Gourmet Market
Easy Cheesy Entertaining!
Keep two or three good cheeses on hand, some good wine and beer, and pick up a loaf of bread and some fruit on the way home and you have a feast fit for kings!
We keep a delicious selection of hard-to-find imported cheeses and gourmet foods here at Southern Seasons Gourmet Market.
Need something special? I'll get it for you!
Todays Cheese
Pave d'Affinois (available 11/23/11)
Pave d'Affinois is a simple, white-rinded cheese with a pleasing finish. Made in small, 5.3-ounce squares that are individually wrapped, this cheese is reminiscent of a Brie or a Camembert. It is perfect for those looking for something about the size of a Chaource with a slightly milder flavor. With its delicious richness, this double cream cheese provides an unforgettable tasting experience. It gets its character from the familiar flavor of a cow's milk cheese with a slightly grassy finish. It is great as part of a gift or perfect at a luncheon with just a few friends.
Coach Farms Triple Creme Chevre (available 11/23/11)
This is Coach Farm's World Champion, a special, buttery cheese with a white edible rind. Smooth, rich and creamy with a hint of sweet grassiness. Crowning glory for the dinner cheese plate. Coach Farm's happy, free range goats are all natural, NO antibiotics and hormone free. Won Best of Class at the World Championship Cheese Contest.
Wensleydale with Cranberries (available 11/23/11)
The only true Wensleydale cheese in the world comes from the milk drawn from cows that graze the sweet limestone pastures on farms in Upper Wensleydale, England. First made there during the Norman invasion, when French monks from the Roquefort region were brought over to practice their cheese-making skills. The Wensleydale pastures give the cheese the unique, refreshing flavor for which it is renowned. The cheese is a fresh, young cheese taken at only three weeks old. It has a clean, mild, slightly sweet flavor with a honeyed aftertaste. The superb texture of fresh Wensleydale is perfectly complemented by the addition of all natural cranberries of the finest quality. Wensleydale with Cranberries is an innovative blend of flavors and a superb visual experience.
Wensleydale (available 11/23/11)
First made by the Cistercian Monks at Jervaulx Abbey in Wensleydale, using milk from their herds, this cheese is now produced according to a time honored traditional recipe by the Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes, Yorkshire. It's full creamy flavor offers a clean, lemony tang which tends to sharpen with age. Firm and flaky, but not by any means dry, this pasteurized cow's milk Wensleydale is fragrantly sweet and perfectly paired with fresh fruits such as pears, grapes, and apples.
Dorothea - Pound Cut (Available 11/23/11)
Each wheel of Dorothea (only 4,000 are made per year) is pampered with the optimum aging conditions. Humidity and temperature are meticulously adjusted every few days to assure proper maturation. This wonderfully delicious cheese is made from pasteurized milk but retains all of the taste for which goat's milk is famous. It is aged over 60 days to develop a full, nutty flavor and a body that is firm, but not hard enough to grate. Dorothea has an aroma reminiscent of the fresh outdoors and an unforgettable flavor.
Swiss Emmentaler - Pound Cut
Soft, green hills, romantic villages, farmhouses that hide beneath gigantic roofs, and richly decorated homesteads mark the charming character of the region from which this magnificent cheese originates. Emmenthaler (also called Swiss Cheese) is known for its grand size and its handmade quality. For more than one-and-a-half centuries to date, Emmenthaler has been made in village cheese dairies. The Emmenthaler cheese-making process is an old tradition, using pure cow's milk and a maturation period of at least four months. This process allows the rind to develop in an entirely natural manner, enclosing an ivory-colored, mild, slightly nutty-tasting cheese with cherry- sized holes. Emmenthaler from Switzerland is a delicacy on every cheese platter, a popular dessert cheese, and is a perfect melting cheese for warm dishes. It won the Silver medal in the World Cheese Awards.
Cambozola Black Label - 1/2 lb cut
Champignon of Germany is proud to bring you their new masterpiece - Cambozola Black Label. Their dedicated cheese masters skillfully refine this cheese constantly during the ripening process. Through a longer ripening time in special cold cellars (cold-ripend), the result is a premium triple-cream, soft ripened blue cheese with wonderful characteristics - exquisite blue veining occurring on the inside and a unique natural gray mold on the outside. Cheese lovers will appreciate the savory, nutty flavor with a sweet note.
Enjoy it with a toasted baguette or hearty crunchy cracker.
Allgau Emmental - Bravarian Swiss- Pound Cut
Best Seller
Allgäu Emmental (or Allgäuer Emmentaler) is also referred to as Bavarian Swiss Cheese. One of the most famous German cheeses, it is not originally from Allgäu, but from the region of Emmental located in the Swiss canton of Bern. This cheese has been crafted there since the 18th century. In 1821, the "Swiss method" was brought to the Allgäu for the first time by Josef Aurel Stadler.
Made from pure Bavarian milk, it is high in protein with a refined flavor. Our Bavarian Swiss has a rich, yellow color and large eyes. I recommend it for eating sliced with bread, grilled cheese sandwich, an easy pleaser on any cheese board at parties. Everyone loves this Swiss.
Brie - 1 lb
You will absolutely love this delicious, extra-creamy 1/2 kilo (over 1 pound) Brie. This custom-sized Brie is of outstanding quality, very much unlike any supermarket version you have ever sampled. It goes perfectly with champagne and makes a great centerpiece to a romantic evening. Enjoy a French national treasure - authentic French Brie!
Serve room temp or warmed in the oven.
We have lots of brie toppings and brie bakers and gift items for the brie lover.
Maytag Blue - Pound Cut
Nestled in among the rolling hills of central Iowa is Maytag Dairy, which produces Maytag Blue cheese. Shortly before World War II, F.L. Maytag II began working with scientists at Iowa State University to begin making a great American blue cheese, modeled after those of Europe. The result was one of the first American farmstead cheeses of superior quality. Maytag cheese makers, however, are still hand making the same cheese that they created in the 1930's. Maytag Blue's popularity has taken off with the growing interest in American farmstead cheeses, and this wonderful, tangy blue cheese is now featured on menus across the country. Its wonderful flavor, moist yet crumbly texture, and lemony finish make Maytag one of the world's great blue cheeses.
Goes great with a drizzle of honey and cold beer. A must to top fine steaks and the perfect blue for cheese boards.
Beemster Classic Extra Aged Gouda - Pound Cut
One of the rarest, most sought after Dutch specially-cured cheeses has been made in the southern provinces of the Netherlands for over 800 years - Extra Aged Farmer Gouda. Easy to distinguish, it is the dairy world's equivalent of a Rembrandt or Van Gogh. This edible opus magnum has been matured for eighteen months, allowing its body to develop a muted caramel color, matched by an intense flavor with a sweet finish. Extra Aged Gouda can be grated or chunked.
Our Extra Aged Gouda is aged 18 months and is produced by CONO Kaasmakers under the Beemster brand. CONO is located in Northern Holland, famous for its rich milk and fertile grazing land.
Mountain Gorgonzola- 1/2 pound cut
From Italy's Lombardy region, we present Mountain Gorgonzola, a sharp and tangy cheese. With its white interior laced with streaks of blue, Mountain Gorgonzola is an attractive table cheese and a savory ingredient in your favorite salad. Or- try it the Italian way - on a plate drizzled with honey.
Manchego- Pound Cut
Manchego is Spain's most famous cheese. Produced in La Mancha in Central Spain, true Manchego is made from 100% sheep's milk. Cheeses from Spain are commonly made from sheep's milk because most of the territory is rocky and dry; unfriendly to cows but suitable for raising goats and sheep. The abundance of wild herbs on Central Spain's grazing lands gives Manchego a special taste and aroma. Its flavor is zesty and exuberant ,while its texture is firm but not dry. Manchego can be recognized by the zigzag pattern etched into its rind. This is created by the rippled surface of the press used in the manufacture of the cheese. Underneath the inedible rind, the interior is ivory colored with few small holes. Taste Manchego for the first time and you will be surprised at how long the wonderful flavor lingers on your palate. It is an experience you will be drawn back to again and again.
Gruyere de Comte Reserve - Pound Cut
Made from a centuries-old recipe, 70-pound wheels of Gruyere de Comté have been produced since the reign of Charlemagne, when there were no separate entities named France and Switzerland. Comté has the highest production figures of all the French AOC cheeses, as cheese makers work to satisfy the world's hunger for this exceptional cheese.
Although Swiss Gruyere may be better known, the French variety is no less special. Created by local villagers in alpine dairies called "Fruiteries", its milk comes from Montbeliarde and Tachete de L'est cows. Contributing to Comté's unique flavor, morning and evening milkings are mingled before the cheesemaking process. For transforming the milk into curds, the cheesemaker only uses natural ferments to receive the Comte seal. During aging, the curd is cooked, then pressed, with a natural brushed rind that comes from weekly care.
When it comes to acquiring flavour, Comté cannot be hurried. These Reserve wheels are aged for one year, resulting in a sweet and nutty masterpiece with less bite than its twin from Switzerland. Distinguished by a black label, this Comté is hand-selected by Entremont, ensuring the highest quality.
Comté has a satiny, ivory-colored body and a scattering of holes the size of a hazelnut. A traditional fondue cheese, Comte can also be shredded, sliced, grated, chunked or melted. This is not a cheese that always tastes the same. Each round of Comté reveals differences in the composition of its flavor, depending on the micro-region where it was produced, the season, the particular technique of the cheese maker, and the cellar where it was matured. It can always be called upon and never disappoints, whether as a table cheese or in a gratin.
Fontina Val d'Aosta
Fontina is the symbol of agriculture in Italy's tiny, French speaking Aosta Valley region. The cows that produce the milk for Fontina Val d'Aosta graze on high-altitude Alpine pastures dotted with wildflowers and native herbs. Fontina is a great cooking cheese, as it melts evenly without losing any flavor. Extremely aromatic (some might say "stinky"), Fontina is best noted for its value as a savory and fruity table cheese. Its slightly grassy flavor embodies the taste of a true raw milk cheese.
Parmigiano Reggiano - Pound Cut
(Perhaps my favorite "cheese & crackers" cheese)
Here in the States, Parmigiano Reggiano is primarily thought of as purely a grating cheese. Connoisseurs around the world, especially in its native northern Italy, savor Parmigiano Reggiano as a delicious, full-flavored eating cheese as well as a key addition to their finest dishes.
It began life seven centuries ago in the Italian provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, part of Bologna and part of Mantua. Nature blessed this zone with the most idealistic cattle grazing land to create the unique milk from the "Zone Tripica". The local cheese craftsmen took it from there, utilizing a totally natural process that has not changed for 700 years. No additives, no machinery, no gimmicks. Just sweet, fresh milk in its pristine state; the artisan's ancient skills and then nature's own good time (aged from 18 to 20 months). What you see today is just what the knights, serfs, saints and kings of old ate!
Kerrygold Aged Cheddar-Pound Cut
Kerrygold, the Irish cheese crafters that produce Blarney and Dubliner, make a spectacular, limited production two-year aged Vintage Cheddar. Encased in black wax to differentiate it from less-aged Cheddars, this special cheddar is the result of a careful grading process such that only the best are allowed to bear the "Vintage" label. This connoisseur's cheddar, notable for its rich, rounded flavor and firm, smooth body, deserves a place on the cheese board alongside your choice of the world's other great cheeses.
Grana Padano Stravecchio Oro del Tempo
Stravecchio Oro del Tempo is a superior, 22-month aged Grana Padano produced by Agriform near Venice. This masterpiece compares beautifully with its better-known cousin Parmigiano Reggiano. The flavor of Stravecchio is intense and complex, with fruity overtones that evoke pineapple or strawberry, depending on the season. Like all precious things, every Stravecchio cheese is one of a kind, and each wheel is branded with a unique serial number. Agriform tests the quality of each wheel of Stravecchio every week until the twentieth month of aging. The end result of this rigorous testing process is that only the cheeses that deserve to become prime Grana Padano Stravecchio are stamped with the certificate of origin and guarantee.
'Tis the Season for Soup!
We have 15 varieties to make your evening meal warm and comforting. Most only require that you add water and simmer for 20 minutes. Add your good toppings and bread.
Add some kick to this years Tortilla Pinwheels!
Mix cream cheese & real butter with one of our
Wind & Willow Cheeseball Mixes, spread it on your tortilla, sprinkle on the topping mix, roll, chill, slice and serve!
15 flavors
to choose from!
