{"id":3033,"date":"2025-01-19T16:25:16","date_gmt":"2025-01-19T16:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/why-you-will-fall-in-love-with-american-artisan-cheese-apricity\/"},"modified":"2025-01-19T16:25:16","modified_gmt":"2025-01-19T16:25:16","slug":"why-you-will-fall-in-love-with-american-artisan-cheese-apricity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/why-you-will-fall-in-love-with-american-artisan-cheese-apricity\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Will Fall in Love with American Artisan Cheese Apricity"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Apricity\"

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Apricity. Photo courtesy Alemar Cheese<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Apricity<\/a>, a bright, fluffy cheese orb from Alemar Cheese Company<\/a>, resembles nothing if not a snowball, a fitting symbol for a Minnesota-based creamery, but its name is actually a tribute to a different kind of orb altogether: \u201cApricity is a word meaning \u2018the warmth of the sun in winter,\u2019\u201d says Alemar head cheesemaker Charlotte Serino, \u201ca sensation which most Minnesotans are acutely aware of. In creating a light cheese full of fine flavors and textures, we needed a name to match.\u201d<\/p>\n

An obsession-worthy cheese, and a favorite of Cheese Professor editor Amy Sherman, Alemar has a history of capturing lightning in a bottle with its artisan, grass-fed cow\u2019s milk cheeses. Alemar\u2019s very first cheese, a camembert-style Bent River<\/a> by founder Keith Adams, was an award-winner on its first submission to a major competition. (editor\u2019s note: read more about <\/em>Keith Adams and his other cheese company, Wm Cofield Cheesemakers<\/a>). <\/em>Alemar\u2019s website notes that James Beard award-winning food writer Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl likened this to \u201cstarting to throw javelins one day and coming home with an Olympic bronze 2 years later.\u201d Now with a lineup of about 8 soft cheeses, and a new cheesemaker in Serino, Apricity is the latest from Alemar worthy of a following.<\/p>\n

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What is Apricity? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Apricity is a lactic-set, very young, soft-ripened cheese, made in the style of other small, soft European cheeses such as Italy\u2019s decadent cheese cupcake, La Tur<\/a>. A delicate, geotrichum candidum<\/em> rind encases the fluffy, pasteurized cow\u2019s milk paste, giving the appearance \u2014 and craveability \u2014 of a white chocolate truffle. \u201cApricity is a great first cheese on a charcuterie board,\u201d says Serino. \u201cThink of it like a white wine in cheese form \u2014 bright and full-flavored without being heavy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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History of Apricity: A Happy Accident <\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\"Sakatah\"<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

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Like a microcosm of the world of cheese itself, Apricity is a result of going down one path, and coming out an entirely different place than where you thought you were heading. \u201cThe initial idea behind this cheese was to make an apple in cheese form, \u201csays Serino, \u201csomething sweet, fruity, and tangy to pair with the apple brandy-pickled grape leaves on our Sakatah<\/a>,\u201d Alemar\u2019s grape leaf-wrapped bloomy rind in the style of Banon<\/a> or Mothais a la Feuille<\/a>. \u201cApricity was initially intended as a new take on the Sakatah, but somewhere along the line, it became clear that the delicate flavors of this cheese would stand best on their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

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How Apricity is Made <\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\"Apricity

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Apricity in progress. Photo credit Alemar Cheese<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Apricity is the specific handiwork of Serino, who came to Alemar following her time at Pennsylvania\u2019s Yellow Springs Farm<\/a>, which specifically focused on lactic-set cheeses before the closure of their dairy operation in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile most cheeses are coagulated from milk via the addition of a substantial amount of rennet, the curd for Apricity is made from milk via a very long fermentation up front,\u201d says Serino, a new approach for the operation. \u201cThe cheese is then scooped into bags, drained for several days, and formed by hand into its final shape.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"Apricity

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Apricity ripening. Photo courtesy Alemar Cheese<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Apricity is ripened for only 3 to 4 days in the same ripening room as other Alemar cheeses, and the cross-pollination environment also contributes some of its character. According to Serino, \u201cthe rind of this cheese is prone to white, orange, and blue growth as it ages \u2014 things love to jump onto this cheese in particular.\u201d (Note: even the microbes crave Apricity.)<\/p>\n

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Apricity Tasting Notes <\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\"Apricity

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Apricity on racks. Photo courtesy Alemar Cheese<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Serino suggests that Apricity leads with butter, lactic tang, and fermented fruit, with subtle secondary notes of barnyard funk, herbs, and grass, with its funkier, fermented qualities increasing in intensity as the cheese ages. Texturally, Apricity has \u201ca creamy, fudgy texture with slight graininess that melts in your mouth,\u201d says Serino. Twin Cities\u2019 France 44<\/a> describes it as having a \u201cgently yeasty tang, reminiscent of cultured yogurt, tart white grapes, or natural, unfiltered white wine,\u201d and Wisconsin\u2019s Fromagination<\/a> calls it \u201cfluffy, tangy, and impossible to forget.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Apricity Pairings <\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\"Apricity<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cA little sweetness really brings out a lot in this cheese,\u201d says Serino. \u201cHoney \u2014 and honey butter, if you really want to get indulgent \u2014 (author\u2019s note: yes, please,) are especially good. The fine flavors of the honey and the cheese really play together nicely.\u201d She also recommends lighter jams and preserves such as those made with citrus or apples.<\/p>\n

Similarly, ideal beverage pairings are \u201csweet, bright, and light,\u201d such as a variety of white wines, with crisper selections offering contrast to Apricity\u2019s buttery vibe, and richer selections amplifying it, as well as wheat or fruit beers and ciders to play off of its fruity tang.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Apricity. Photo courtesy Alemar Cheese Apricity, a bright, fluffy cheese orb from Alemar Cheese Company, resembles nothing if not a snowball, a fitting symbol for a Minnesota-based creamery, but its name is actually a tribute to a different kind of orb altogether: \u201cApricity is a word meaning \u2018the warmth of the sun in winter,\u2019\u201d … Okumaya devam et “Why You Will Fall in Love with American Artisan Cheese Apricity”<\/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-3033","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\/3033","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=3033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3033\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}