{"id":1861,"date":"2024-06-03T04:25:08","date_gmt":"2024-06-03T04:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/cheese-shops-we-love-plum-plums-cheese\/"},"modified":"2024-06-03T04:25:08","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T04:25:08","slug":"cheese-shops-we-love-plum-plums-cheese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/cheese-shops-we-love-plum-plums-cheese\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheese Shops We Love: Plum Plums Cheese"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Location<\/strong><\/h2>\n

149 Cherry Street<\/p>\n

New Canaan, CT<\/p>\n

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\"PlumPlums-interior<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

A Local Favorite<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Named for a line in the award-winning epic romantic war film The English Patient,<\/em> Plum Plums Cheese<\/a> is an engaging, stylish shop showcasing cheese amid a gourmet experience. Signature orange and yellow walls and a logo that features the word cheese squarely in the middle offer a cheery backdrop and canny branding for a counter crammed with nearly 80 domestic and international hand-crafted, farmstead cheeses, and shelves of artisanal accompaniments and gorgeous accessories.<\/p>\n

Bought by owners and husband and wife Gayle Martin and Michael Riahl in 2014, due to a landlord dispute the shop moved this past April from a small space in Pound Ridge, NY, to a space double the size, nearly 2000 square feet, in the quaint New England town of New Canaan, CT, 10 minutes away. With customers already from the area, despite the pandemic, it\u2019s been a successful and soft landing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWord of mouth has been so important. That’s how we built our reputation,\u201d says Martin. Plum Plums is known for cheese and charcuterie platters, prime and organic meats, unique tiered cheesecakes for events, and killer grilled cheese sandwiches, particularly this writer\u2019s favorite, the Twice As Nice, which incorporates two kinds of cheddar cheese. <\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve hardly done any advertising,\u201d she says. \u201cIt’s really been about the experience customers have coming into our store, the relationships we build with them personally. They find foods that we provide them with, and the whole experience of walking into the shop, I try to build a personality around the store that is very welcoming.\u201d <\/p>\n

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\"cheese<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

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

Martin, who holds cheeses until they are perfectly ripe and emphasizes all cheese is cut to order in any amount, says the move allowed them to expand while keeping the same kind of personality. \u201cWe’ve got more cheese, charcuterie, more meats, more prepared foods, frozen foods, more gift items, more jam,\u201d she notes.<\/p>\n

The pandemic spurred Martin to focus more on domestic cheese, including ones right in Connecticut. \u201cThey’re so outstanding and have come so far,\u201d she praises. \u201cIn the seven years that I’ve been in this business, I’ve seen tremendous steps that they’ve taken as far as quality, integrity, and consistency in their product.\u201d <\/p>\n

And Martin knows her cheese. She\u2019s one of approximately only 1000 Certified Cheese Professionals in North America, so designated by the American Cheese Society, after undergoing a rigorous and intensive process and exam. (See our story about How to Become a Certified Cheese Professional<\/a>) \u00a0\u201cWe look for things that you’re not necessarily going to find in supermarkets,\u201d she explains. \u201cIf you are looking for gruyere, we’re bringing in the best for you. if you’re looking for cheddars, we’ve got a selection of five or six. We’ve got your classic double cream Brie, but we also have four others that you can choose from, domestic or international,\u201d she adds. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Our foundation is cheese, for sure,\u201d Martin continues, \u201cbut we’re all about the whole gourmet experience. If we find something that we think is just absolutely exceptional, that you can’t find anywhere else, for sure we’re going to bring it in because we want our customers to appreciate that as well. We sell cheese, number one, and we sell the jams, the nuts, the vinegars, and everything else that you can have with or in addition to the cheese.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Top Selling Cheeses<\/h2>\n
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\"Tapping

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Tapping Reeve Cheese photo credit Arethusa Farm Dairy<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tapping Reeve, Arethusa Farm Dairy in CT<\/h3>\n

\u201cWe describe it as a cross between a cheddar and a Parmigiano,\u201d says Martin. \u201cKind of sharp, kind of crumbly \u2013 perhaps like its namesake?\u201d Tapping Reeve was an American lawyer, judge, and educator. In 1784 he opened the first law school in the United States, in Litchfield, Connecticut. The tribute cheese is made in a savory \u201ccolonial\u201d style. It is described as having milky flavors balanced with grassy notes, and a hint of brown butter on the finish. A farmstead cheese, it has a pleasing crunchy texture.<\/p>\n

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\"Wabash

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Wabash Cannonball photo courtesy of Capriole<\/a><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wabash Cannonball, Capriole Dairy in Indiana<\/h3>\n

\u201cWow, just wow,\u201d Martin raves. \u201cUnbelievably pure, powerful goat cheese flavors in all unique formats.\u201d An award-winning small, wrinkled ash coated cheese that is aged for just 10 days and the most well-known cheese from Capriole. <\/p>\n

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\"Photo

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Photo courtesy of Milton Creamery<\/a><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prairie Breeze, Milton Creamery in Iowa<\/h3>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re known as crack dealers for this cheese,\u201d Martin says, in all seriousness. \u201cIf we ran out, we\u2019d be run out of town.\u201d A popular pick at many cheese shops, it\u2019s an American style cheddar with a very sweet flavor profile.<\/p>\n

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Wrangeback, Almn\u00e4s Bruk <\/h3>\n

\u201cCheese from Sweden? Ja,\u201c declares Martin. Umami? Ja.\u201c Wrangeback is the oldest cheese registered in Sweden. Learn more about it in 7 Swedish Cheeses You Should Know<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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\"Wrangeback

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Wrangeback photo credit Jesper Anhede<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also Look For<\/h2>\n

\u00a0A host of classes for adults and children and tasting events are offered in-person when allowed and by Zoom.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Location 149 Cherry Street New Canaan, CT A Local Favorite Named for a line in the award-winning epic romantic war film The English Patient, Plum Plums Cheese is an engaging, stylish shop showcasing cheese amid a gourmet experience. Signature orange and yellow walls and a logo that features the word cheese squarely in the middle … Okumaya devam et “Cheese Shops We Love: Plum Plums Cheese”<\/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-1861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-milk-and-diary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1271"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1861\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}