The Boston Globe - 11.09.2019

G2 The Boston Globe WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

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I

f you’ve only eaten the kind of cheddar shaped like a brick and wrapped

in plastic (or wax) then it might be time to try something a tad more

complex. Vermont specialty cheddar maker Grafton Village Cheese

Company makes a clothbound cheddar, where the cow’s milk cheese is

formed into a wheel, wrapped in cheesecloth, and carefully aged for

eight to 12 months. There’s chemistry (i.e. mold) involved, and the

wheels are brushed and turned as they age. The resulting cheese has a

well-balanced, earthy, nutty, slightly caramel-y flavor, and drier, crumblier texture

that becomes creamy on the tongue. Cheesemaker Mariano Gonzalez says wrapping

cheddar in cloth (also called bandage wrapped) is an old technique, which helps

protect and control moisture and allows certain flavors to develop. Do keep in mind

the relevant saying that “the bark is worse than the bite,” meaning that the rind can

be quite funky smelling, with an earthy, mushroom (and more) aroma, but the

cheese is far gentler tasting, finishing with both savory and slightly sweet notes.

There are also excellent clothbound cheddars from Shelburne Farms of Shel-

burne, Vt., and the “Cabot Clothbound,” aged in the Cellars at Jasper Hill Farm in

Greensboro, Vt., as well as British varieties. Not only is a wedge of the cheddar a nice

addition to a seasonal cheese plate, but crumble some on top of a grilled burger, let

it melt, and it will take your favorite summer meal to the next level.

Look for clothbound cheddars at Wasik’s Cheese Shop, 61 Central St., Wellesley,

781-237-0916; Boston Cheese Cellar, 18 Birch St., Roslindale, 617-325-2500; Forma-

ggio Kitchen, 244 Huron Ave., Cambridge, 617-354-4750; and The Cheese Shop, 29

Walden St., Concord, 978-369-5778.

LISA ZWIRN

Cheesecloth-wrapped

cheddar is full of flavor

A

t one time it seemed like

a wild notion, but these

days the idea of lab-

grown meat might be

OK, offering a sustain-

able and animal friendly choice for the

future. Is slaughter-free hamburger

and steaks grown from cultured cells a

logical way to feed our growing popu-

lation and curb environmental dam-

age? Benjamin Aldes Wurgaft, a writer

and historian and MIT visiting scholar

in anthropology, spent five years re-

searching and delving into these ques-

tions, and more. Wurgaft tells the

complex story in a thoughtful way in

his book “Meat Planet: Artificial Flesh

and the Future of Food.” On Friday,

Sept. 13 at 7 p.m., at Harvard Book

Store, you can meet Wurgaft, who will

read passages from the book and dis-

cuss some of its major themes — the

definition of meat, the ethics of eating

other animals, and the question of

whether we should place hope for so-

cial change in technology. A Cam-

bridge native, Wurgaft wrote for years

about European intellectual history

and more recently about food for vari-

ous magazines. He says, “I sensed that

cultured meat would help me to con-

nect my interests, finding paths from

the frontiers of food technology back

to philosophical questions I think are

pressing.”Harvard Book Store, 1256

Mass. Ave., Cambridge, 617-661-1515.

The event is free.

ANN TRIEGER KURLAND

The author of

‘Meat Planet’ is

coming to Cambridge

At this year’s Fancy Food Show
in New York City, the Rebel Green
Deluxe Dish Soap display was espe-
cially inviting. After three days of
cheese, ceviche, pâtés, and pickles,
submerging one’s hands in water
with floral-scented soap was a wel-
coming thought.
Rebel Green dish detergents, de-
spite their light feel, work as well in
the grease-cutting department as
most heavy-duty action brands. The
pleasant natural scents seem like
what a home kitchen should smell
like. The ingredient list is short and
understandable. The soap is sul-
fate-free with a 95 percent plant-

based surfactant (the “detergent”

part that actually does the grease-

cutting), and scented oils (the part

that protects our skin while we

wash dishes). The company has a

line of air freshener products as

well, so it knows how to make the

dish soap smell nice; it sources es-

sential oils from around the world.

The dish soaps come in pink li-

lac, lavender and grapefruit, pep-

permint and lemon, frankincense

and pine, and unscented. The price

($3.99 for 16 ounces) is less expen-

sive than other eco-friendly brands.

It doesn’t foam as much as the typi-

cal “heavy-action” products, but

sudsiness has no relationship to

cleaning power (hence the push to

low-suds “HE” detergents for

clothes as well).

The packaging, a play on vintage

glam, shows a chef/domestic god-

dess in heels. Other kitchen prod-

ucts include tree-free paper towels

and fruit and veggie cleaner. Aside

from the company’s Boston connec-

tion — a co-owner is a BU Commu-

nications grad —the line is avail-

able at Star Market, Shaw’s, Roche

Brothers, Hannaford, Thistle &

Shamrock in Cambridge, and else-

where.

RACHEL ELLNER

RebelGreenDeluxeDishSoap

standsoutaseco-friendlydetergent

W

ine lovers often

speak of terroir,

the term best ex-

plained as “sense

of place.” Think of it as how a vine-

yard’s climate, soil, and all the other

environmental aspects combine to

give a particular wine its character.

And lately spirits drinkers are in-

creasingly talking about how the

provenance of raw materials influ-

ence a whiskey or rum’s flavors. It

was on a recent trip to Singapore

that I started thinking about the ter-

roir of experience.

The Long Bar at the Raffles Ho-

tel, a magnificent colonial-style lux-

ury establishment built in 1887,

flings you back to an early 20th-cen-

tury tropical plantation, complete

with rattan furniture and peanut

shells on the ground. At the turn of

the century, it became the birthplace

of the Singapore Sling, and today it’s

one of the very few bars in the world

that’s a destination for its signature

drink. (The only other I can think of

is Harry’s Bar in Venice, known for

creating the bubbly Bellini. Though

of plenty of bars are famous for do-

ing an iconic drink — one not origi-

nated in-house — quite well, like the

Pimm’s Cup at Napoleon House in

New Orleans.) The Singapore Sling

tends to be the main draw for the

tourists who queue up daily, as evi-

denced by the fact that they turn out

over 600 most days, according to

one bartender I chatted with. As leg-

end has it, he added, the bartender

who created it used grenadine to

turn it pink so that it’d be suitable

for the society ladies who were dis-

couraged from drinking in public.

The gin-based drink, fortified

with an assortment of juices and li-

queurs, is not a spectacular tipple,

but it is a functional one — a very

cooling elixir that’s useful in Singa-

pore’s tropical heat. And sitting in

this elegant bar sipping on the sweet

mix surrounded by an international

crowd, it’s easy to imagine how the

society ladies were tempted to lin-

ger. LIZA WEISSTUCH

SINGAPORE SLING

Makes 1 drink

1 ounce London dry gin

½ ounce Cherry Heering (or anoth-

er cherry brandy)

¼ ounce Triple Sec

¼ ounce Benedictine

½ ounce lime juice

4 ounces pineapple juice

‚ ounce Grenadine

1 dash Angostura bitters

1.In a cocktail shaker, pour all in-

gredients over ice. Shake vigorously

for 15 seconds.

2.Strain into a Collins glass.

Adapted from Raffles Hotel

LIZA WEISSTUCH FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

A Singapore Sling at the Long Bar in Singapore’s Raffles Hotel.

The

Singapore

Sling is one

cool drink

SIPS