Curdbox is our monthly cheese + pairing subscription service. Want to join our merry band of cheese lovers? Head on over to our subscription page to sign up for your monthly box! Or, check our curdboxFLEX for a box that is nut-free, gluten-free, and vegetarian!
Check your watch, because it's Brunch O'Clock! We've had two different brunch-themed boxes with our original curdbox (Brunch and Brunch at Home), and it's always a favorite. So, we knew we had to include a special allergy-friendly brunch box for all our Flex subscribers, too! Here we have three cheeses and three pairings that make a delicious cheese board with some familiar brunch-y elements. Or? Head to the kitchen and make a full-on brunch, with these products playing a starring role. Do what you want! All that matters that whatever you do, you're right on time at Brunch O'Clock.
October / April 2022 Brunch O'Clock curdboxFLEX
Clover Blossom Honey Goat Chèvre from Vermont Creamery
In place of cream cheese, our soft spreadable cheese is the clover blossom honey goat log (aka honey chèvre) from Vermont Creamery. Vermont Creamery was on the forefront of the American goat cheese movement that took off in the 80s, and has made a name for itself for it consistently delicious goat cheeses. They collect goat milk from 20 small family farms around their facility in Vermont and Canada to make a spreadable cheese that’s mild, fresh, and creamy. Their honey chèvre has a little bit of honey mixed right in, so it’s already tangy and sweet.
Tilsit by Black Knight
Not many people are familiar with Tilsits, but they’ve been around for a while, and you may just know them under a different name. Tilsit came about when Dutch immigrants in the town of Tilsit in East Prussia (now called Sovetsk in Russia’s Kalingrad) tried to recreate their beloved Gouda from their home country. Because of the different climate, molds, and yeasts of their new lands, it just didn’t come out the same (terroir is a real thing!). But, it turned out to be a happy mistake because they created an entirely new cheese that was delicious in its own right, and they called it Tilsit. If you haven’t heard of Tilsit, you may know it by another name: Danish Havarti is perhaps the most well-known type of Tilsit cheese. Like the gouda that it’s modeled after, this is a friendly & flexible cow’s milk cheese that’s aged 2 months. It’s got a mild but savory flavor that’s kept juicy from a lactic tang. It semi-soft and likes to crumble, and melts like a champ, making it as happy on a cheese board as in a cooked meal (like brunch, as just one example).
Barely Buzzed by Beehive Cheese
Barely Buzzed from Beehive Cheese brings the coffee to this month’s brunch box. It’s an American original and a medalist many times over, having racked up 20 awards since its inception in 2007. It starts in Utah, with Jersey cows’ milk that is pasteurized and turned into a friendly, full-bodied cheddar with a smooth and creamy texture. The finishing touch that makes the magic happen is that the rind is rubbed with lavender and coffee. This unusual flavor combo was originally just an experiment that Beehive cheesemakers Tim Welsh and Pat Ford were told was scientifically a bad idea. But it turns out, it was more breakthrough than bust, as the resulting cheese was absolutely delicious. The coffee and lavender work their way into the cheese from the rind in, unlocking notes of butterscotch and caramel along the way. We encourage you to try the rind—it adds an intense roasty toasty flavor that we swear tastes just like wood-fired pizza dough.
Apricot Jam by Dalmatia
Dalmatia knows you don’t need to mess with a good thing, which is why they make their fruit spreads with first-class fruit (aka, the best fruit that would be worthy of selling directly to customers.) They use just enough sugar to complement the fruit, but not so much that it masks the flavor. In fact, they aren’t technically sweet enough to be called jam, and that’s fine with us! In addition to making a killer condiment, they support the regional agriculture in Northern and Eastern Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, coastal Dalmatia, and other Mediterranean regions. So you can feel extra good about eating your brunch fruit spread, too!
Dark-Chocolate Vine-Dried Grapes from Life's Grape
Life’s Grape brings us our final decadent fruit pairing. While these may technically be raisins and the general format is reminiscent of the cinema-favorite Raisinet, please don’t make the mistake of thinking you’ve ever had something like this before. Their California farmers grow Selma Pete grapes, which are not only particularly juicy and flavorful, but also ripen early in the season. This means they have a long time to hang out and dry on the vine, distilling all that flavor down. At the end of the season, the dried grapes are whisked off the vine, bathed in dark chocolate, and dressed with a light dusting of cocoa powder—truly the royal treatment.
Pomegranate or Blueberry Chocolate Quinoa Crisps by Undercover Snacks
Our final pairing brings a little bit of a sweet chocolate ending to our brunch box. Undercover founder Diana Levy says she is a bit of an undercover double-agent herself, as someone that cares about health and is also a chocoholic. She wanted to make chocolates that were just enough decadence without overdoing it. When two of her chocoholic daughters were diagnosed with Celiac’s, she decided to make a gluten-free chocolate snack. This month, we sent out the blueberry and pomegranate, so you will have either of these two flavors. They are just what Diana wanted—full of that satisfying chocolate flavor, but light and airy enough so that you don’t feel too guilty after eating them. Basically, the perfect ending to this month’s brunch cheese board.
We hope you love this box!
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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, @beehivecheese, @dalmatia_spreads, @lifesgrapesnacks, and @undercoversnacks. We love to see our cheese lovers enjoying their boxes!
