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This box is like having brunch with your BFFs, if your besties were all varieties of cheese. Hey, no judgement! The lineup is brunch inspired but perfect for anytime of the day featuring Milton Creamery’s Prairie Breeze Cheddar (well-aged and creamy sharp) and two cheeses from Vermont Creamery, the Everything Goat Cheese (yep, like the bagel) and the St. Albans (soft and bloomy). We’ve upped the brunch ante and added in some Sea Salt Bagel Chips by Spielman Bagels, Espresso Peanuts by Lush Gourmet Nuts and Side Hill Farm’s Strawberry Rhubarb Jam. Brunch, meet cheese.
First up, is the Prairie Breeze. This is a cheddar unlike any other. It is creamy, yet has a perfect crumble, salty yet perfectly sweet and hits every spot in both texture and flavor. Its sweetness makes it ideal for a brunch inspired flavor profile. Tough call on which was our favorite bite with this one, but if we HAD to choose, I would say a chunk of this with a handful of espresso peanuts.
The next cheese was the Good Food Award winner: St. Albans. It arrives beautifully in its own ceramic crock— at room temperature, this creamy, buttery cheese becomes the center of attention. We immediately started dipping the bagel chips right into it and swirling in dollops of the strawberry rhubarb jam. Another great thing about this cheese is that you can pop it into the oven and warm it up for your own personal fondue!
Last but definitely not least with this theme, is the Everything Goat Cheese. Fresh, tangy chèvre rolled in all the seasonings and spices traditionally found on an everything bagel... amazing! The goat cheese itself is dense and smooth with a bright finish. All of the added deliciousness on the exterior is just a bonus to enjoy with all of those BAGEL CHIPS.
The Pairings were inspired by classic flavors you might see on the breakfast table on a Sunday morning— the smell of coffee brewing, sunshine streaming in the window, jars of fresh strawberry jam, and bagels or toast with butter and cream cheese. The Espresso peanuts were a fun spin on the coffee element because they are also crunchy and nutty which are great notes with cheese. The bagel chips are thick and salty and were the perfect vehicle for all of the cheeses and created the perfect “everything bagel bite” with the everything goat cheese. The strawberry rhubarb jam was especially nice when you dunked a piece of prairie breeze cheddar right in, or swirled into the St. Albans it tasted like buttery and jammy toast.
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Did you take some photos while enjoying this box that you were thinking of adding to Instagram? Please tag us @curdbox, along with our cheese and pairing partners @vermontcreamery, @miltoncreamery, @lushgourmet, @sidehillfarm, @spielmanbagels. We love to see our cheese lovers enjoying their boxes!
