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R e s t a u r a n t D a i l y N e w s M o n d a y, M a y 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 5 8 BLOOMY RINDS AND SOPHISTICATED AGING FEATURE IN SONOMA CREAMERY By Micah Cheek Bohemian Creamery, based in Sebasopol, California, is turning heads with unique goat, sheep, and cow cheeses crafted by the proud hands of Lisa Gottreich. Gottreich began selling her cheeses commercially six years ago, but she was honing her skills in cheesemak- ing for years before that in her home kitchen. The transition was natural for Gottreich, who said, "Really, the princi- ples are very much the same, but the equipment is different." The cheeses she produces are held in high regard, even served in Alice Waters' restaurant, Chez Panisse. When asked how she managed to sell to such a prestigious pantry, Gottreich simply said "I marketed to them." That confidence is well earned. Her depth of knowledge at every stage of the cheesemaking process commands respect and assures the buyer of a care- fully crafted and unique eating experi- ence. Cheese lovers will notice some unusual offerings in Bohemian's selec- tion. One cheese, called Cowabunga, hides cajeta, or goat's milk caramel, in its center. Surf and Turf has a fine vein of local seaweed running through the mid- dle. In cold and wet months, the condi- tions are perfect to make The Bomb, a goat and sheep milk cheese conditioned to render the gooeyness and funk vague- ly reminiscent of an Epoisse. For a newcomer to artisan cheeses, Gottreich suggests one of her soft goat cheeses, called BoDacious. "It's got a candidum rind, it's very mild. People are used to the chevre style, and know that as goat cheese," she said. For a different goat cheese experience, try the more firmly tex- tured and nutty Capriago, which is brined and aged for up to 10 weeks. Her cur- rent favorite is the Romeo, aged a year and a half for complexity and crystallization. While some cheesemakers gloss over the microbes required for cheese production, Gottreich makes sure the cul- tures she uses get their time in the spotlight. "Cheeses are defined by their rinds, of which there are basically three: bloom, washed and natural or traditional. But you couldn't really talk about them without talking about mold." Her water buffalo milk Agua Bufazola, for instance, is made with a milder strain than is normally used for blue cheeses. The Italian gorgonzola blue mold eases the punch of the six-week-old cheese without compromising fla- vor. With the milking sea- son's first offerings, Gottreich has made a batch of Boho Belle, a creamy semi soft cheese that requires six to eight weeks of aging. The end result will show off a delicate bloomy rind of geotrichum can- didum. Bohemian Creamery stresses the importance of not only picking the right cheese, but the right time to eat it. Her quality cheeses can, with proper care, give you a variety of flavor experiences over time. "People say, 'This isn't the same cheese I had before.' Well maybe that cheese was a month old, and this one is a month and a half old," she says. "Just like I'm not the same person I was when I was 10, many of my qualities have changed. Cheese is living and dying, just like we are. You can pick which qualities you like at a certain age." SURVEY: ORGANIC FOOD SHOPPERS LOOK LIKE AMERICA Today's organic tent looks a lot differ- ent than yesterday's. It's bigger, younger, and significantly more diverse than just a few years ago. In fact, inside that tent, it looks pretty much like most places in America, a new study by the Organic Trade Association (OTA) shows. As the availability of organic has become more mainstream and the offer- ings of organic more varied, there's more diversity in those choosing organ- ic. There no longer is a typical organic consumer. Organic is meeting the needs of a wide and multi-faceted culture, and the faces of organic-buying families now mirror the demographics of the U.S. population in terms of ethnic back- ground, according to OTA's "U.S. Families' Organic Attitudes and Beliefs 2015 Tracking Study," a survey of more than 1,200 households throughout the country. Today, seven in ten families who purchase organic describe themselves as "white," after hovering consistently around eight in ten from the survey's first year in 2009 through 2013. In contrast, African American and Hispanic families have been steadily increasing among the ranks of organic-buying households. The percentage of African American families buying organic on a regular basis has doubled from just 7 percent six years ago, to now 14 percent. Hispanic house- holds choosing organic is even higher at 16 percent, a huge jump from 7 percent just four years ago, when the survey started tracking Hispanic buying pat- terns. "Our survey shows that organic has turned a corner," said Laura Batcha, OTA's executive director and CEO. "Organic hasn't been a niche for some time, and today it is the face of America. The demographics of the organic con- sumer are not any different than the demographics of America." A side-by-side comparison of the figures: Percentage of organic buyers who are white: 73 percent; percentage of the U.S. population that is white, accord- ing to the latest U.S. Census: 72.4 per- cent; percentage of Hispanic organic buyers: 16 percent; percentage of U.S. population that's Hispanic: 16.4 percent; and percentage of African American organic buyers: 14 percent; percentage of U.S. population: 12.6 percent. The OTA survey also looks at the incomes, education and ages of organic buyers, and compares the buying habits of the new organic purchaser to the more experienced organic consumer. Like most of us who buy the bulk of our food from our local supermarket, organic shoppers generally also are turn- ing to the convenient supermarket for their organic purchases. A whopping 78 percent of organic buyers say they typi- cally buy their organic foods at conven- tional food stores/supermarkets. Over half also shop organic at the "big box" stores, an increase of almost 10 percent- age points from just a year ago, and some 30 percent also report that it's not unusu- al to buy organic at one of the warehouse clubs in the country, again up almost 10 points from the previous year. The similarities don't end there. Forty-three percent of the parents sur- veyed said they're making more of an effort to use coupons, discounts and other money-saving tactics when mak- ing general food purchases, very close to the 36 percent watching their budget when buying organic. Choosing store brands, either conventional or organic, to save money has become popular among penny-pinching families. Nine in ten families says they are choosing store brand products rather than brand names for conventional products, and eight in ten say they choose store brand organic items over organic brand names. This was the sixth year OTA has partnered with KIWI Magazine to con- duct the study. The primary objectives of the tracking study are to identify any changes in the degree to which families are incorporating organic into their lifestyle, parents' knowledge about organic products and benefits, the impor- tance and use of labels when shopping for and choosing organic products, and the household shopping budget and retail channel preferences. This year the study looked more closely at the importance of the private label, digging down into the various fac- tors that go into play when making the decision to buy the store brand private label over the more well-known brand label. The target audience for the study consisted of more than 1,200 house- holds, including a national online panel of U.S. households supplemented with KIWI Magazine's Parents' Advisory Board. All respondents had at least one child under the age of 18 in the house- hold, and had sole or shared responsi- bility for household grocery purchases. The survey was conducted online January 16 - 23, 2015. NITROBREW IS NEXT BIG THING IN BEER WORLD It's the next big thing in the beer world, and the only brewery to have it is North Mountain Brewing Company. Any beer on tap can now be perfected with NitroBrew™. Picture your favorite North Mountain craft beer. Now, picture it as a nitro brew. There's something poetic, almost romantic, about a freshly-poured pint of stout from a nitro tap. The cascad- ing effect is mesmerizing. You can now experience that at one of Phoenix's favorite local craft breweries. NitroBrew, or the process of nitro- genating virtually any type of beer and creating a cask-style flavor experience, is taking the craft-brewing community by storm, and while the science involved may be a bit complex, the end result is simple: a silky, super smooth texture and an undeniable taste improvement over non-nitrogenated beers. "Essentially, what NitroBrew does if infuse beer with nitrogen while reducing carbonation in 90-seconds flat," said Robert Berkner, North Mountain's Head Brewer and Owner. "The goal is to achieve a particular bal- ance of nitrogen and carbon dioxide, because that balance is what ultimately affects the overall beer-drinking expe- rience." Berkner explained that finding that precise balance is something all brew- ers strive to do, factors like transporta- tion and storage often throw it off before the beer is even served. "The nitrogen and carbon dioxide content in beer is affected by temperature changes, and that's why NitroBrew is used table- side here at North Mountain Brewing, so you get the ultimate nitrogenated experience without it being affected by climate conditions and other factors beyond your control." NitroBrew can be used with any type of beer, from IPAs to stouts and porters, and brown ales to reds. North Mountain isn't charging extra for the nitrogenation, and so far, beer fans are singing its prais- es and noting its creamy texture and head of foam. "NitroBrew really brings out the malty, rich flavor of each brew, and cre- ates a visible cascading effect I like to call 'Nature's Lava Lamp,'" Berkner said. "While we're still learning more about the NitroBrew process, we're see- ing that it's a huge draw for Arizona's craft beer community, and we're excited to be the first to expose our beer drinkers to the next big thing in beer."