Lagrein, the salami cheese
Usually when I write tasting notes for cheese, I talk about detecting hints of this and that, or how the flavors are adjacent to _____. Taste is very subjective of course - we often detect different things and we sometimes disagree on how to describe what we’re experiencing. (For example, Chris might say, “this smells like when you’re out for a walk right before it rains, and you pass a pizza place that’s cooking pepperoni pizza, ya know??” And I’m like, “What are you saying, Chris?! This tastes like when you’re in your aunt’s house and she made soup two days ago and someone just cut the grass outside!”) Sooo, sometimes we argue (the best arguments are about food). But with Lagrein, a semi-firm cow’s milk cheese from Alto Adige in northern Italy, there is no suggesting or disagreeing because it tastes like salami, salami, salami! Lagrein’s nickname in our shop is the salami cheese! Of course it tastes like cheese, too, mellow and creamy, but the garlicky, meaty flavors are prominent!
Mila, the producer of Lagrein, receives milk from its dairy coop made up of 2,300 farmers, mostly in the mountains of the Alto Adige. The farmers own an average of fourteen cows, and more than 30% of the farms have been owned by the family for over 200 years! Pretty cool metrics, eh? After Mila trucks collect the milk, the cheesemakers get to work producing wheels of Lagrein. Once the wheels have drained enough to keep their shape, the cheesemakers plop them in a vat of Lagrein wine and herbs to bob around for five days, infusing the cheese with that later becomes salami-like flavor. The cheese is aged for three-ish months, enough time to develop a deeply umami taste while also maintaining a smooth, semi-firm texture.
With Lagrein, we really just want salami. We want to lean into the meat, into the garlic, and into the salt. Soooo, try it with some Vermont Salumi. The Red Wine and Garlic flavor is a perfect partner to Lagrein, but choose the Fennel for an extra herbal kick, and the Smoked Paprika for a spicy zip. And mustard! And pickles! Lagrein, Vermont Salumi, mustard and pickles, *chef’s kiss*. If you, or someone you like, is a charcuterie lover, you get this for yourself/them and you/they will be v pleased. VERY pleased.
For the love of cheese and meaty cheese,
Kiri
P.S. I MUST visit this restaurant! The food looks incredible, and the video is mesmerizing as heck.