2019-11-01 Food & Wine USA

26

THE INDULGENCE

I’M TOO LAZY FOR FONDUE—so each year I look forward to this amaz-

ing cheese, whose top rind I can just peel back to reveal a silky pool of

cream that’s perfect for dipping. This is Rush Creek Reserve, a hyper-

seasonal soft-rind raw cheese made only from September to November

each year by Andy Hatch of Uplands Cheese in Dodgeville, Wisconsin.

The cheese itself is luxurious and custard-like, smells of sweet grass,

and tastes like salt and smoke, with an almost porky aftertaste. Hatch

stirs and cuts the curds by hand to ensure the best texture. During its

60-day aging, the rind is wrapped in spruce bark, lending a woody fla-

vor to the rich, hay-fed cow’s milk, and washed, introducing the bac-

teria that give yeasty, meaty flavors to the cheese. It has only a mild and

delicate funk but is richly creamy and savory. To enjoy, serve it slightly

warm, and carefully, not too deeply, cut away the top of the rind, then

dive into the dreamy, gooey interior with bread, sausages, and crudités.

I especially like it with crackers smeared with bacon jam and charred

root vegetables to bring out the smoke. Rush Creek Reserve cheese can

be purchased between December and February, or until it sells out,

from murrayscheese.com. —KELSEY YOUNGMAN

A Golden Run Introducing the

ultimate dinner party cheese

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photography by CAITLIN BENSEL

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