As our nation struggles with a lack of unity in Washington, a food revolution is rolling from sea to shining sea with a return to artisan cuisine. Although it’s become an overused marketing word — like “free range,” “local” and “organic” — true “artisan” foods do exist in our country. Seek them out and you will find products born of craftsmanship, methodology, tradition and love. October is American Cheese Month, and to help celebrate I picked another American-made product for you to pair with your cheese: cured meats. Domestic cheesemakers work with the synergy between their land, animals and milk to bring us wholesome, healthy products. Now the Old World traditions of curing meat have also planted themselves smack dab in the heart of our very own purple mountain majesties — and the cheese pairings are endless!
Salumi Master Cristiano Creminelli set up shop in Salt Lake City, Utah in June of 2007. In the book Meat-Salt-Time, author Tony Seichrist explains how the environmental similarities between Cristiano’s Italian home of Biella and Salt Lake City make Utah the perfect place to practice a craft reliant on climate to control microbial life. The Creminelli line consists of approximately 19 fermented, dried and cooked pork products that complement just about any American-made artisan cheese.
Here are three must-try American-made cheese and Cremelli pairings:
Jeremy Stephenson of Farms for City Kids Spring Brook Farms makes a beautiful semi-firm cheese called Tarentaise. The Putnam’s of Thistle Hill Farm created the original recipe, then generously gave it to Jeremy to help him educate city kids with lessons on country living and nutrition through making cheese. Creminelli’s Sopressata has just the right amount of salt, sugar, spices and garlic to complement the caramel and roasted pineapple notes in Tarentaise.
For another lovely pairing try Tumbleweed, created by Alan Glustoff of 5 Spoke Creamery. The cheese has brown butter and brothy aromas that are perfect with Creminelli’s black summer truffle and warm spice-loaded Tartufo Salami. Adding a sweet drizzle of honey and diced dates to the Tumbleweed and Tartufo combination creates the perfect triple-hitter of savory, salty and sweet. Fresh buffalo Mozzarella from Annabella Creamery in Columbia and Creminelli’s Picccante salami make up the final must-try pairing. Yes, Columbia — it’s still in the Americas! The milky sweetness of the cheese and meaty fattiness from the pork coat your tongue in a hypnotizing symphony. The salt, garlic, paprika and spicy red peppers of the salami will jolt your taste buds out of their daze and back into the ball game.
Sticking with Old World-style pairings will whisk you away, but remember that creating pleasurable matches based on shared terroir will work, too. Beehive Cheese Company in Uintah, Utah makes a buttery cheddar-like cheese called Promontory that melts into the velvety mouthfeel of Cremenelli’s wild boar salami. The recipe for this salami calls for Texas wild boar, pork belly, cloves and juniper creating a feisty yet flawless rodeo on your tongue. SeaHive, also from Beehive Cheese Company, is a cheese rubbed with local wildflower honey and ancient Redmond sea salt, which adds sweet, mineraly and floral quality to the curds. These flavors work especially well with Creminelli’s Casalingo salami, a simple recipe that lets the pork shine from the curing process. Casalingo’s delicateness allows the subtle hints of the Utah Mountains to whisper from the souls of both the salami and cheese.
All of the Cremenelli products are available online, or you can find them at specialty cheese shops and from your friendly cheesemonger at Whole Foods. Share something handcrafted and wondrous with someone you love this month, or just keep it all for yourself.
Kira Jefferson is the resident “cheese guru” at SideBern’s in South Tampa.
This article appears in Oct 13-19, 2011.
