MAXX 365, hailing from northeast Thurgau, Switzerland, has finally been released. It’s the elder brother of Scharfe Maxx, aged more than twice the time, for 365 days.
Though Scharfe Maxx can be found in specialty food stores around the United States, this one will be a bit more elusive. Export Manager Konrad Heusser, explains the new cheese, “they plug every batch of Scharfe Maxx to see the quality and decide if it is one that will age longer. Lower temperature and humidity help it along and the outcome is very surprising; it is just as incredibly creamy but not too spicy. We are lucky to get these wheels. In Switzerland the dairy gets a lot of requests for this cheese from their normal Scharfe Maxx customers, without even having tasted it!”
Scharfe Maxx is an original recipe from Switzerland. The 15 pound wheel with a raging bull on the label receives regular washings with a very hearty herbal brine creating an aromatic, rose colored and sturdy rind. But inside, the paste is very smooth, owing to the cream added to the raw cow’s milk. Normally released at five to six months, there is still a great sweetness to the paste with a garlic-ramp flavor approaching the rind. Perfect on a cheese plate, it is also used by chefs for a surprise on creative pizzas and gratins due its incredible melting quality.
In Maxx 365 we find the same creamy paste hiding under a rigid, burnished rind. But the intensity is outstanding and crunchy hints of crystallization are found throughout.
The newest, intense cheese from Switzerland has landed in the United States, available from regional distributors May 2011.
About Columbia Cheese:
Across Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Bavaria and Denmark we work intimately with every aspect…from European cheesemaker to U.S. cheesemonger. Columbia Cheese focuses on finding best in class cheese to represent the great heritage of cheesemaking in Europe. Traditional village dairies send their specialty cheeses made from the milk of animals grazing the lush mountainsides. These unique products, coupled with knowledge and materials make all the difference in seeing your specialty range sales flourish, which we are amply able to provide you. Learn more at www.columbiacheese.com
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For additional information about this topic, please contact: Columbia Cheese, Sarah Zaborowski, 718-937-7452; sarah@columbiacheese.com
Source: Columbia Cheese
