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WEEKLY SPECIALS
SEPTEMBER 22 - 26
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FOURME D'AMBERT
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Regular Price: $9.48/lb
Sale Price: $8.30/lb
1 x 4.5lb
Fourme d'Ambert is one of France's oldest cheeses with a history dating back to Roman times. Some legends date it back even further as a cheese known to druids well before the Romans marched into Gaul. It was certainly ingrained into the culture of the Auvergne by the Middle Ages as a statue over the entry to the chapel of Chaulme depicts a wheel of Fourme d'Ambert.
The volcanic soil of the Forez mountains provides a varied and lush diet for the cows whose milk is used to make this rich, elegant blue cheese. While full-flavored, Fourme d'Ambert tends to be a mellower blue whose veins are tempered by flavors of freshly drawn cream, mushrooms, cocoa, and ripe fruit. Like many French classics, Fourme d'Ambert has largely fallen prey to mass production and industrialization. This version, however, aged by affineur Rodolphe le Meunier, keeps alive the delicious tradition of artisanal-made cheese.
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NERINA
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Regular Price: $16.45/lb
Sale Price: $14.40/lb
6 x 250gr
Hailing from the luscious valleys of Piedmont, the Nerina is truly a cheese in a league of its own. This pasteurized goat's milk cheese is aged for approximately 3 weeks and lightly dusted with vegetable ash - giving it its dramatic appearance. Because the cheese is young, the flavors are bright and tangy with hints of citrus.
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QUERCINO
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Regular Price: $45.60/cs
Sale Price: $39.92/cs
4 x 400gr
One of the newest additions to the Fresca Italia selection, the Quercinohas quickly become a staff favorite. This all cow's milk robiola hails from Piedmont but is not what you would typically expect from cheeses out of this area. Each wheel is wrapped in Oak bark (quercia means Oak in Italian).
The texture is creamy and thick, with a custard-like quality and the flavors are buttery, earthy with a hint of smoke in the finish which is absorbed from the bark.
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ROQUEFORT - WHILE SUPPLIES LAST
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Regular Price: $18.13/lb
Sale Price: $15.86/lb
1 x 1.5kg
Roquefort may soon be a thing of the past so snatch up what we have left before this cheese is banished from the US, forever.
Local legend suggests that Roquefort was first discovered when a youthful boy, enjoying a lunch of bread and sheep's milk, was struck by a passing girl. Overtaken by her beauty, the boy abandoned his lunch in a nearby cave to pursue the girl. Returning a few months later, he found the bread had molded and turned the milk into what we now know as Roquefort.
Though this anecdote simplifies the process of cheesemaking, it does hold true to the natural occurrence of Penicillium Roqueforti, the mold that is classically used to make this cheese, in the caves of the Combalou Caves.
On a more historical account, Roquefort was the first French product to receive the designation of Appellation d'Origine Controlee (AOC) in 1925, protecting the recipe and production from any impostors. And the recipe still holds true today. All Roquefort is made from the milk of the Lacaune Sheep and aged for 3 months. After inoculation, the cheese develops a pocked interior, allowing for the molds to develop into a greenish hue. It is these molds, in combination with the rich sheep's milk, that give the cheese its distinctive flavor. Punchy, earthy with a hint of sweetness, Roquefort is easily one of France's most popular cheeses. Fresca Italia is proud to offer Roquefort from the Rodolphe le Meunier Collection. As with all his cheeses, le Meunier takes deliberate care in choosing his cheeses and his Roquefort is no exception.
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PECORINO DI FILIANO - BIG WHEELS, BIG DEALS
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Regular Price: $11.32/lb
Discounts based on volume:
2 wheels @ $8.86/lb
3+ wheels @ $7.98/lb
Giovanni Samela, owner and cheesemaker at Pietra del Sale, is a true crusader for the traditional foods of his home: Basilicata in Southern Italy. Always keeping one foot in the realm of tradition, Samela also has a keen eye for innovation. The rustic Pecorino di Filiano is a triumph for Samela, who has been instrumental in earning the traditional Canestrato di Filiano DOP status.
We are excited to introduce the arrival of Pecorino di Filiano Gran Riserva. Aged for 8-12 months in natural caves, these large 12 pound wheels retain moisture, creating a toothsome robust cheese that's nutty and sweet with an assertively sharp finish.
Take this opportunity to try something new, exciting, and delicious!
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AGED BRESCIANELLA
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 Regular Price: $14.22/lbSale Price: $12.55/lb
4 x 750 grams
A close relative of Taleggio -- both come from the Lombardy region of Italy -- Brescianella is made exclusively in the province of Brescia, for which it is named. This is an exceptional washed-rind, soft-ripened, cow's milk cheese. When ripe, or "stagionata", Brescianella has an oozing, beautifully smooth, sweet paste with wonderful, rich flavors and a lingering, grassy aftertaste. The flavor becomes more pungent as it ages, which can be anywhere from 2 to 6 months.
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PECORINO PICCANTINO
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Regular Price: $12.63/lb
Sale Price: $11.05/lb
1 x 1.2 KG
Piccantino is a chili pepper aged pecorino. The recipe for this product adds flakes of hot chili pepper to the paste. When the cheese is cut, tiny speckles of red chili pepper appear in the white compact texture, and they please the eyes as much as they please the palate.
The strong and spicy flavor of the chili blends very well with the full creamy flavor of the cheese, creating a balance of sweet and spicy that's difficult to beat. Piccantino is a must for palates that love strong flavors and is perfect when eaten with honey or Italian pickled candied fruit (mostarda).
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QUARTIROLO LOMBARDO
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 Regular Price: $9.70/lbSale Price: $8.49/lb
1 x 3 lb
Like Taleggio, Aged Quartirolo Lombardo is rooted in the dairy farming traditions of Lombardy, in particular the regions of Bergamo and Brescia. Its name derives from the fact that it used to be produced with the "fourth grass" (erba quartirola), i.e. the grass that grew after the third haying and the last blades of fresh grass the cows ate before returning to the valley after summer grazing. This practice has fallen into disuse. This Quartirolo variety is aged for at least 30 days. In casArrigoni it is stored in pinewood boxes and turned by hand several times during ripening. It has a very white, compact, chalky and crumbly texture. It does not have holes inside and maintains a fresh appearance. The taste is strong but mild, slightly sour and very intense. After aging the rind is pinkish and thin.
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COURONNE de TOURAINE
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Regular Price: $8.86 each
Sale Price: $7.75 each
6 x 210 grams
One of French Affineur Rodolphe Le Meunier's masterpieces is the Couronne de Touraine. The name, translating to the Crown of Tours, pays homage to its doughtnut-like shape. Each 6oz wheel is dusted with a coating of ash - as is typical for goat's milk cheeses produced in the Loire Valley - giving the exterior its characteristic bluish rind, contrasted by a stark white paste.
Though this cheese may appear to be pungent, your palate will be delightfully surprised by the subtle, smooth flavors. These rounds boast flavors of herbaceous grasses with a mild goatiness at the finish. And while the rind may appear to give off an intense "blue flavor", it complements the paste with an added zing.
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PYRAMIDE de TOURAINE
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Regular Price: $9.58 each
Sale Price: $8.38 each
6 x 210 grams
Another of Le Meunier's masterpieces is the Pyramide de Touraine.This truncated, ash ripened goat's milk cheese might look like Valencay and to the naked eye. However, once you take a bite of Rodolphe's rendition you will unmistakably understand the craftsmanship that is dedicated to making this French classic.
Named Pyramide de Touraine in respect to the region in which it is made, this cheese is delicate on the palate. Dense and dry in the center, the paste gives way to a luscious, creamy texture just under the ash-dusted rind. The stark white paste is contrasted against the blue vein that runs along the exterior of the geotrichum rind. The flavors are delicate and clean, tasting of grass, bright citrus, and a mild buckiness as you get closer to the rind.
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Please note that these offers are only available for our wholesale customers. Don't hesitate to call with any questions.
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107 Park Lane Brisbane, CA 94005
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