Fort Point Beer: Schnebeck on Cheese, Grain Sacks & Natural Wine

A couple months ago I spotlighted at Mission Cheese for a special dinner featuring beer and cheddar stuffed sausages. The Mission folks needed some help plating salads. I wanted cheddar sausages. it was a perfect combo and I came in to work very happy.

Then, I learned that not only were they serving housemade brauts, they were pairing said cheese-packed meats to Fort Point beer, and I was even happier. 

The previous week I had visited Mill Valley Beerworks with my beer-loving Aunt Susan. Mill Valley Beerworks was the spot that gave birth to Fort Point Beer. It's a small little restaurant in Marin with three to five brewing tanks where brothers Tyler and Justin Catalana launched the venture that would become Fort Point (and serve great food right next to a redwood park). And It was there that I tried.... Manzanita, which inspired what some might call a beer epiphany.

This is what they say about Manzanita on their website:

Manzanita is a deep ruby colored ale with strikingly complex campfire smoke and firewood aromas. Beechwood smoked malt contributes an upfront roastiness while charred manzanita branches add hints of perfume and a slightly tannic woody finish.

In short, it's awesome. Rich yet bright with just the right amount of smokiness and herbal notes. It also just won a Good Food Award. Because it's damn good (as a side note, a lovely man I was dating brought a growler home from at the Good Food Awards marketplace a month ago and treated me to it. Now he's my boyfriend. Coincidence? A little. But worth noting).

This January, Fort Point opened a retail shop and tap room in the Ferry Plaza too.

Anyhow, at the lovely dinner, I made friends with the head brewer, Mike Schnebeck (pictured above), who not only let me visit the brewery and take pics galore, he poured me beer while I asked him an insane amount of questions about yeast and sugar (I'm a little fermentation obsessed), talked to me about his love of cheese (he worked at Cheese Plus years ago), and let me pet the brewery cat. Then he let me email him even more questions and pick his cheese and beer pairing brain. Following are the interview questions. Spoiler: He also likes sandwiches and natural wine.

Thank you Mike, and Fort Point, for your time!

Testing bacteria and yeast activity at Fort Point (like all the time)

What are your favorite 3 cheese and beer pairings? Fort Point beers, please. 

Our Professor IPA goes really well with Fiscalini Bandage Wrapped Cheddar. I love how two super intense flavors combine into one new kind of sensation. Professor's hop profile has a tropical slant that accents some of the fruitier cheese tones.

Westfalia and Bellwether Farms San Andreas is a pretty fun party too. That was one of the first cheeses I had that made me go wow! and Westfalia provides just the right amount of cut and complimentary flavor.

Manzanita and Jasper Hill Winnimere is an explosive combo. The spruce adds a nice touch to what is already a very woodsy/campfire combination.

What do you miss most about working with cheese from Cheese Plus?

The sandwiches. I mostly made sandwiches but did some cheese counter work too. I really like making sandwiches. If I wasn't making beer I would probably be making sandwiches. The cheese counter side was great because I was constantly learning and tasting new flavors. Being able to taste is extremely important in brewing too. The broader your palate the better. So in a sense I guess I was training for this job without knowing it. Cheese, like beer, is a vast ocean on the way to distant lands. I miss exploring all of that.

What convinced you that you wanted to be a brewer? 

I'm still not entirely convinced. I enjoy brewing beer but I am interested in many things. Lately natural wine has been calling very strongly. I know very little but the things I have learned have really sparked my interest. That's good for brewing though too, having outside interests I think makes you more creative and changes the way you view the job you do every day. If I had got a job at a famous college wine bar when I was 21 perhaps things would be different but then everything would be different because what college would have a wine bar??

Bryce Tyranski, brewer at Fort Point checking out yeast activity in the microscope

Have a favorite style of beer to make? Why?

Lower alcohol beers require less lifting of sacks of grain -those beers can be nicer to make. I have enjoyed making more aromatic, hoppier styles lately. I enjoy the progression of those beers, tasting at different times and being able to detect how the aromas are changing. The biological and chemical side of hops in fermentation is very fascinating.

The scene from Fort Point Brewing’s back door on a misty day

What are you excited about learning next?

Hop aromas. I did a brief experiment with my friends at Cerveceria de Mateveza a few months ago and discovered some very promising results. It feels like we are awash in hoppy beer but I think we have merely scratched the surface. There are many new techniques that will be developed that will change the way we use and think about hops. I am excited to be a part of these innovations. I am also excited to learn about lighter-style beers and hopefully create something that people never knew they loved.

The cuddliest fastest brewery cat ever.

Thanks again, Mike!

We've Got the Funk: Cheese & Beer Pairing at Drake's Dealership, SF Beer Week

Tomorrow Drake's Brewery and I team up for one of my favorite events of the year- our annual  beer and cheese pairing for SF Beer Week. We take this very seriously. Not only do we meet to discuss things ahead of time, we taste, and we take notes for the first hour (or the first five beer samples, but who's counting).  Photographic evidence follows. What is SF Beer Week, you ask? Well, SF Beer Week is a time when breweries shower the San Francisco Bay Area with massive amounts of beer- we're talking storms, not a light drizzle. It's a time when people are thankful for public transit and designated drivers are celebrated in high form. This is the third year I'm teaming up with Drake's, and once again I'm honored to be pairing with one of the best craft breweries in California.

As you can see from the photos above which reflect the state of the table prior to us even sitting down to taste, Drake's and I are very thorough in our sensory evaluations. We tasted about seven different cheeses with twelve different Drake's brews (that's at least 84 different blasts of flavor). We consulted with each other. We tasted again. We talked some more. We ate from a third to three-quarters of a pound of cheese each. We considered making pairing grids. We did all this to find the perfect pairings for you (and maybe for us too).

See the notes? Clear evidence of the scientific nature of our tasting.

The tasting will feature mainly all domestic cheese (mainly Cali), but most importantly funky and old cheese- paired to Drake's beer (mainly seasonal, special releases)- five cheeses, six beers. Cowgirl Creamery's Red Hawk makes an appearance, as does an earthy Montgomery's Cheddar, and Drake's Kreik. To start.

So, stop by if you'd like to join me in general beer and cheese revelry. I'd love to see you there. Tickets available here.

Jan 28th 6 pm, Drake's Dealership, Oakland. And yes, it's blocks from BART! Strongly suggested to get tickets ahead of time.

Culinary Tour to Ireland: Ballymaloe, Ardrahan Cheese, Cork and Me

Ardrahan washed-rind cheese bobbing in a salt brine

I spent the best two months of my life a little over a year ago roaming the green Isles, and making cheese in Wales, England, and Ireland. I dug my fingers deep in cheese curds next to producers whose wheels, like Mary Holbreck’s of Sleight Farms, and Ardrahan’s of Cork, that I adored from afar in the United States. I drove (slowly) all over the left hand side of the sharp, windy roads of the Atlantic Way. I fell in love with new customs, lands, and people. And then there was that Irish butter and those English desserts and meats which and I still dream about today.

Because I’ve been working on a couple projects relating to this fabulous trip that have been in a transitory state, I haven’t wrote much here about it. A lot has been in development and so much has been in flux! But things are shaping up and now I’m super happy that I can share one of these projects.

A Culinary Trip to Ireland

My alma matter and I, UC Berkeley, have teamed up to create a culinary and cultural tour of Ireland this summer of which I am amazingly proud and excited to be the tour guide. That’s right, if you join the tour, you get to hear me talking about the glories of Irish cheese, dairy, cheese, and cheese all the time (thoughI will leave you alone when you’re ready to go to bed). This is a country whose land produces some of the most gorgeous produce in the world, and whose seas supply beautiful enough fish and crustaceans to make this California swoon.

Couldn’t be happier.

it's an eleven day trip starting in Dublin and finishing in Cork that I was able to help craft from scratch. Meaning we’re hitting many of the places dear to my heart, and spending lots of time in Cork County.

Three nights at Darina Allen’s Ballymaloe Cooking School and Inn (above), complete with classes. A stop at Cork City's English Market. A visit to meet the Burns family of Ardrahan Cheese in Kanturk. Then more cheese. Visits to sheep farms, Dungarvin Brewing Company, and Middleton Distillery.Then more cheese. A stop at the Cliffs of Moher (otherwise known as Princess Bride's Cliffs of Insanity). To start.

Read more about the trip here. It's worth noting that one doesn’t have attended Cal and to become an alumni member and join the trip. If you have any questions, please reference me when and if reaching out to CalDiscoveries, and feel free to email me too (kirstin@itsnotyouitsbrie.com). I’ll post more info here as we get closer to take off!

Eric Miller: Cheesemonger Invitational Finalist, Pickle Guru, and Maker's Common Co-Founder

After reading the title description of Eric Miller above- Cheesemonger Invitational finalist, pickling guru, Maker's Common about-to-be-founder...

one might just naturally assume that it would be impossible for Eric to be anything more. Oh my friends, it is possible!

Abby of WMMB, me, Jack of Heritage Radio, Chris of Mission Cheese/Makers Common, and Heather of WMMB.

Eric and I met years ago when I was visiting friends at Mission Cheese. Then we hung out later on the Cheesemonger Invitational competition dance floor (not part of the competition, part of the party!). Then I watched him charm judges with his Perfect Bite the next year. Next, I traveled with him to Wisconsin on a recent cheese tour- see above. From these experiences, I can tell you that not only is he a cheese pairing master and able to pickle and cure everything from vegetables to charcuterie with skill, Eric is also very smart, funny, and he might even be able to break dance. And, he's about to launch Maker's Common with his Mission Cheese partners Sarah and Oliver in a very innovative way. So I thought it would be a good time to help you get to know Eric a little better.

Below is an interview with Mr. Miller. He's very involved in the cheese community, an awesome guy, and.... I think you should know the man who individually fried 100 quail eggs for His Perfect Bite a little better. 

The Man, the Pair-er, the Pickler: The Maker's Common Co-Founder

Kirstin: If you could be one cheese for the rest of your life, what would you be? Why? If you wish, you can pick another cheese to morph into once you turn 65, too. 

EM: I think I have to go with Rush Creek Reserve to start with. Everyone knows it’s special. It shows up once a year for a couple of months and everyone celebrates. It’s treated like royalty – the star of every cheese plate. And I’d get to be made by Andy Hatch and his crew. That sounds weird now that I think about it. In my second life as a cheese, I might go with a dearly departed cheese from Goat’s Leap Dairy – Eclipse or Sumi. I really miss those cheeses. And if I could bring them back I sure would. They were like our local little piece of the Loire.

As a cheesemonger who has been behind the counter of Mission Cheese slicing dairy for the discriminating eaters of San Francisco for years now, what are three things that you've noticed people assume about cheese that is not true? 

EM: There are so many! One of the most absurd is that they think goats and sheep are the same animal. Seriously? I figured that would have been clarified by the time you’re an adult. Another is that there’s no gluten in blue cheese. There are studies that correct this one. Look them up. Get the facts. Lastly, I’d have to say that triple creams are bad because of all the fat. People don’t realize that 45% of the weight of a triple cream is moisture. It’s not like they’re eating a stick of butter here but they seem to think that’s what it is.

What are three things that you wish people knewabout cheese that many might not know?

EM: First and foremost, that not all goat cheese is created equal. So many think that they don’t like goat cheese because they has some nasty version of it that sat on a Safeway shelf for far too long and tasted of ammonia and filthy goat bedding. Sorry, but that’s not it. I also wish they knew the diversity in cheese styles. People ask for Brie, Manchego, and smoked Gouda (why?) all of the time. There’s so much more to cheese than those. Lastly, and this isn’t specific to cheese, they knew how to describe flavor. We need to move beyond just “sharp” or “sweet”. There’s so much more nuance that people don’t really think about. As a bonus answer, I wish people knew that America was making amazing cheese. So many people just assume we only have pre-wrapped singles and the ubiquitous orange block of cheddar. There are hundreds of amazing cheese makers in the US at this time. This is something I want everyone to know, and I take that challenge very personally.

You've worked on both the east and west coasts in the cheese world. What do you see as the main difference(s) between the east and west coast cheese scene and tastes?

EM: I knew next to nothing on the east coast – I was volunteering in the Murray’s Cheese classroom as an assistant as often as I could. That being said, a big part was simply the selection. I barely experienced any cheese from the west coast. I think there was also more access, in general, to cheese that’s well beyond your typical grocery store schlock. That makes a big difference in how people see cheese and its diversity. That’s all changing now though. I have to say that the west coast cheese community is amazing – from mongers to makers. I think that the network out here is really impressive. We’re able to visit cheese makers all of the time. I couldn’t really do that in the same way back east.

Right now you're looking for a spot to house your cheese baby, Maker's Common. I'm super excited about it. With its all-American cheese menu and support for local wine, Mission Cheese has been a wonderful addition to the Bay Area community and I'm sure Maker's Common will shine just as brightly. Can you talk a little bit about what will set Maker's Common apart from its big sister, Mission Cheese? 

EM: We love what we do at Mission Cheese. But, to put it simply, we’ve run out of space for new items for the menu. I added a lot to the menu a few years ago but there are so many ideas that we have that are nearly impossible to execute. So with Maker’s Common, we’re looking for something that’s around three times bigger. We’ll have a full kitchen so that we can expand our menu, we’ll serve brunch, make more in-house charcuterie. There will also be a retail market with cut-to-order cheese and charcuterie, and wine and beer to take away, and prepared food items. To goal for the market is to make it your perfect spot for all of your picnic needs or for a nice and simple dinner with friends. As important as everything else we plan on doing, it will be just as accessible and family friendly.

You're going a very different route to raise funds to open MC2 (Maker's Common). Instead of using something like kickstarter, as is common with the food biz right now, or calling in big investors, you're going the way of a DPO (Direct Pubic Offering). This makes it so that the investors are everyday people, and instead of just getting one thank-you gift when your needs are financially met as is the case with orgs like Kickstarter, investors are "founders" who will get returns on their investment over time. Can talk a little bit about the type of people who are investing in you and what they expect from the MC2 future?

EM: We’re really excited about how this has gone. We’ve raised over $250k through our DPO – most of that coming from the Bay Area. Most of our Founders to date are in the greater Bay Area. Everyone from foodies to tech industry movers and shakers are investing in Maker’s Common. It’s also a way to balance out your portfolio and actually know who – and I mean the actual people – you’re investing in. If you like good food then it’s a worthy investment. If you believe in what we do at Mission Cheese then it’s a worthy investment. We always hear people talking about buying local and shopping local. Well, let’s close that loop and put our money where our mouth is and actually invest local.

Why is it important for you to support local when there is deliciousness everywhere?

EM: Deliciousness is everywhere and we support those producers. All of our products are domestic. We love that we are part of their businesses and we can showcase what they’re doing. But when you actually invest in local businesses and you shop at those businesses, you actually keep more of that money in your local economy. I love European cheese but I’m pretty sure that a cheese maker in Petaluma or Dodgeville needs my dollars more than a subsidized cheese maker in Europe does.

Back to cheese gossip. You were a finalist in the 2015 Cheesemonger Invitational. I was there. I saw your perfect bite. Topped with quail eggs which you individually fried, your Perfect Bites were beautiful. And a little crazy. You cooked 100 eggs perfectly. How many did you not cook perfectly while practicing? 

EM: That was a serious challenge. My wife thought I was insane for frying up over 100 quail eggs for CMI. Once I was in the thick of it, I started to agree. Once I realized that the easiest way to crack open the shell was to use a sharp knife and cut an end off I was in good shape. Before I figured that out I was probably at a 60% success rate. I don’t know if I could top that one if I were to compete again.

What were the most surprising CMI moments for you? 

EM: For me personally, it was just making it to the finals. I specialize in domestic cheese. My imported cheese chops are not what they should be. So that was a real honor – especially considering some of the seriously talented people that I got to share the stage with. I was also blown away crowd. I’ve never seen so many cheese lovers in one place that weren’t actually from the cheese industry. It was amazing.

The eat-soon cheesemonger list at Mission Cheese

I've gathered from experience elegantly imbibing with you that you enjoy whiskey. And beer. And you also like wine. But really, what are your top three cheese pairings, ever?

EM: A favorite has to be Queso de Mano from Haystack Mountain in Colorado with some Le Merle Saison from North Coast Brewing in California. The earthy nuttiness of the cheese along with the yeasty tropical fruit of the beer comes together as lemon zest and toast. I’ve served this pairing dozens of times and everyone loves it.

Fat Bottom Girl from Bleating Heart in Tomales and Charbono from Calder Wine in Calistoga is a great duo. Almonds, cherries, butter, and herbs. It’s one of my favorite California combos.

A classic has to be Cabrales and Alvear Pedro Ximenex Solera 1927 – both from Spain. Cabrales on it own can be quite sharp, acidic, and strong. The PX can come across as cloyingly sweet and syrupy. Together though, it’s like fireworks…Pop Rocks come to mind. They balance each other out beautifully.

Eric is the co-founder of the forthcoming Maker’s Common, an eatery and market that will showcase America’s best cheese, charcuterie, beer, and wine, opening in 2016. In this role he is focused on developing menus, raising capital, and scouting locations for the business. He is also the director of the Mission Cheese in-house charcuterie program, creating products that have become an integral part of the menu.

Since moving to California, he has fostered strong relationships within the American charcuterie movement by serving as the Charcuterie Chairperson for the Good Food Awards. Eric was also a top-ten finalist at the Cheesemonger Invitational and can be sometimes be found teaching classes at the Cheese School of San Francisco.

To find out more about Maker’s Common or to invest, check out the website.

Minnesota Cheese Taking 2016 by storm: Lone Grazer & RedHead Creamery

Because I often drop words like drought, meyer lemons, ocean views, and wine country instead of phrases like hot dish, snow, and ice fishing, it might not be clear that my family roots run deep to Minnesota. But my mother's side of the family comes from the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Our ties to the state are as thick as my Norwegian aunt's lefsa is thin, and my love of the state's charms is as overflowing as as my uncle's freezer is with venison. I love when I see it succeed.

Minnesota Cheese Takes 2016 by Storm

So when I say that can't wait to see what 2016 brings for the artisan Minnesota cheese movement, I say it with an excited, and inspired heart. Go Minnesota! (And when I say Minnesota cheese is taking 2016 by storm,... I mean it in a gentle snowing storm kind of way because it's still a small industry, but for such a small industry, it's a blizzard!)

I'm  excited about two new creameries in Minnesota especially- Lone Grazer and RedHead Creamery. Both of whose cheeses I was lucky enough to try at ACS, and both hope I get to see in shops all over the country soon. If you spot these guys featured below, grab them as soon as you can, and if you don't, ask away at shop counters, dear readers!

Lone Grazer

Lone Grazer cheese (above) is as orange as you can get. Oranger than an orange. Oranger than Red Hawk and Tallegio. And just as vibrant. With plush rinds and soft, bouncy pastes, Lone Gazer cheeses are washed rind wheels that are rubbed with tea or Minnesota hand-crafted whisky and water as they age. "Washing," or rubbing the rind encourages the growth of B. linen bacteria, and turns the rind orange and funky, and the inside sweet.

This beauty above is called Grazier's Edge and is washed with rye. The baby wheel that cheesemaker Rueben is holding in the top photo is called Hansom Cab and washed with rye and Lapsang Souchong tea. All are made with milk from grass-fed milk in Northeast Minneapolis by Mr. Rueben and his crew. Awesome. Funky. Sweet.

RedHead Creamery

What happens with a farming family has a family of four redheaded girls? One of them visits a farmstead creamery at the age of 16 and decides she wants to make cheese, falls in love with a dairy farmer, visits creameries all over the world, and returns to California to start her own cheesemaking company. Still with red hair. I first learned about Alise when she emailed me asking who to visit in Ireland upon reading about my visit last fall, and then was overjoyed to stumble upon her cheese at ACS the following year. Alise makes gorgeous cheese- the type of cheese that normally takes years to perfect, and I'm so excited to see where things go for her. Her eight month-old cheddar, buttery, sweet, and lightly meaty, is made from the cows from her family's dairy just outside the creamery, as is her creamy Little Lucy featured above. Alise and her family are below.

But there's more.

More Minnesota? Oh yes, Cali style.

California is getting one half of one of Minnesota's brightest cheese stars in Santa Rosa. Keith of Alemar Cheese (who makes the oozing, buttery and earthy Bent River and Good Thunder) from Minnesota is starting an English inspired cheese company counterpart in Sonoma focusing on raw milk cheddar and blue called WM. Cofield Cheesemakers.

Are we lucky much?

Very much looking forward to 2016. With my friends and family I know that 2015 has been... long. Looking forward to things moving a little smoother, having time to write more here, and to sharing more of my latest discoveries and favorite people with you here. Happy Cheese and Cheesemaking! May your upcoming year be full of cheer, love, financial success and health. Thank you for reading.

Mozzarella's Got Flow: Making Cheese in a Bank

Cheesemaking Class, San Francisco Style

If you were of the sort that thought the only kind of cheese one could make in a bank was the stackable dollar-dollar-bill type (hey hey hip hop fans),... that was an understandable assumption.

I feel you. In fact, when I was first asked to instruct a group on cheesemaking in such a financial institution, it took me a few seconds to realize I was the only one giggling. The person at the another end of the phone was patiently waiting.

"Oh! Really?"

Really.

And it's pretty awesome.

Not only can you make cheese in a bank, you can also stretch it.

I recently had the honor of being asked by 18 Reasons to teach a mozzarella class for twenty-five clients of Umpqua Bank's Potrero Hill branch in San Francisco. How does something like this happen? Well, Umpqua wants to do something a little something special for their clients. They hook up with 18 Reasons, one of San Francisco's coolest community food event organizations (yup, the one formerly connected to Bi-Rite), and 18 Reasons calls me. I like being called. Easy!

Sure, there was a little table maneuvering, electric outlet searching, and carrying of portable burners, bowls, and milk around and I may have spilled a little citric acid. But what was the result?

The result was a large group of really happy people. This part isn't unusual. I know one might expect a cheesemaker instructor to say this, and here goes, but something happens when you get people in a room together making cheese. True, sometimes a tiny mess happens (whey likes to assert its presence ), but more importantly, you start to see smiles lighting up faces. Did you guess I was going to say that?

The smiles start when people lightly press their fingertip against the curd to see if feels like silken tofu - if it does, it's ready to be cut. And the smiles continue as the group makes decisions about who will cut the curd next so whey can be released. Then, as the shy person takes hold of the knife, the one who wasn't sure if they wanted to be involved, you see another smile as they feel the tug of the blade pull through the firming milk.

Of course there's more fun during curd stretching- especially if they make shapes and ropes. This one above figured out the subtle finger twist all on her own.

And ta da, they've created something delicious together, carrying on the cheesemaking tradition as has been done centuries before them. #milklife

Hope you enjoy the pictures my photographer friend Molly DeCoudreaux took that night. I wanted to give you a little idea of what happens when mozzarella goes rogue (mobile), and what happens when people make cheese in a bank without having to wait for it to multiply on the stock market.

Thank you, Umpqua and 18 Reasons for inviting me join your team!

Christmas Cakes & Yuzu: Behind-the-Scenes with June Taylor

June Taylor Jam

The first time I was introduced to June Taylor Jam was while visiting the cheese counter at the Pasta Shop, tasting slices of Bayley Hazen and sampling perhaps three too many spoonfuls of triple creme. Out of the blue, a wheel so perfectly crafted and unique it could only be described as artisan caught my eye. I asked for a taste.

The cheese had a rind that looked like the caramelized surface of a creme brulée, a smooth and pale white paste, and a flavor as joyful as a ballet studio full four year-olds spinning in pink tutus. 

Made by Soyoung Scanlan, the "soloist at Andante Dairy", the goat's milk cheese was Tomme Dolce, and it was washed with a mixture of brandy and June Taylor's plum conserve. Never before had I tasted a cheese washed with preserves. I left the shop with the cheese, and three jars of June Taylor's jams that lasted about, oh, a week. I was enamored.

So when recently given the chance to interview June and visit her Still Room, I jumped on it. I felt like those aforementioned happy, spinning ballerinas. This is a photo diary of the day I visited June. She was working on her Christmas cakes, for which she dries three different grapes and then soaks them, plums, currants, and navel, yuzu, and lemon peel in port for weeks before baking. She also hand-paints the cake wrappers before sending them off to be letter-pressed. Seriously. Her and her team also hand-label every single jar of preserves.

One thing that separates June Taylor's preserves from others on the market is how nuanced they are. Though packed full of flavor, they're deliberate, never overwhelming, and taste like the season from which the preserved organic fruit comes (some of my favorites are her Red Cloud Apricot & White Sage Conserve, Three Fruit Marmalade, and Sonoma Bay and Rose Geranium Syrup). Her creations and craftsmanship have earned her a cult following from Berkeley to Japan.

As June, who once planned an entire two-week London vacation to visit the British Library to browse centuries-old cookbooks of her Englishmen, puts it, "the more you dig back and deeply respect what they did, the more it affects our modern age."

In England, they foraged berries, herbs and fruit from hedgerows to make jams and sloe gin. Now, June breaks branches of from Cypress trees around Berkeley's aquatic park on walks to make her flavored syrups. By collecting and preserving, June honors seasons, flavors, tradition, and as she puts it, "re-introduces the forgotten."

And did I mention that she likes cheese? it's true.

She assuaged my dairy obsession by playing pairings with me. In a future post I'll reveal some of her favorite cheese and preserves combinations.

Since June I got along and well as cheese and her damson plum conserves, I'm also thrilled to announce that we're going to teach a pairings class together.

Date and time to be determined, and announced here shortly.

Thank you, June for letting me visit.