We have recently introduced our two young children to the classic film The Sound of Music.  It might have been a little too early, but they do love the songs.  Since the new year our youngest has not been sleeping.  We are up every night for a few hours and it is killing me.  Some nights the only thing that makes it bearable is hearing his sweet little voice singing “Doe a deer a female deer”…a moment you wish you could capture forever, and, one that reminds you that staying up night after night does have its moments of magic.

We don’t always see good cheese in our local market.  When we do they stand out and we get a little twinge of uber excitement.  This Oma Cheese from the Von Trapp Farmstead located in Vermont is one of those cheeses.  We found it once before and were surprised to see it again.  It is not a runny cheese, but it is very soft with an earthy, grassy, even buttery flavor to it.  It is the sort of cheese that you can smell the minute you open the wrap but it doesn’t knock you to the ground.  A washed-rind cows milk cheese, we read that its perfect pairing would be a bottle of India Pale Ale….which got us thinking it would be equally good with the Potlicker India Pale Ale Beer Jelly (also crafted in Vermont) that we are offering on Charlotte Julienne Food right now.

We recently presented some of our goods at Brick Coworkshop’s opening party in Holyoke, Massachusetts.  The Pale Ale Beer Jelly was the hit of the night (along with the hop-pickles).  We knew it was good.  We did not know how amazing it would be with this Oma cheese.  We served it with cheddar that night.  Had we served it with Oma we may have sold out.

The buttery texture of the cheese and the infused jelly are the perfect match.  One word of caution…it is not the sort of cheese that makes you feel like you have eaten anything – it is light so beware….you might find you eat the entire wheel.

Another potential serving idea we are quite excited about trying is using this jelly in a sandwich.  Cheese, jelly and prosciutto with a few leaves of baby arugula.  We’ll let you know how it is.