{"id":2327,"date":"2024-11-17T16:25:46","date_gmt":"2024-11-17T16:25:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/how-cheeses-are-revived-transformed-created-in-the-caves-at-caputos\/"},"modified":"2024-11-17T16:25:46","modified_gmt":"2024-11-17T16:25:46","slug":"how-cheeses-are-revived-transformed-created-in-the-caves-at-caputos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/how-cheeses-are-revived-transformed-created-in-the-caves-at-caputos\/","title":{"rendered":"How Cheeses are Revived, Transformed & Created in the Caves at Caputo’s"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mix together an \u201cevangelistic\u201d enthusiasm and growing knowledge of cheese, a trip to Italy where a taste of Taleggio cheese prompted deep thoughts, and a visit to New York City\u2019s mecca, Murray\u2019s Cheese<\/a>, and you have the ingredients for Caputo\u2019s<\/a> cheese caves, according to Matt Caputo, CEO of Caputo\u2019s Market & Deli, located in Salt Lake City. <\/p>\n

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The Caves<\/strong><\/h2>\n

With two small spaces, one measuring approximately seven feet by seven feet and the other slightly bigger, Caputo\u2019s cheese caves age three categories of cheese by either reviving, transforming, or creating. The first cave opened in 2009 and the second one in 2015. \u201cWe initially had a lot of heart but didn\u2019t know what we were doing,\u201d Caputo says. He notes that his father and founder of Caputo\u2019s luckily \u201cplayed the long game\u201d so while there were failures, they were able to spend time educating themselves and the successes followed.<\/p>\n

The size of the caves, while presenting some challenges, also work in their favor, according to Antonia Horne, Caputo\u2019s affineuse (a woman who ages cheeses). \u201cWhen we do a build-in we have to be very conscious of utilizing all the available space.\u201d She notes that means compressing as much cheese as possible into the space without having anything touch. Two caves afford them the opportunity to have the natural rind cheeses in one space and the smear\/washed rinds and anaerobic (bag-aged) cheeses in the other, says Horne. \u201cI\u2019ve noticed the smaller space works to accelerate the development of the unique biome that characterizes the cheeses.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Horne theorizes that, at least initially, a smaller cave speeds up the endemic collection of different mold types, bacteria, and yeast that combine to make the unique terroir of an aging room. \u201cThe caves are a close space to work in but the cheeses like it \u2013 seems like they share a mutually beneficial relationship.\u201d In the revived category of European cheeses, Caputo mentions the Revived Taleggio D.O.P<\/strong><\/a>., <\/strong>a pasteurized cow\u2019s milk, as a prime example. The Taleggio spends three weeks in what the catalog describes as \u201crehabilitative\u201d care in the caves. There are microscopic crystals on the rind, which Caputo says makes the cheese \u201cglisten.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Copper Caputo<\/strong><\/a>, another pasteurized cow\u2019s milk, gets Caputo\u2019s nod as an example in the transformed category. In collaboration with The Copper Onion restaurant in Salt Lake City, the cheese is \u201cenrobed\u201d in a reduction of Montmorency cherries, Luxardo liqueur, and brandy. Caputo calls the cheese \u201csurprisingly savory.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Creating Cheese in the Caves<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The cheeses that Caputo\u2019s creates through aging signal a genuine partnership between the store, farmers, and customers. Caputo credits Pat Ford, co-founder of Utah\u2019s Beehive Cheese<\/a>, with \u201ckicking off the creative segment of the catalog.\u201d Caputo says the cheddar was initially wrapped in the traditional English manner, in fat-soaked bandages. \u201cThe bandaging process for the Cheddars now begins with butter, then switches to duck fat.\u201d Caputo says those tweaks \u201cdrove the flavor in a different direction,\u201d and notes in was Ford who showed the team how to properly wrap the bandages. <\/p>\n

The created category is where the store\u2019s commitment to farmers is apparent. Mesa Tome<\/strong><\/a>, a seasonal pasteurized goat\u2019s milk in the create category, is one of several cheeses that is part of Caputo\u2019s Preservation Program, which \u2018highlights select products made with traditional craft to support biodiversity and stewardship.\u201d The cheese is made by Mesa Farm in Southern Utah and aged entirely in the cave. \u201cFarming is spiritual to Randy (Mesa Farm\u2019s owner); he\u2019s a seasonal producer and we buy 100% of what he makes and it sells out very quickly,\u201d says Caputo. \u201cWhile humble in appearance the Mesa Tome is of the most exciting cheeses we have and is such an important part of our mission to support agriculture & farmers,\u201d Horne says.<\/p>\n

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A New Cheese<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This year Caputo\u2019s will be debuting its most personal cheese cave cheese, Tony\u2019s Flowers<\/strong>. The store\u2019s founder, Tony Caputo, passed away in March 2021 and this cheese is an homage to him and a chance to work with Idaho\u2019s Lark\u2019s Meadow Farms<\/a>. \u201cThis is our most important project for a number of reasons,\u201d says Caputo. It is a nod to his father\u2019s love of Alpine cheeses and gives them the chance to work with the cheesemaker, who Caputo terms \u201ca beautiful person who is a dying breed of farmer who does things like they did a 100 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dried flowers and herbs will be applied to the exterior of the cheese. \u201cThe taste is herby, savory and almost meaty,\u201d Caputo says. Horne says that Tony\u2019s Flowers<\/strong> represented a little bit of a leap of faith as the methods used in creating the cheese were not methods she\u2019s used extensively in the past. \u201cI think of all the cheeses we\u2019ve created here this is the one I\u2019m proudest of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Caputo and Horne say that the cheese caves offer another way of connecting with their customers and providing them education. \u201cWe\u2019ve brought our customers along on this ride,\u201d Caputo says. He notes that the store is fortunate as their customers want to support good agriculture and are interested in hearing about a cheese\u2019s history. Horne says Caputo\u2019s is teaching people to think of cheese as \u201ca living, breathing organism.\u201d She says the cheese program has enabled the store to \u201cdemystify cheese, have people step back from fear or intimidation, and help them have more open-minded palates.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mix together an \u201cevangelistic\u201d enthusiasm and growing knowledge of cheese, a trip to Italy where a taste of Taleggio cheese prompted deep thoughts, and a visit to New York City\u2019s mecca, Murray\u2019s Cheese, and you have the ingredients for Caputo\u2019s cheese caves, according to Matt Caputo, CEO of Caputo\u2019s Market & Deli, located in Salt … Okumaya devam et “How Cheeses are Revived, Transformed & Created in the Caves at Caputo’s”<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1271,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[395],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-milk-and-diary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1271"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2327\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}