Amazing cheese in St. Paul

I wanted to pass along another great food find from last weekend. I bought the Trade Lake Cedar sheep's milk cheese from Love Tree Farmstead at the St. Paul Farmer's Market last weekend. WOW!! This was great cheese. They sell about 7-10 different kinds of cheese at the market, and all were very good. They were generous about giving samples at the market. The cheese is expensive, but definitely worth it. Pair some of this cheese with a nice French bread and you have a great dinner.

[The Dairy Queen]

Speaking of amazing cheese in the Twin Cities, I understand that Jakeeno's in Midtown Global Market pulls their own mozzarella. Has anyone tried it?

~TDQ

[Danny]

They do... a bunch of us picked some up after the first chowdown. It was good, but not outstanding. It looked like they use Polly-O curd.

[AnneInMpls]

Thanks for the news on the Trade Lake Cedar - sounds great.

Me, I'm a long-time fan of the sheep's milk cheeses from Shepherd's Way Farm, especially the Friesago. And I just discovered an amazing parmesan at Surdyk's - it's a 4-year-aged farmhouse Parmigiano Reggiano for $19.99 a pound - and worth every penny!

Anne

[faith]

Is that the Rose variety by any chance?

[AnneInMpls]

I don't know the name/manufacturer of the cheese, unfortunately. It was sitting out when I was there, asking for parmesan - one taste, and I was hooked.

Anne

[misterpatrick]

You know, I love cheese from all over I have to say I have always been dissapointed with Love Tree's cheese. I think it is way over priced for what it is and as a line of cheeses, just not that special. Sure, it's artisial and small batch etc etc, but so are many of the great French/Italian/Swiss cheeses you can get and they generally come in at a much lower price.

I did recently have a wondeful blue cheese from Minnesota. I think it was called St. Peters Blue from Faribault(?) or something similar.

I just wish cheese prices in the Cities weren't so outrageous.

[Jordan]

You may be thinking of St. Pete's Select. A terrific blue, I must agree.

I'm not familiar with Love Tree cheeses, though I've had tried most of the other regionals and locals. My favorite these days are the aged cheddars from Hooks' and Widmer's, both in central Wisconsin.

[Sven]

I love the St. Pete's Select and Amablu, both made by the Fairibault Dairy Co. Interestingly, Fairibault, MN housed the first Blue Cheese Plant in the US.

I found the Trade Lake Cedar to be chalky and dry.

[MplsM ary]

I went looking to see if there was more information available on this cheese - lo and behold: http://www.lovetreefarmstead.com/chee...

Gosh, it looks beautiful and they have some very creative pairing suggestions. Earl Grey? Who'd a thunk that?

Looks like I have to schlep over to St. Paul.

[snoboardbabe77]

I know this was for St Paul cheese, but for the few that may not know - a really good place to get cheese is the mecca Kowalski's in Woodbury. I do like getting cheese at the Farmer's Market, and when I went to Haskell's cheese/wine store in Highland Park, I thought there would be a lot more selections than there was. I need to get back over to Surdyks- but Im telling you, it's nice to walk into that enormous Kowalski's and have a cheese card on every region, type - so people get an idea. FYI - I've noticed something over the last few months that I've gone to Byerlys- a small basket in the section next to their sandwiches and goat cheeses, their "end" units of cheese - for typically under $4.00 - it's enough to have a few crackers with and decide if you like it. Most times you can sample a new cheese, but if you just want to pick one up without spending $16.99 a pound (like on my favorites-goudas), check that area out over there.

Also, next time you pick up a good stilton or gorg or blue, put a few very thin slices of granny smith apple on a petite toast, spread some stilton on there and top with a caramelized walnut. It is such a good combination of textures and flavors!

[Mill City Modern]

All of the Lovetree Farms cheeses are great. If you ever get a chance, try her "Big Holmes." It's almost like butter.

[Paz]

Is Trade Lake Cedar the people that sell fish bait because their cheese is not aged enough to sell for human consumption?

It's so great to see local producers of great cheese. Shepherd's Way down in Northfield is also kicking out some great product.

[showercapcrazy]

Nelson cheese on Como just east of snelling has a good selection of cheese with great coustomer service. They also serve deli fair and ice cream.

Sounds wonderful! Here's a link to an older thread on some other local cheeses that you might be able to find too.

Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...