Cheese!

Cheese kitchen photos are probably the most boring photos you can take. White cheese everywhere accented by stainless steel. But what you see here is the beginning of a glorious thing. In a short time (a matter of mere days) these cheeses will develop something called a geotrichum mold that will cover their exteriors and eventually form the white rind that characterizes all bloomy cheeses. This mold works from the outside in, creating that lovely creamy layer that gourmets and (especially) gourmands sigh over and write rapturous things about in glossy food magazines and on culinary blogs. They look so innocent at this stage, don't they?

So, I'm back. Back in Asheville. Back at the farm. And thus, back at markets. Going to markets is one thing, and I went to a good many of them in Europe, but working at a market is another. One might imagine that sitting in the same spot for hours on hot mornings and afternoons in summer could be tedious. Indeed, yesterday I was fighting a losing battle with the heat trying to keep the cheeses cold with bags of ice. But market is a completely different and wonderful experience for the vendor. Ah, the people one meets...

And the atmosphere...let's just say I've missed Asheville. Crabs and concertinas, kale and kohlrabi tucked in a bowl in the Appalachians. I feel like a brand new human being.