the cheese blog

Asiagone di Lawrenceville

Tonight’s cheese tasting was Asiagone di Lawrenceville from Cherry Grove Farm in Lawrenceville, NJ. As I’m almost officially on vacation for a couple of weeks, and my plans to tour Scandinavia and eat cheese had to be put on hold, I decided I’d catch up on a number of selection available at the Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal Market. So, the next half dozen reviews will be of local cheeses (although there are a few from Neal’s Yard that I need to try as well, so those might be sprinkled in as well over the next few weeks). Anyway, Asiagone is made from raw cow’s milk from Jersey and Shorthorn cows. Chery Grove is an organic farm, so that means no hormones, antibiotics, etc., and it’s very fresh since it’s so local! This cheese had a wonderful pale to medium yellow color with a thin, hard rind. The texture was not quite firm, with just a slight tendency to crumble. It was slightly creamy on the tongue. The taste was similar to a medium asiago, but fruitier and less sharp at the end. It had a pleasant level of saltiness. The Asiagone disappeared very quickly! (You’ll notice in the picture I was already cutting the rind off as I couldn’t wait to eat it and then remembered to take a photo!) Recommendation: Wonderful cheese!