Diana Pittet

Title & Company: Cheesemonger at Sickles Market, New Jersey

Company Site: http://www.sicklesmarket.com/

Diana's Blog: http://www.cheddarbound.blogspot.com/

Bio:
Diana Pittet is a cheesemonger at Sickles Market in New Jersey. While making traditional Cheddar in the southwest of England at springtime, the apple trees were in rosy bloom. This experience forever joined cheese and cider in her mind.

Philosophy:
What guides me as a cheesemonger is the commitment to giving my customers what they want for a particular event-whether it be a solo lunch or a cocktail party for fifty people-and to encouraging them to sample something new, especially an artisanal cheese (as opposed to a mass-produced one).Tasting a cheese made by hand can awaken a whole new world of gustatory pleasures, and it can provide a connection to our anonymous food producers. Even though I primarily subscribe to a local, seasonal diet and I am very supportive of American artisanal cheeses (and ciders!) for this reason, I don't limit myself to domestic choices. In this way I am more of a follower of Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food Movement, who aims to preserve the best foods in the world, not just the local ones. This is not simply an issue of taste. Just as I don't want to see artistic treasures lost to the ravages of war, I don't want historic cheeses to be lost to mass production. They are just as much cultural artifacts of our shared humanity as monumental sculptures carved into sandstone cliffs.

Original
Its zippy tingle on the tongue is an excellent foil for a rich and creamy bloomy-rind cheese, such as Mt. Townsend's Seastack, from Washington State. The subtle saltiness of the cheese brings out the sweetness of the cider and emphasizes its pronounced apple taste.

Brut
Whereas opposites attract for the Original, the Brut succeeds with cheeses that have a comparable flavor profile, such a tart fresh goat cheese, like the one from the Vermont Butter & Cheese Company. The cider highlights the refreshing lemon-y taste of this versatile and spreadable cheese.

Honey Crisp
This cider has a rounded flavor that seems just right for a strong cheese hailing from jagged mountains. Der Alpen Kase, from Goot Essa in Pennsylvania, isn't made in the mountains, but its robust, nutty taste mimics ones that are. If you want the real McCoy, go for the strongest of Swiss cheeses, Tete de Moine, and enjoy how the honey notes of the cider play off the meatiness of the cheese.

The Saint
A deliciously complex cider, with a big flavor and small, tight bubbles, the Saint comes closest to the farmhouse ciders of the West Country of England. No cheese represents this area of Britain more than Cheddar, so pick one like the grassy Quicke's Traditional from Devon.

Since the Saint has the mouth feel of a beer and it's fermented with Belgian Trappist beer yeasts, you could go in a totally different direction and try a washed-rind cheese, the traditional match for Belgian ales. More milky than funky, Nicasio Square, from California, is an elegant match for this elegant cider.

Landsdowne
Just as with the Saint, you can go in two different directions with Landsdowne--a full-on aged goat cheese, such as Vermont Butter and Cheese's Coupole, which is toned down by the cider's astringency, or a creamy blue, such as Stichelton from England, which is a salty foil to the sweet molasses flavor of the cider.

Published by Scott Tuffield