Please Pass the Cheese: Branching Out From Cheddar

ONCE UPON a time, a little clay man named Wallace ran out of cheese. Being obsessed with this particular culinary delight, he decided to have his dog, Gromit, build a rocket and fly to the moon, which as you know is made entirely of cheese.

At the risk of bursting someone’s bubble, the story of those famous animation characters is fiction and, sadly, that last bit is not true.

Were it though, Metropolitan Market’s food service sales director Paige Lamb might be the first in line. She oversees Metropolitan Market’s deli, specialty cheese and catering departments -- but the cheese counter is her true love.

It might surprise you to know that Metropolitan Market is a family-owned company that opened its first store in 1971. The company loves to be known for being the first to introduce fantastic new products to the region. It was the first place where Seattleites could buy Haagen-Dazs ice cream or Altoid mints.

For Lamb, that means she has the authority to make immediate purchasing decisions if she samples a quality product during her travels. And traveling is an important part of her job. In February, Lamb accompanied Metropolitan Market’s cheese mongers to a cheese-making workshop in Wisconsin. The cheese they made during the trip will be available for sale later this fall.

She also visits creameries and cheese makers throughout the Northwest, the sheer quantity of which is astounding -- Washington is home to at least 45. Adding Oregon and Idaho brings the Northwest total to roughly 75 artisan cheese-makers.

Obviously, we like our cheese. But what kinds are popular around here?

“We currently have more Gouda producers than we can support,” says Lamb. “Chevre and Bleu have a lot of producers, as well. We try to be the largest supporter of local cheeses, but quality comes first.”

Lamb claims that people in this area love flavorful cheese, passing on the mild cheddar for something sharper, with more bite. Though the 10 best-sellers at each Metropolitan Market stay about the same, individual stores definitely vary in “cheese personality” according to each monger's favorites.

You probably won’t see Lamb, since she isn’t a daily part of any store’s retail floor. The people you should get to know are Kirkland’s cheese mongers.

Candy Berg manages the Kirkland store’s cheese counter. She grew up in West Seattle in a family that caught its own crabs and grew its own vegetables. When she had kids, Berg started a co-op, getting together a dozen or so other families that wanted specialty cheeses.

“I love this industry,” Berg says.

ALONG WITH the other cheese mongers at Metropolitan Market, Berg loves helping customers make a beautiful cheese plate. If the counter ever looks deserted, it’s probably because the cheese monger on duty is running around the store helping another customer find the perfect wine, crackers or other accoutrement.

“Come ask us about our favorites,” Berg suggests for customers who don't know where to start.

“It’s their (the cheese mongers’) goal to move customers to the next level. If a customer likes Havarti, they might suggest an Asiago,” say Lamb.

Lamb also offers the following tips:

• Only buy as much cheese as you can use in a week. “Let us age it for you. We know how.”
• If you do sit on a cheese for a while, take it out and rewrap it in fresh wrap, preferably wax paper. For blues, use a zip lock to leave air in the bag for the cheese to breathe.
• Store cheese in the crisper drawer, as the moisture in this section of your refrigerator will help keep your cheese fresh.
• Allow cheese at least 2o minutes to warm to room temperature before serving.
• Unless it is a washed rind, don’t be afraid to eat it. The rind is part of the cheese.
• Only serve cheese with plain crackers to get the full flavor of the cheese. As Lamb says, "Bread just fills you up and I'm all about the cheese."
• Ask someone in the wine department for a great pairing. They are all trained to know what flavors are good together.

Metropolitan Market offers a bin of tiny cheese bites in the refrigerated section of the deli as well as not requiring a minimum buy on any of the cheeses at the counter. This means that customers can ask to have even just an ounce of cheese cut; that's a great option when you want to try something new.

And if you really want a cheese education, Metropolitan Market will soon be offering cheese classes at the Kirkland store.

I can just hear Wallace clapping his clay hands and saying, “I’m just crackers for cheese.”