically bright red-orange rind and pungently heady aroma, comes as close to perfection as a cheese can get.  At room temperature, this cheese is unbelievably creamy with a flavor that takes the milk from sweet to salty, paradoxically mild with a richness sure to warm you up to the bone. $25.99 per wheel

Cowgirl Creamery’s “Red Hawk”

From the northern lands of California, this washed-rind gem is one of the best stinkers in the States as far as I am concerned.  These guys have been setting the bar for many years and we are thrilled to finally have them full-time in the Cheese Shop.  This cheese, as Cowgirl Creamery puts it, “strives to capture the essence of West Marin” and as a frequent visitor to that area I must say, well-played Cowgirl.  If you have ever seen a sunset in Marin County, CA, you will easily see it echoed in the rind of this beautiful cheese.