Fuoco is a subtle cheese that is somehow both quietly delicate and richly memorable. Made by Fromagerie Fuoco in Quebec’s Laurentides region, it is the only water buffalo washed rind cheese currently being made in the province. Available in dainty 180g wheels or greedily sliced off of a large round, it has a lush interior that ranges from dense and springy to oozingly soft. When the cheese is young its crust has a tawny chalkiness to it; as it ages it transforms into a deep brown sticky rind.
Jason Fuoco, the young cheesemaker behind the cheese sharing his namesake, makes it using milk from a herd of 40 water buffalo. (Interestingly, Jason got his milk from Vancouver Island when he first began making cheese, from the same herd that supplies cheeses made by local BC cheesemakers Natural Pastures.) Because Fromagerie Fuoco makes only one cheese, Jason is able to concentrate on the quality and craftsmanship of a single product, which shows in the consistency of the formidable taste and complexity of the cheese.
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