Juniper and Fennel
Juniper and Fennel
Regular price
¥540 JPY
Regular price
Sale price
¥540 JPY
Unit price
per
Tax included.
Couldn't load pickup availability
The idea for Juniper and Fennel cheese came one morning. It was winter. The room was cold, but it was nice and warm in bed.
There is a delicious state between sleep and wakefulness when you are not dreaming, but not fully conscious either.
I was wondering what cheese to make that day and I had the idea of flavouring a cheese with fennel and crushed juniper berries. I ran the flavours through my mind and the more I thought about it, the better it seemed.
I wrote it down immediately because these ideas disappear as soon as they come! Then, that day, I added crushed juniper berries and fennel to a pecorino style cheese. This cheese takes three months to mature and it was a long three months!
Then, finally, I got to taste it and gave it A+++! A great cheese!
DESCRIPTION
Juniper and fennel really go well together in a cheese. Juniper is the main spice in gin and I jokingly describe this cheese as an edible gin and tonic without the tonic!
Juniper is used in many European dishes, especially in sauces. Its fragrance adds to meat dishes in particular. Fennel gives body to the taste. This is a most unusual cheese.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Fennel is slightly sweet and this cheese pairs beautifully with honey or Jahana Kippan's excellent toganzuke (candied winter melon, a traditional Okinawan sweet). It pairs well with fruit also. A slice of pear or persimmon.
Toganzuke is available for purchase by email, online or at the shop. Or, you can call in at the Jahana Kippan shop behind Kokusai Dori in Naha.
This cheese would pair with a sweet, fruity wine, a dessert wine would go well. With toganzuke, I suggest a slightly bitter, green tea, eaten as a chagashi.
Customers have asked what this cheese compares to, but, honestly, there is nothing similar. It stands alone.
