Oser Communications Group

GOURMET NEWS JUNE 2017 www.gourmetnews.com SUPPLIER NEWS 1 3 Murray's Cheese Introduces Exclusive Cave Master Cheddar Murray's Cheese has introduced a brand new cheese to its exclusive Cave Master line. Ezra, a Clothbound Cheddar, is the first cheese created by Murray's from initial concept all the way through re- search and development, cheesemaking and aging. Ezra will be exclusively available at Murray's New York flagship stores in Greenwich Village and Grand Central Terminal and online at www.murrayscheese.com. "This cheddar is the culmination of many factors coming together over many years," said Steve Millard, Senior Vice President of Merchandising and Opera- tions for Murray's Cheese. "From our unique relationships with cheese makers, to more than a decade's worth of experi- ence aging cheese in our New York City caves, there's a lot of things we do well. But we hadn't ventured into making cheese ourselves." Ezra was developed in partnership with Cornell University and Old Chatham (New York) Creamery and is named after the university's founder, Ezra Cornell. Millard, along with Murray's Cave Master Peter Jenkelunas, worked closely with Matt Ranieri, Ph.D., a Cornell alumnus and expert on food science and dairy technology, to develop the cheese. Aged 12 months in Murray's cheese cave, Ezra is modeled after classic British cloth- bound cheddars. It's crumbly and boasts bright flavors of lemon curd and brown butter. "The Old Chatham Creamery team is pleased to be able to collaborate with the Murray's team in creating and producing the new Murray's Clothbound Cheddar," said David Malcolm Galton of Cornell. "We are committed to producing high quality cheeses for Murray's customers across the country and believe that Ezra is a fantastic place to start." GN Montchevre Continued from PAGE 1 Southwest Wisconsin Technical College to find out if the college would be interested in starting a program to train aspiring dairy goat farmers with the skills they'd need to succeed. With the college on board, the de- partment provided funding to hire Clare Heberlein to develop a curriculum. She and her husband Jason own and operate a 300- animal commercial dairy goat operation outside of Fennimore, Wisconsin, which is where Southwest Wisconsin Technical Col- lege is located, and she grew up in the in- dustry. Together with an advisory board that in- cludes a range of experts already involved in Wisconsin's dairy goat industry, Heber- lein developed a program based on 11 on- line courses, offered two or three at a time around the year. The classes' monthly schedule allows students to complete the courses within a year, if they can make the time to take each month's full offering, or they can spread out the work over a longer period if they're fitting their studies around their existing full-time commitments. Completion of those 11 courses plus a 120- hour mentorship requirement and a two- day Dairy Goat Academy earns the students a certificate in dairy goat management as well as a thorough grounding in the basic skills they need to care for their animals and run their dairy business, the mentors who can advise them along the way and some practical experience in herd manage- ment. "We're trying to give the individual a well-rounded look at what it means to be a dairy goat producer," Ihm said. "It's pri- marily online, but the advisory board was adamant that hands-on training was neces- sary. The annual Dairy Goat Academy is a two-day conference that will provide that. Plus there's a mentorship program with 120 hours of mentorship to give students some experience at key seasons on the farm. They'll have hands-on experience during kidding, breeding, milking and general chores involved with the dairy operation." Montchevre, which operates by far the largest goat cheese processor in Wisconsin, stepped up with funding to turn Heberlein's curriculum design into a reality. The first class in the certificate program began in May, with the first Dairy Goat Academy scheduled to take place this November. The program has already drawn interest from aspiring goat farmers from around the na- tion who are challenging the program's staff to organize mentorship opportunities where they never expected to do so. "It's open to anyone who has an interest in the dairy goat industry. The majority of the contacts I'm getting right now are not from Wisconsin, not even from the Midwest," Ihm said. "This is probably an area that we're going to be learning a lot with. We want to accommodate them as close [to their own homes] as possible, but we don't know exactly where that's going to be." Over the next four years, Montchevre will contribute $25,000 a year to keep the program running. The company's motives are noble but not entirely atruistic, accord- ing to Arnaud Solandt, the company's co- Founder and President. Montchevre is also looking to ensure that there will continue to be enough high-quality goat milk avail- able in the market to satisfy growing de- mands for goat milk cheeses. "Our industry is at a turning point. Goat milk product has democratized and is becoming more and more popular. It's no longer a niche market. It's appealing to a broader consumer base," Solandt said. "It's necessary for the industry to maintain high quality standards so we can keep on that ascending curve." Montchevre currently gets its goat milk from 420 local farmers, each milking an av- erage of 250 to 275 goats. "When you have an operation at that level, you need to be well educated because you don't have much margin for error," Solandt said. "We've always put a lot of emphasis on try- ing to educate our farmers.... As a leader in our industry, and we are a strong leader in the U.S., we think it's our responsibility to lead not just by being a leader in produc- tion but by being a leader in giving back to our industry." As the program's students are better ed- ucated in how to manage a goat dairy, the quality of the milk they produce will be en- hanced, according to Solandt, who noted that he'll then have to pay those farmers more for their milk, since Montchevre of- fers premium pricing for higher quality milk. Better milk is worth the higher price because better milk makes better cheese, Solandt said. "Our priority is to make sure that most of our farmers get the highest premium possible because we know the cheese will be better.... We also know that to have a successful operation, they need to be profitable. Otherwise they will burn out, they will take shortcuts, and shortcuts al- ways mean a lowering of the quality stan- dards." "We know we will never make a good cheese if we don't have a good milk, and we won't have a good milk if they don't have a good handle on their operation. So we are closing the circle," he continued. "This training will give them all the tools they need to earn premium prices for their milk, and that will push the industry forward." GN Inglehoffer Mustards Gain Consecutive Gold Medals Beaverton Foods, Oregon's 88-year-old spe- cialty condiment manufacturer, springs into the new year with eight awards, in- cluding three gold medals, from this year's 22nd annual World-Wide Mustard Compe- tition. More than 100 judges gathered at the National Mustard Museum in Middle- ton, Wisconsin, to evaluate 291 entries from as far away as Japan, Sweden, Norway, France, Germany and Canada. Inglehoffer Sweet Hot Mustard won a gold medal for its third consecutive year, while Inglehoffer Ghost Pepper Mustard re- peated last year's gold medal win in the cat- egory for hot pepper mustards. Inglehoffer Hot Horseradish Mustard won a gold medal in the category for mustards whose heat is rooted in horseradish or wasabi, while In- glehoffer Horseradish Wasabi Mustard won a silver medal in the same category. Napa Valley Orange Ginger won a silver award for fruit mustards, while Beaver Brand Extra Hot Russian Mustard took home a bronze award for a classic hot mus- tard, Inglehoffer Sriracha Mustard earned a bronze medal for a hot pepper mustard, and Inglehoffer Creamy Dill won a bronze medal in the category for mustards flavored with herbs or vegetables. "It's humbling to say we have won more than 150 medals at this annual competition," said Domonic Biggi, CEO of Beaverton Foods. "We are especially pleased that our new Ingle- hoffer Ghost Pepper Mustard was selected for a gold medal for a second consecutive year. Additionally, we're grateful that culinary ex- perts around the world like our products." The annual competition, held since 1995, is open to all commercial mustard producers and agents worldwide. There are 16 flavor categories in which gold, silver and bronze awards are presented. The con- test is a blind tasting judged by chefs, food writers and mustard aficionados. GN Good Zebra Spirit Animal Crackers Call Out the Wild There are days when you just need a snack to help power you through the afternoon, and then there are days when all you want to do is bite somebody's head off. Good Zebra has you covered on both counts with Spirit Animal Crackers. These animal crackers are reminiscent of the childhood treat packaged in the circus box with the string handle, but they're re- ally intended for adults, with clean flavors, detailed animal shapes, organic honey sweetening and even 12 grams of protein per serving. Each of the 11 Spirit Animal Cracker shapes were inspired by tattoo art to cap- ture the beauty and power of each ani- mal. There is an intricacy and high level of detail that goes into tattoo designs, and the same level of detail and artistry goes into Good Zebra's ingredients and shapes. "At Good Zebra, we're motivated by our desire to snack sweet without the guilt. So, with a pinch of vision and a dash of courage, we set out to do things our way," said Erika Szychowski, Good Zebra Founder and CEO. "We started with traditional animal crackers and transformed this childhood staple into the world's first Spirit Animal Crackers. We're risk-takers and rule-breakers, and we're out to flip the cookie industry on its little sugary head." Light and crisp with a satisfying crunch, Good Zebra's Spirit Animal Crackers contain over 70 percent or- ganic ingredients and no artificial colors or flavors. These grab-and-go snacks are available in a single-serving 1-ounce bag and a zip-top 2-ounce bag. Good Zebra Spirit Animal Crackers are available at specialty retailers across the U.S. and online at Good-Zebra.com and Ama- zon.com. GN

• Cover