Tis the season to gather together and spend time with family and loved ones. But what to serve?…

The perfect Hors d’oeuvre for any get together is cheese! Whether you’re feeling Gouda or a bit Bleu, we have a cheese for you!

At Bay Market Café, we love cheese and will be showcasing our favorites on Facebook & Instagram (@BayMarketCayman) leading up to Christmas. To take a sneak peak of all the cheeses that will we will be showcasing, scroll on down.

Vermont Creamery: Double-Cream Cremont Cow & Goat Milk Cheese

Country of Origin: Vermont, United States

This double-cream mixed-milk aged cheese is decadent beyond reason.
Named for the “Cream of Vermont”, Cermont is a double-cream aged cow and goats’ milk cheese with a unique cream color rind and luxurious, smooth interior.

This cheese is not short of recognition, taking home Gold in the Non Cow’s Milk, Mixed Milk Category at the 2018 Sofi Awards, the first of several award nods. In 2019, this Vermont Cremont placed second place in the American Cheese Society awards and third in the U.S. Championship Cheese contest.

Pairings

This delicious double-cream cheese gives you freedom to pair with your favorites!

Serve on a cheeseboard
alongside other fresh and aged cheeses 

Spread it
on crackers or rustic bread 

Slice it
And drizzle with honey

Kryyos Company Halloumi Cheese

Country of Origin: Greece

Halloumi brings a whole new meaning to grilled cheese. Halloumi is a regular in Mediterranean mesa; the cheese doesn’t melt when you grill it, it becomes more compact, shows off the grilling marks wonderfully and depending on the accompaniment you can serve it as a savory appetizer or a sweet dessert. 

This soft, springy, oval-shaped curd resembles a fresh mozzarella and has a mild yet tangy flavor. The best part is that it’s so versatile. This fantastic gourmet cheese can be grilled, grated, marinated, fried or eaten plain.

Pairing

Traditionally paired with fresh watermelon, Halloumi tastes like summer no matter the time of year. And for any genuine Greek recipe, you can count on Kryssis Myzithra’s flavor and quality. Try a slice on a grilled portabella mushroom sandwich, cubed on top of a salad, or sliced and grilled and served for breakfast with your eggs.

Castello Edam Cheese

Country of Origin: Netherlands

Edam finds its origins in the northern regions of the Netherlands, with milk from cows or goats allowing this semi-hard cheese to attain its savory flavor. Left to age, it intensifies in taste, while creamy textures and milder undertones fill your palate when it is enjoyed young. A mellow blend of creamy and nutty tones comprises the base, with hints of salt appearing in gentle sparks. Displaying a springy texture in its youth, it approaches a drier, more crumbly consistency over time.

The production of Edem focuses on simple, yet flavorful ingredients to produce a powerhouse of soothing flavors and textures. The flavors are left to settle on their own without any means of acceleration or artificial seasoning. 

Pairing

Paired with rich fruit (apricots, peaches and cherries), young Edem delights in brightly contrasting the lively and fresh tones of its counterparts. As a starter or dessert, aged variants blossom when coupled with zesty apples or pears.

Clawson Cheesemakers: Festival White Stilton Cheese with Mango & Ginger

Country of Origin: England, United Kingdom

An intriguing sweet blend, White Stilton is joined by sweet mango and a hint of warming ginger. Sweet and refreshing mango pieces and spicy crystalized ginger burst through White Stilton to warm the taste buds.

Stilton on its own is extremely creamy and delicious but the addition of fruit accords the cheese a new dimension. As you recognize this unusual combination, let the fruity flavors of mango and spice of ginger mingle as it melts.

Pairing

White Stilton with Mango & Ginger is perfect for a breakfast or dessert cheese. Pair it with some pears and walnuts and Chenin Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc.

Tarentaise Alpine

Country of Origin: Vermont, United States

Tarentaise is a semi-hard ‘Alpine’ style cheese modeled after its French cousins Abondance and Beaufort. It is made from fresh, raw milk that flows directly from the milking barn adjacent to the creamery into twin copper vats. 

Tarentaise has the classic nuttiness of a traditional Alpine cheese, with complex layers of flavor, underscored with herbaceous, savory, vegetal notes.

Pairing

Pair it with Alsatian whites (Pinot Gris, Riesling, Gewurtztraminer), or with English Brown Ales such as Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown.

Comte Napiot

Country of Origin: France

With its delicate, smooth and beautiful yellow color, this Comte reveals an explosion of flavors and great elegance. Produced and matured by Fromagerie Napiot, this fruity Comte is made exclusively from cow’s milk of dairy producers in the Haut Doubs region.

Pairing

Serve with an aperitif or with a salad or fruit. Pair with Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pouilly-Fume, Bourgone Blanc.

Cornish Yarg

Country of Origin: Cornwall, United Kingdom

Made by Catherine Mead of Lynher Dairies, traditional nettle wrapped Yarg is a semi-hard cheese, creamy under its natural rind and slightly crumbly in the core. Yarg was first produced thirty years ago on Bodmin Moor by a farmer named Alan Gray who found a seventeenth-century recipe in an attic and decided to give it a go. Yarg comes from the backward spelling of his name.

Pairing

This is a cheese that adds a lot of style and character to any cheese board as well as being hugely versatile when it comes to pairing with wine. It works particularly well with fruity whites, and a creamy Chardonnay for example, and also pairs well with lighter reds, or even the occasional dessert wine.

Parrano

Country of Origin: Netherlands

Parrano is a pasteurized cow’s milk Dutch cheese inspired by Italian cheese styles. It has the smooth creamy texture of a young Dutch Gouda and the nutty, sweet buttery flavors of aged Parmesan. The hard cheese is also sometimes described as a balance between Gouda and Parmesan. 

Pairing

The rich, caramel flavors of Parrano add a new dimension to recipes such as antipasto platter, pizzas, pastas and tortillas.

Pair with bold reds such as Chianti or Pinot Noir, a glass of port or light, fruity wheat beers. 

Mitica Blue Valdeon Cow & Goat Cheese

Country of Origin: Spain

Pronounced: vahl-day-OWN

Valdeon is an intense blue cheese from Spain, similar to Cabrales – another Spanish blue- but milder. Valdeon is intense, salty and wonderfully sharp. The blue-veining is predominant, giving it a gritty texture sometimes, but the mouthfeel is creamy and buttery, balancing out the intensity nicely. 

This cheese is produced in the mountains of Leon, Spain, aged in caves, and wrapped in Sycamore leaves, making it very pretty on ones cheese board. The paste has a soft texture and pale yellow color and is full of small cavities where a white and greenish blue mold is concentrated. Its flavor is salty, pronounced. Piquant and long lasting.

Pairing

Valdeon is a bold, very flavorful cheese, not for the milder palates. We suggest serving it with cured smoked meats, and pairing it with a sweet red wine such a Sherry.

Ski Queen Classic – Creamy Caramel Cheese

Country of Origin: Norway

Cultivated in Norway, this cheese is naturally sweet with a smooth mild caramel taste from a unique blend of 80% cow’s milk and 20% goat milk.  With heritage and traditions that span generations, Norwegian Brunost cheeses can vary in sweetness, with a range of distinct and nuanced flavor profiles with hints of caramel and fudge tastes. This cheese has a uniquely identifiable caramel-brown color. This color and its deep, full-bodied flavor comes from caramelizing the whey and natural sugars found in goats’ and cows’ milk.

Pairing

The easiest way to enjoy Ski Queen Classic is to cut yourself a slice with a Norwegian cheese slicer to get just the right amount of brown cheese, perfect for an open-top sandwich—just like they eat in Norway.

The taste is sweet when first placed on the palate, then becomes bittersweet; may be an “acquired” taste for some. A perfect dessert cheese! Check out some ideas that this cheese pairs perfectly with.

• Apple pie
• Caramel sauce
• Waffles and pancakes
• Served sliced on bread

Mitica Asiago Fresco

Country of Origin: Italy

Asiago Pressato or Asiago Fresco is a cheese produced from fresh pasteurized cow’s milk in the provinces of Vicenza, Trento, Padova and Treviso, Italy.
Asiago Fresco is a semi-soft cheese with large but irregular shaped holes. It has a thin and elastic crust with soft, buttery, white-yellowish paste. It tastes sweet, buttery, delicate and tangy and has a slightly, salty aftertaste. The taste is reminiscent of cream and fresh milk.  To make Asiago Fresco, the cheesemaker heats the milk and mixes it with rennet to form curds. They are then loosely pressed into a cheesecloth and allowed to mature for 30-40 days. The main difference between Pressato and d’Allevo is the use of milk and the ageing process. Nearly 75% of the Asiago cheeses produced are Pressato. 

Pairing

Easily one of the more versatile cheeses as based on aging, this asiago fresco can be used on salads, sandwiches, soups, pastas and in sauces as it can be easily cut, cubed, sliced or melted.

Cypress Humboldt Fog Grande

Country of Origin: California, United States

Humboldt Fog is a goat’s milk cheese delivered by Cypress Grove Chevre, of Arcata, California, in Humboldt County. It is named for the local ocean fog which rolls in from Humboldt Bay.

This cheese is creamy, light, powdery, slightly lemony and mildly goaty. It is a mold-ripened cheese with a distinguishing layer of edible ash. The cheese ripens from the outside to the center, resulting in a fresh goat cheese center surrounded by a pungent runny shell. This runny shell will widen as the cheese matures and is considered the best part of the cheese, by many. The bloomy mold and ash rind is edible, but is fairly tasteless.

This Humboldt cheese is distinguished in the Cheese world having won first place at the American Cheese Society in 1998, 2002 and 2005 and Gold at the 2014 World Cheese Awards.

Pairing

Food
Drizzle with honey and serve with prosciutto, tart apple and marcona almonds. Crumble atop mixed baby greens and beets and serve with a vinaigrette.

Drink
Pairs very well with a variety of beers. Young ales such as Wheat Beer, Porter, Ripe including Pale Ale, Cider and Mature beers like IPA, Stout.

Paysan Bretson Cream Cheese

Country of Origin: Guerande, France

A delicious traditional French whipped cream cheese seasoned with a hint of sea salt from the Guenrande estuary in France. This delicious cream cheese is delicately whipped giving it a light and airy texture, when you pair this with the finest French ingredients we have a cream cheese that has an unrivalled fresh and natural taste that is a must in any fridge.

Pairing

Enjoy it on bread or is a great addition to any recipe, you have to try it to truly understand how good this cream cheese tastes.

Spread it on toasted pain au levain or rye bread and top with cherry tomatoes, or sliced Persian cucumbers, or radishes, or roasted peppers, or grilled zucchini, or pesto. Enjoy it on a breakfast bagel with smoked salmon, or with sliced peaches or figs.