Andante Ballad Cheese with Pomegranate

The cheesemaking follows a traditional French Monastery cheese recipe like Port Salut and many tommes from various areas in France. Tomme de Savoie, Saint Nectaire and Bethmale use the same recipe. The rind is finished with Pomegranate concentrate to express the nature where the cheese is made. The cheesemaking vat and pressor are located with the view of the huge pomegranate tree over the window. The tree was planted when I built the dairy 18 years ago. It was a very small bareroot stick and grew into a huge tree shades the main window. The jersey milk is from the coastal dairy in Tamales, and the goat milk is from the farm where Andante dairy is located in.

When the cheese is young, it’s supple and has the taste of rich milk. The color of interior is bright yellow from the jersey milk from the cows grazed in pasture year-round. The color is especially intense from the winter milk.