Culinary Types

Cheese Whiz!

Just catching up on some new publications and got my hands on “The Murray’s Cheese Handbook” (© 2006 Broadway Books) by Rob Kaufelt, proprietor of Murray’s Cheese in Greenwich Village in New York City.

I became a fan of Murray’s when I worked near Grand Central Station and would stop by the Murray’s booth in the gourmet market. One visit with the well-informed cheese experts on staff and I was off and running with a regular Friday night cheese plate tradition for dinner to sooth the effects of a tough week at the office.

Now, Kaufelt has taken that knowledge so evident to shoppers and turned it into a portable handbook with profiles of more than 300 artisanal cheeses. Kaufelt explains cheese terminology and answers frequently asked questions in a lively, laid back style that makes it clear this guy is crazy about cheese. He also provides a bit of history about the establishment of Murray’s which is more than 65 years old, and the oldest cheese shop in New York City.

If you don’t live in New York, check out Murray’s online at http://www.murrayscheese.com/. They ship! I’ve got a serious addiction to Chimay, once made by monks in Belgium, and the powerfully pungent Cabrales blue cheese from Spain.

© 2006 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved