Tuesday, 09 December 2008

• Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk

  This post will be solely devoted to a cheese that has quickly become an American classic.  Even though they've only been in business for around ten years, Cowgirl Creamery produces what is easily one of my favorite cheeses, called Red Hawk. 

  Dinner on Saturday night was started simply enough with this cheese and a perfectly good baguette and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.  Once unwrapped, this peachy orange round of cheese emits those classic funky smells that any good washed rind cheese should.  For those that don't understand, I'm sorry, but it just smells like a barn.  It's not like I've spent a whole lot of time in a barn, but my limited experience comes in handy when trying to describe the scent of this cheese.  I get smells of animals.  When I say this, I mean all parts of the animal, including its droppings.  I get wet hay, mud, and damp wood. 

  As soon as I cut into this cheese, I immediately remembered why I like it so much.  The texture is perfect.  No two ways about it.  If I could enjoy one texture of food for the rest of my life, this would be it.  The cheese perfectly blends gooey and creamy textures, resulting in a cheese that maintains just enough of a bite to hold its shape, but still soft enough to spread like slightly chilled butter.  As strange as it sounds, it feels good to even squeeze this cheese in your fingers.  Red Hawk is a triple cream cheese with an 86% butter fat content. 

  Not that I really care, but for those who are quick to complain about this number, please keep in mind that aged parmigiano reggiano has more fat per ounce.  Just wanted to add that to keep this number in perspective.

  Once this cheese gets into your mouth, it's all over.  Flavors of cream of mushroom soup, the best butter you've ever eaten in your life (and yes, there are huge differences in butter), salt, and a little bit of cedar completely take over your palate.  Add that to the imagination of you eating that bite in the middle of that fully operational barn I spoke of earlier.  The combination of pure decadence on the tongue combined with funk and earth running amok in your nasal cavity is so, so good. 

  This cheese brings excitement to four out of the five senses and I'm guessing that if I thought about it long enough, I could make a case for the sound.  No matter.  This cheese, though a little pricey (about $20/pound), needs to be sought out.  Even for those who don't like (or think they don't like) washed rind cheese, I can't help but think this one will win you over. 

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