Enough people ask me about my .sig that I thought it would be worthwhile
telling the story here once and for all.
In the countryside near where I live nestles Idylwilde Farms,
a gourmet outpost in this suburban wilderness. You may know of it.
The cheese case at Idlewylde rivals the best in the Boston area. One
favorite of mine, which I've seen for sale in only a few other
places (the first was Balducci's in Greenwich Village), is a French
cheese called
Morbier.
It's delivered to the retailer in a large wheel; Idylwilde
shrink-wraps consumer-sized chunks of it. The cheese is a
waxy-looking deep yellowish color, and each wrapped chunk has an
irregular grey streak running down its middle. Idylwilde has seen
fit to explain this peculiarity on their applied label: "Layer of
ash separates morning and evening milk." I find the phrase most
evocative. One pictures a smoldering volcano looming over the placid
French country town of Morbier. Exactly at noon the local farmers
consult their watches and stroke their chins as the volcano spews
smoke and ash into the air. The ash settles on the open vats of
ripening cheese...
Copyright © 1995-2008 by
Keith Dawson.
All rights reserved.
Most recently updated 2007-07-10