First Place in the Canadian Cheese Grand Prix 2013: Latin Foods Queso Fresco
Apparently it was the elves at Dairy Farmers of Canada that developed this delicious holiday recipe using the first place winner of the 2013 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix that is sure to impress your guests this season. The entire dish lasted about 10 minutes at my house, and there were only 5 of us.
Granted, I did not serve the savoury honey rosemary scented apples with toasted walnuts and buttery Queso Fresco cheese on a homemade cracker. However, I liked it without any cracker at all.
I have been a fan of this award winning cheese for quite some time. It is still on my list to make a Queso Fresco as I didn’t get that one made during Cheesepalooza last year. However, it was Latin Foods Queso Fresco (the link is to their Facebook page, they do not have a website) that made it a goal.
If you don’t want to go to the muss and fuss of making this recipe, just buy the cheese, cube it and fry it a minute or so on each side on medium heat. Heaven, I tell you. Serve with a toothpick. You will have a crowd in seconds by doing this. I will add, however, that Santa’s elves really outdid themselves creating this recipe. Vanja detests rosemary in anything, and went back for seconds of this.
Delighted with the opportunity to promote an award winning Canadian Cheese from Alberta, I was equally delighted when Gail Hall was the purveyor of the goods for the recipe. I was happy to supply them myself, yet they were wrapped with curly ribbons and made the entire experience as much fun for me to make as it was for my family to eat. And, I had Gail for coffee, to boot.
Latin Foods Queso Fresco won first place at the Canadian Grand Prix Fresh Cheese with Grilling Properties Category. Surprisingly, however, was the 2013 Grand Champion: Quality Cheese Inc.’s Ricotta. You can well imagine that is would be the aged cheeses that take the prominent Grand Champion Award due to the nuances of flavour developed through the aging process. But, not this year. It was Quality Cheese Inc.’s Ricotta from Vaughan, Ontario. “The jury found this Ricotta refined, delicate and well-balanced,” said Phil Bélanger, Canadian Cheese Grand Prix jury chairman. “It demonstrates that a fresh cheese can be as sophisticated as an aged one.” It is lauded for its creamy texture and milky aroma. I hope you head over to Paddy’s or Everything Cheese in Edmonton, or Janice Beaton’s in Calgary or your local fromagerie, and pick up some of the award winning cheeses listed at the bottom of this post for a personal taste of Canadian Cheese.
Apples and cheese are a classic pairing. As a young teen and University student, my favourite snack would be a crisp, irresistibly fragrant rosy apple with a hearty slab of Canadian cheddar. I came by that honestly, as mom always served her homemade apple pies with a slice of Canadian cheddar. Apples and cheese are delicious together, so the fact that Santa’s elves created a recipe around this beloved Canadian pairing came as no surprise.
The addition of butter for depth, local dandelion honey for sweetness, rosemary for that woody outdoorsy Christmas note, and toasted walnuts to compliment the crisp texture of the apples with the meaty oils in the nut created a smart, magical little concoction bubbling up under the buttery melted Queso Fresco in the small casserole dish.
I positioned the apple slices to enable attractive serving portions.
The photo that came with the recipe had a slab of the cheese resting atop the bed of apples. Being the greedy little lover of this cheese that I am, cubing it made more sense to me. I wouldn’t have to embarrass myself portioning some from the top to accompany the apples.
Oh, how I love tasting, yet do not like drawing attention to myself in the process. Most find it surprising that I get embarrassed as easily as I do.
I plan to go through the entire list of award winning Canadian cheeses and try every single one of them this year.
How many of the Cheeses on the list below are you familiar with? What is your favourite kind of cheese, or are you like me and love them all? OK, one more really important question. Would you buy a Canadian Cheese over an import? Why or why not?
Autumn Apples with Queso Fresco
Ingredients
- 2 apples , sliced or cut into small wedges
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) butter, melted
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) honey
- 1 tsp (5 ml) fresh rosemary leaves
- ¼ cup (60 ml) nuts, your choice (pistachios, walnuts, almonds, pecans, etc.), optional
- 8 oz (225 g) Latin Foods Queso Fresco cheese
- Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F
- In an oven-safe medium baking dish, mix apples, butter, honey, rosemary and nuts
- Place cheese over apples, season to taste with pepper
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until hot and golden brown
- Place the dish on the table and enjoy while the cheese is hot
Notes
Protein: 5 g
Carbohydrate: 9 g
Fat: 8 g
Fibre: 1.1 g
Sodium: 212 mg Top 5 nutrients provided by a serving of this recipe Nutrient and % DV* Calcium: 15% / 163 mg
Vitamin B12: 24%
Vitamin D: 16%
Selenium: 11%
Phosphorus: 10%
The 2013 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix Category Winners:
- Fresh Cheese Ricotta: Quality Cheese Inc., Ontario
- Fresh Cheese with grilling properties: Queso Fresco Cheese, Latin Foods Inc., Alberta
- Soft Cheese with bloomy rind: Le Noble, Fromagerie Domaine Féodal Inc., Quebec
- Semi-soft Cheese: Tre Stelle Feta Cheese, Arla Foods Inc., Ontario
- Washed OR mixed rind Cheese (Soft, Semi-soft and Firm): Le Mamirolle, Fromagerie Éco-Délices, Quebec
- Firm Cheese: Gunn’s Hill Five Brothers, Gunn’s Hill Artisan Cheese, Ontario
- Gouda: Grizzly Gouda Sylvan Star Cheese Ltd., Alberta
- Swiss-type Cheese: Louis D’or 18 months, Fromagerie du Presbytère, Quebec
- Pasta Filata: Not enough entries
- Mozzarella (Ball, Brick or Cylinder): Tre Stelle Mozzarella Cheese, Arla Foods Inc., Ontario
- Blue Cheese (various rinds, with or without veining): Bleu d’Élizabeth, Fromagerie du Presbytère, Quebec
- Flavoured Cheese with added non-particulate flavourings: Applewood Smoked Cheddar, Cows Creamery, Prince Edward Island
- Flavoured Cheese with added particulate solids and flavourings: Raclette de Compton au poivre, Fromagerie La Station, Quebec
- Mild Cheddar (aged 3 months): L’Ancêtre Organic Mild Cheddar, Fromagerie L’Ancêtre, Quebec
- Medium Cheddar (aged 4 to 9 months): Medium Cheddar, Maple Dale Cheese, Ontario
- Old Cheddar (aged from 9 months to a year): Cheddar 1 year, Fromagerie Perron, Quebec
- Aged Cheddar (more than 1 year up to 3 years): Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar, Cows Creamery, Prince Edward Island
- Aged Cheddar (more than 3 years): 5 Year Aged Cheddar, The Black River Cheese Company Ltd., Ontario
- Farmhouse Cheese: Grizzly Gouda, Sylvan Star Cheese Ltd., Alberta
- Organic Cheese: Bleu d’Élizabeth, Fromagerie du Presbytère, Quebec
|
Categories |
Cheese Name |
Company |
Description |
|
Fresh Cheese |
Ricotta |
Quality Cheese Inc. |
Ricotta is a soft Italian cheese that is semi-sweet to mild in flavour. It is white and it has a milky aroma and a creamy flavour. |
|
Fresh Cheese with grilling properties |
Queso Fresco Cheese |
Latin Foods Inc. |
White Fresh cheese made from 100% Canadian milk. It is a traditional cheese from Venezuela. Slightly salty taste, smooth and soft texture. Fresco Cheese has a higher melting point than other cheese, which makes it suitable for frying and grilling. Good to prepare finger cheese, Greek Grill Cheese, Grill Sandwich, and Cheese in BBQ. |
|
Soft Cheese with bloomy rind |
Le Noble |
Fromagerie Domaine Féodal Inc. |
Made from pasteurized cow’s milk, this soft cheese with bloomy rind has a light aroma of fresh mushrooms and final notes of butter and almond. |
|
Semi-soft Cheese |
Tre Stelle Feta Cheese |
Arla Foods Inc. |
Feta is practically an institution among Greek-Canadians, who consider a table poorly stocked if it doesn’t contain a plate of this tangy, lively cheese. Feta is stored in brine, which keeps it fresh for months in the refrigerator. White in colour, it ranges in texture from creamy to slightly crumbly. |
Washed or mixed rind Cheese (Soft, Semi-soft and Firm) |
Le Mamirolle |
Fromagerie Éco-Délices |
Semi-soft, washed rind cheese with a fruity aroma and supple, smooth texture. Refined flavour with notes of fruit and hazelnut. |
|
Firm Cheese |
Gunn’s Hill Five Brothers |
Gunn’s Hill Artisan Cheese |
Five Brothers is a cow’s milk cheese that combines traits from Gouda and a Swiss variety called Appenzeller. At eight months old it has a firm yet creamy texture and rich diverse flavours with sweeter overtones. Distinctive eyes are scattered throughout the body of the cheese. All of the milk to produce this unique cheese comes from our family dairy farm. It is named after the five Ysselstein brothers, one of whom is the owner and cheese maker at Gunn’s Hill. |
|
Gouda |
Grizzly Gouda |
Sylvan Star Cheese Ltd. |
At one year this Gouda has developed a strong firm texture while remaining very smooth and creamy to the palate. The flavour is a subtle caramel and nut with just the right hint of salty tang. |
Swiss-type Cheese |
Louis D’or 18 months |
Fromagerie du Presbytère |
This beautiful 40 kg cheese wheel is remarkable because of its size and flavour. Inspired by the traditional cheese-making know-how from the Jura region, the cheese maker has created this magnificent cheese with its fine, complex flavours, which are already eloquently expressed after nine months of ripening. The Louis D’or cheese gets its name from the Louis D’or farm, which produces the organic milk used to make it. The name of the cheese also refers to the French currency of the same name used under the reign of Louis XIII in 1640. |
|
Mozzarella (Ball, Brick or Cylinder) |
Tre Stelle Mozzarella Cheese |
Arla Foods Inc. |
The origins of the No. 1 cheese in the North American food industry are muddled with time, but we do know that monks in the Italian region of Capua were making versions of it in the Medieval period. In those days, Mozzarella was made with rich buffalo milk. Mozzarella di bufala is still made today, but the milder cow’s milk version now makes up the vast bulk of Mozzarella made around the world. |
|
Blue Cheese (various rinds, with or without veining) |
Bleu d’Élizabeth |
Fromagerie du Presbytère |
Natural rind, blue-veined with a balanced salty flavour. Made with organic farmhouse milk. |
Flavoured Cheese with added non-particulate flavouring |
Applewood Smoked Cheddar |
Cows Creamery |
Cows Creamery Applewood Smoked Cheddar is infused with natural applewood smoke to produce a full, smoky flavour that complements our award winning 2 Year Old Cheddar. Our Extra Old Cheddar is smoked slowly over a six hour period using applewood chips. This gives our Cheddar the full, smoky flavour that is deliciously mouthwatering and perfect for cooking or eating on its own. |
|
Flavoured Cheese with added particulate solids and flavouring |
Raclette de Compton au poivre |
Fromagerie La Station |
La Raclette de Compton is a semi-soft farm cheese made with certified organic cow’s milk. Aged for 120 to 150 days, it has a golden, ivory colour with a copper-coloured washed rind. It features a supple, melt-in-your-mouth texture with a buttery, hazelnut flavour. |
|
Mild Cheddar (aged 3 months) |
L’Ancêtre Organic Mild Cheddar |
Fromagerie L’Ancêtre |
Mild organic cheddar cheese made from non-pasteurized milk. |
|
Medium Cheddar (aged 4 to 9 months) |
Medium Cheddar |
Maple Dale Cheese |
Established in 1888 as a dairy co-op and originally know as Zion Cheese Manufacturing, Maple Dale was purchased in 1987 and is now family-run, specializing in cheddar and especially known for their aged cheddars. Natural aging develops the rich texture and mature cheddar taste with a spectrum of nutty, salty and slightly fruity flavours. |
|
Old Cheddar (aged from 9 months to a year) |
Cheddar 1 year |
Fromagerie Perron |
Founded in 1890 by Adéland Perron, four generations have been involved in the cheese making. Made from raw milk and naturally aged for one year, this firm cheese has a nutty flavour. |
Aged Cheddar (more than 1 year up to 3 years) |
Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar |
Cows Creamery |
Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar is hand made in the style of the great traditional cheddars from the milk of Holstein Cows in the countryside of Prince Edward Island. It is made with raw milk that is gently heated but not pasteurized to allow beneficial microbes to thrive and give depth of character and flavour. Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar is matured in cellars at 11 – 12 °C and humidity level of 90% for at least one year. The cloth wrapping of the cheddar wheels allow the cheese to breathe and develop the rich, robust flavours as it matures. |
Aged Cheddar (more than 3 years) |
5 Year Aged Cheddar |
The Black River Cheese Company Ltd. |
Black River has been making cheese in Prince Edward county since 1901 and is one of the few remaining cheese manufacturers operating as a farmer-owned co-operative. This naturally aged 5-year old cheddar is made from fresh thermalized cow’s milk. Guaranteed to wake up your taste buds with that traditional cheddar sharpness and a crumbly texture that is sure to please. |
|
Farmhouse Cheese |
Grizzly Gouda |
Sylvan Star Cheese Ltd. |
At one year, this Gouda has developed a strong firm texture while remaining very smooth and creamy to the palate. The flavour is a subtle caramel and nut with just the right hint of salty tang. |
|
Organic Cheese |
Bleu d’Élizabeth |
Fromagerie du Presbytère |
Natural rind, blue-veined with a balanced salty flavour. Made with organic farmhouse milk. |
My fellow Slow Food Executive Board Member, Chef Michael Howell, has been one of the Canadian Cheese Grand Prix judges for a few years and I so enjoy hearing his passionate stories about his tasting experiences. Meet the judges, below.
I will always buy an Award Winning Canadian Cheese over an import, or a local cheese over an import or with an import. I adore tastings. Yet, I definitely buy imported cheeses. For me, it is knowing my terroir and using and celebrating the cheeses from my home country. Once I know what we have, I cherish the opportunity I have to compare tastes and textures and flavours from cheeses all over the world. Delving into the food culture of another country is as important and as interesting for me as the art, architecture, music and history.
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