Here at Caputo’s, we love to marry tradition with innovation in the most delicious ways. You may or may not be surprised to know that chocolate and cheese actually make a marvelous match. If you need further convincing, take one of our pairing classes and allow your doubts to melt away in sweet cheesy bliss. Or come into a Caputo’s near you and ask us to illuminate you with some of our favorite pairings! You can even let Blue’s Chocolates do the pairing for you and try filled chocolates like parmigiano and honey, Double Skull Taleggio and red wine, and chabrin reserve and fig (using Caputo’s cheeses and Solstice chocolate!).

And lest you think a blue cheese truffle might come as a bit of a shock to your palate, rest assured that the blue cheese we picked for this recipe, called Fourme au Moelleux, is a dainty dame of a blue cheese. It’s not without a punch, but the brashness of the blue is a balanced by a tantalizing floral note. And because we are passionate about preserving food traditions, a cheese like Fourme au Moelleux serves not just as a palate-pleaser, but reads like a volume of history, preserving time and place in its rich blue veins. You can tell your friends while serving them that Fourme au Moelleux is actually a newer innovation to an ancient cheese called the Fourme d’Ambert. Originating in the Auvergne region of France, it has been produced using traditional methods since Roman times. Rodolphe Le Meunier (a.k.a. “the world’s best cheesemaker”) injects the creamy paste with Vouvray wine to amplify the flavors, a beautiful innovation to an ancient classic. Paired with Valrhona chocolate, a consistent and quality favorite among Michelin 3 star chefs, the truffles that result are unique and alluring, but subtle enough to please even your pickiest dinner guest.

Ingredients
6 ounces heavy cream
8 ounces Valrhona Guanaja, chopped, plus two chopped ounces for rolling
4 ounces Fourme au Moelleux, chopped in small pieces

In a small saucepan, heat the cream until boiling. Pour over the 8 ounces of chocolate in a small bowl, stirring until smooth. Let it sit until it arrives at room temperature. Then stir in the cheese and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap so it’s touching the ganache (to prevent condensation).

Refrigerate for about an hour until the ganache is firm enough to roll into balls.

Scoop out the ganache with a spoon and roll it into a ball, placing the formed balls on a plate. Any size is fine, but I prefer to make blue cheese truffles a little smaller since they are so rich. You can ensure that they are perfectly round or a bit more “rustic” looking. Chocolate truffles were named after the original truffle, as in the mushroom-like fungus that grows on tree roots, so if your truffles end up bumpy and imperfectly round, tell your friends that they more fully resemble their namesake!

When all of the ganache is rolled, cover them and put them in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the remaining two ounces of chocolate using a double boiler (or make your own by placing a metal bowl or smaller pan over boiling water). Pour the melted chocolate into a deep and narrow container (I use a short glass). You’ll want the truffles to be fully submerged in the chocolate, so keep that in mind when choosing a container. After the chocolate has cooled slightly, drop a ganache ball into the chocolate. Make sure it is fully coated, and then lift it out with a fork, letting the excess chocolate drain off before rolling the truffle off the fork and onto a plate or parchment paper. Continue with the rest of the truffles. Let the chocolate shell harden and the truffles come back to room temperature, when the ganache is most creamy and delicious.

It may seem overwhelming, but making truffles is actually quite simple (the hardest part is coating them with chocolate without making a mess!), and the blue cheese adds a savory, creamy dimension that you’ll love. Join us in delicious innovation on old classics, and tell us how your adventures go!

One of my favorite customer questions is always accompanied by a finger pointing timidly to the cheese counter glass. “What’s that thing wrapped in leaves? A cheese?” Every time I hear it, a smile springs to my face. Thanks for noticing, I want to say. And then, are you ready for a story?

This week, we are dedicating the Caputo’s blog to our favorite summer cheese and in-house specialty, and we are kicking it off with a little history lesson.

That mysterious cheese behind the counter and our favorite summer treat is an Italian beauty called burrata. Unlike other cheeses we import and then sell at Caputo’s, it is made at the end of the cheese counter, where you can catch Antonia (our full-time affineuse), Christian, or Fiona in the act of cheese-making. Plunging gloved hands into steaming water, you’ll see them stretch the softened mozzarella to a soft and shiny shell. Then, they pull apart strands of mozzarella curd, soak the strands in fresh cream, and stuff the mixture inside the waiting shell, twisting the top together to keep the creamy goodness inside. After a few hours of this process, they are ready to place the half- pound balls in plastic bags and then wrap them in thick, green leaves, tying them together with twine. This leaf-tying practice pays homage to the original burrata makers, who wrapped the fresh balls in the locally abundant asphodel leaves as an indicator of freshness; bright, fresh leaves indicated a bright, fresh cheese, whereas wilted leaves meant the cheese was more than a few days old.

But burrata is more than just a palate-pleaser and the perfect summer cheese. Like everything we carry at Caputo’s, it tells the story of its birthplace, and burrata was born on a snowy winter’s day in a small town in Southern Italy. The town is Andria, the year is 1920(-ish), and the maker is a poor farmer left with the byproducts of a mozzarella that would not be sold in the valley that day, as the layers of snow made travel impossible. Faced with the discomfort of wasting the precious mozzarella scraps, stretched curd, and cream, he could have dried the cheese curd to use in pasta, or perhaps drunk the cream like thick milk. Instead, Lorenzo Bianchino gave credence to the cliche that “necessity is the mother of invention,” and he invented. Making art from waste,  he recycled the byproducts of mozzarella to make something (arguably) more beautiful than the product itself: burrata, a delicate queen of Italian cheese. True to the day on which it was born, burrata is a milky-white orb of creamy decadence, as fresh-tasting as a winter morning, as buttery and rich as it’s Italian name implies (burrata means “buttered”).

Lorenzo Bianchino was perhaps the first maker of burrata, but he was not the last. His creation was such a hit that it became a practical and delectable treat for neighboring cow-keepers in Andria. Many poor farmers were selling their fior di latte, or cow’s milk mozzarella, to the rich who now sneered at the traditional buffalo milk mozzarella of the masses. But after selling their mozzarella, the farmers had no cheese left for themselves or their families. Making burrata was the solution that gave the poor their mozzarella with a heart of cream, and it was (accidentally) even more decadent than the cheese of the decadents. In the 1950’s, local cheese factories began producing it, and it slowly began to spread across Italy and the United States.

Every time I hand over a leaf-wrapped burrata to a customer who moments before was pointing with puzzlement into the glass case, I wish I could be there to witness the magic of that first bite- cutting through the shell to scoop, spoon, and slurp out the creamy center. Burrata isn’t just a testament to the Italian spirit and a gift to American palates. Like every cheese we sell at Caputo’s, it comes wrapped up in a story of the hands who crafted it, the animals that provided the milk, the lands from which they grazed, and ultimately, the culture that gave the cheese its style, form, and life. This lovely Italian invention is just one more example of the Caputo’s mission: honoring and preserving the past, sharing our expertise in the present, and trailblazing into the future. 

We are proud of our house-made burrata because we are proud of the original methods and ingenuity of the people who produced it. And we’re proud of our house-made burrata because we are proud of our cheese-makers who produce it today, with the same care and intention as those who first saw the spark of a new cheese in the scraps of an old classic. 

Bite into some burrata and I think you’ll be singing the praises of Italian ingenuity, too.

Hello chocolate + coffee lovers. Sondra here with two transformative life lessons:

1. If you try one coffee bar in your life, let that bar be Omnom’s Coffee + Milk
2. If you make one mousse in your life, let that mousse be filled with smooth coffee flavor

Ever since I discovered Omnom’s coffee and milk bar, I’ve been dying to bake with it. This bar is unlike any coffee chocolate bar you’ve tried before, as evidenced by the ingredients: Organic cacao butter, Raw cane sugar, Icelandic milk powder & coffee beans from Jesus Maria farm in Nicaragua.

That’s right. No chocolate. Just delicious coffee beans processed the way cacao beans are processed to make a latte in a bar. Seriously, if you haven’t tried it yet, head to your nearest Caputo’s and buy it ASAP. It may change your life (and your Monday mornings).

Because I love mousse, I thought there could be no better use of a coffee bar than throwing it in a dreamy cloud of chocolate goodness. I didn’t want to overwhelm the robust, high quality coffee flavor of the Omnom bar, so I chose the Pralus 100% dark bar for the complementary chocolate taste. Pralus is a French bean-to-bar chocolate maker that is known for his heavy roast on the cacao beans, and that roasty flavor perfectly complements the coffee in this mousse.

I made the recipe portions small enough that you will only need one Omnom bar and a part of a Pralus bar, and it will serve two or three people (think date night or movie night with your bestie!). But feel free to double it if you are having company or are self-aware enough to know that you can eat three portions yourself (yes, I am that self-aware).

Ingredients:

2.1 ounces of Omnom Coffee and Milk (the full bar), chopped

1.13 ounces of Pralus Le 100% (9 squares), chopped

1 Tbsp + 1 ½ tsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 ½ large eggs, separated

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

⅛ cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar (I use ultra-fine baker’s sugar for added lightness, but regular granulated sugar will work if you don’t have baker’s sugar on hand)

¼ cup heavy cream, cold

1 tsp vanilla extract

Whipped cream and espresso powder, for garnish and added flavor

Preparation:

1. First, place a small mixing bowl in the freezer. You will need this later to whip the cream!

      2. Make a double boiler by placing a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Add the chopped chocolate and butter to the bowl and stir occasionally with a wooden spoon until completely melted and smooth. Remove bowl from the saucepan and set aside to let cool slightly.

      3. Add ½ tsp of vanilla extract to the egg yolks and whisk for about a minute, just to get them frothy and light. Then, slowly add the yokes to the chocolate, whisking as you add more, until the chocolate and yokes are smooth and fully incorporated. Set aside.

     4. In another bowl, beat the egg whites (with clean, dry beaters) until they are soft and foamy. Now add the cream of tartar (this keeps the egg whites light) and beat until soft peaks form. Add the ⅛ cup sugar, a little at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form.

    5. Take the bowl out of the freezer and add the heavy cream. Beat it until it begins to thicken and then add a tablespoon of sugar and the remaining ½ tsp. of vanilla. Beat until the cream forms soft peaks.

    6. Now it’s folding time! Remember that the idea here is to keep everything light and fluffy, so try to get all the elements evenly incorporated without excess movement. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture first, then fold in the whipped cream. Divide the mousse into 2-3 glasses (or cute Turkish coffee cups!) and cover and chill in the fridge for several hours. Garnish with whipped cream and espresso powder before serving.

Then eat up and share with a friend if you’re feeling extra generous! Enjoy and let us know how it goes. 🙂 

Hey guys!

This is my first blog post, so allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sondra, and I’ve worked at the downtown Caputo’s Market for five great months. When I’m not geeking out at work, you can find me philosophizing, eating chocolate, hiking, or cooking with my adorable husband. I also love to teach and to learn, so come to Caputo’s to chat! Or comment below and tell me all the things you would like us to blog about (questions about cheese pairings, recipes you want to see us make, olive oil suggestions, whatever!), and we will try to make you happy.

Now let’s talk semifreddo.

Utah got really hot really fast. And suddenly all I wanted to do was eat fruit all day and gelato all night and jump in swimming pools in between. You know the feeling. But the thing about gelato is that usually it requires an ice cream maker and is just altogether more complicated. So we decided to go for something with all the goodness of gelato without all the hassle, and include the hottest ingredients of the summer (tiki bitters aren’t just for cocktails anymore).

This is another Italian dessert, but is closer to a frozen mousse than an ice cream. In spite of what the name implies (semifreddo means “half cold” in Italian), this is a fully frozen dessert, so expect the perfect cooling summer treat!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of butter

1 cup unsweetened coconut

6 ounces Fruition Toasted White chocolate, chopped (or substitute Valrhona Opalys 33% white)

2 large eggs

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons Bittermen’s Elemakule Tiki Bitters

a dash of cinnamon

1 ½ cups chilled heavy cream

 Preparation:

1. Line a metal loaf pan (8 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches) with plastic wrap, leaving a couple inches overhang so you can easily lift out the semifreddo at the end. Chill in the freezer.

2. In a skillet, melt the butter and toast the coconut until golden brown, but not burnt! Parts of the coconut will probably still be white (though most will be golden brown) when it reaches the perfect amount of toastiness. Turn off heat and set aside.

3. Put chopped white chocolate in a metal bowl or pan. Set over a pan of hot (but not boiling) water. Stir occasionally until melted. Turn off heat and set aside. Note on chocolate: I used Fruition Toasted White because it has a rich, caramely flavor that plays so nicely with the warmth of the Tiki bitters and cinnamon. But any high quality white chocolate will work deliciously.

4. Put eggs and sugar in another metal bowl and beat to combine. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water and beat for about 5 minutes (because we don’t want your semifreddo giving you salmonella!). Remove from heat.

5. Beat in white chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, and tiki bitters to the egg and sugar mixture. I’m a big believer in the phrase “to taste” so start out with the recommended amounts, and then experiment! More cinnamon or bitters is never a bad thing.

6. In another bowl, beat the cream until it just holds stiff peaks. Fold into the egg mixture until fully combined. Then stir in the toasted coconut and pour the mixture into the chilled loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze 7-8 hours or overnight.

7. Pop the semifreddo out of the loaf pan and voila! You’re practically an Italian pastry chef! The traditional way to serve semifreddo is sliced as if it were an ice cream cake and placed on a plate like this:

         But we’ve included another fun way to serve it in case you want to mix things up.

        Grated lime zest and un-toasted coconut both add a fun pop of color!

        Happy dessert-making, and be sure to tell us all about your semifreddo adventures in the comments below!