Epicurious.com – 4.9.11
Creamy, Gooey Cheese with a Hint of Wood
by Lauren Salkeld
About a year ago, I wrote about ROOT, a root-beer-like liqueur from Philadelphia’s Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. This unique spirit is now available nationwide so be on the lookout for it. There’s more good news: Art in Age recently teamed up with another Philadelphia establishment, Di Bruno Bros., to release ROOTmere, a ROOT-washed cheese produced by Jasper Hill Farm of Greensboro, Vermont.
ROOTmere, a limited-edition version of Jasper Hill’s own Winnimere, is a semi-soft cow’s milk cheese. It’s milky, runny, tangy, and stinky. Oh my, is it stinky, but stinky in a good way of course. ROOT is brushed on the cheese throughout its two-month cave stay and the liqueur imparts much of its complex flavor, especially the herby, earthiness I love so much when I shake it into cocktails. ROOTmere is also wrapped in spruce bark, which helps maintain its shape and lends a certain woody character to the cheese’s creamy pungent deliciousness. Just be careful when serving—a standard cheese knife doesn’t exactly slide through bark!
ROOTmere is available through DiBruno Bros. ($14.99 per ½ pound).
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