Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Harnessing my inner Lois Lane, I whipped out my camera and took some photos of my weekly pilgrimage to the Paesanella Cheese Shop.

Have I mentioned how much I love my little Lumix camera?  These photos were taken through the glass cabinets, without a tripod or flash.  The colours were perfect, despite the overhead fluorescent lighting (bless you, Adjustable White Balance function).

Some of these cheeses are pretty funky, particularly the La Tur, which made Daz’s eyes water when he tried it at our picnic in the Botanic Gardens.

The French Fromager Des Clarines is a special treat – you heat it up in its little wooden box, then poke a hole in the middle of the cheese and fill it with a slurp of champagne.  The last time we did this, Gorgeous Terri brought Pomeroy as the accompaniment!

These soft Tartufo goat cheeses  – imported from Italy – are studded with large pieces of black truffle.

If you want seriously stinky, the locally made (and outrageously expensive) Holy Goat is an interesting cheese.  I once bought a wafer thin slice for $8.  It has a bumpy, almost quilted texture which makes you want to touch it.

Delicious olives in assorted shades – our favourites are the pitted, marinated Kalamatas on the bottom right.  They also sell stuffed bell capsicums – the ones on the left are filled with pesto, and the other ones with mascarpone.

Paesanella make their own fresh cheeses, including three or four different styles of ricotta, the rocket and chilli caciotta in the photo at the top of the page, as well as a multitude of fresh, smoked and brined mozzarellas.  They even make their own buffalo mozzarella, using locally sourced milk, which means it’s tangy, but lacks the unpleasant sourness of the frozen-then-defrosted imported stuff.

There is, of course, oodles of other stuff in this shop – I just didn’t get a chance to take any more photos.  I came away with a large tub of warm ricotta, a new hard cheese to try, some St Agur (oh, how I love that they stock St Agur), Kalamata olives and the week’s supply of deli meats.  Happiness is a fridge full of gourmet goodies!

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