A cheesy market

Photo by David Lansing.

I said one of the things I liked about the Matakana Farmers Market was that, with only 40 vendors, there was just one of everything. I was exaggerating of course. There are several produce stalls and flower stands and lots of people selling jams, jellies, relishes, and chutneys.

There are also several vendors hawking local cheese, which is quite all right with me since there can never be too many small cheesemakers as far as I’m concerned.

The Puhoi Cheese people were there with their bohemian blue, basil pesto feta, gorgonzola, various cheddars, and a wheel of brie (for only $24).

And then there were Annie and Phil Armstrong of Whangaripo Buffalo Cheese Company who were bringing some of the first of their pecorino-style cheese, which they cal St. Malo, to the market.

Phil and Annie have a small herd of water buffalo, which they brought in from Australia, in the Whangaripo Valley, over the hills from Matakana, and have been making cheeses from buffalo milk for a little over a year now—mostly brie and a slightly creamy bleu, as well as fresh mozzarella balls—but the pecorino-style cheese was new and they were pretty excited about it.

I was excited about it too so I bought a chunk of it and took it back to give to Heather at Takatu, figuring she could whip it up something wonderful in the way of an appetizer tonight.