Editor's note: This article is part of a series of Arizona cheese reviews in honor of American Cheese Month. To read the first review, visit our fall blog here.
Sixty miles up from the Mexican border, Alethea Swift keeps herself busy making Italian ricotta, explosive logs of Roquefort mold-ripened chevre and delicate French goat cheeses shaped into miniature pyramids.
Her Benson-area farmstead, Fiore di Capra, is a national player on the artisanal goat cheese scene, and continues to redefine Arizonans' relationship with dairy. Innovations aside, it all starts with the milk: Her family's growing herd of goats — and more recently, sheep and cow — munch on a lush Sonoran diet of mesquite beans, local fauna and alfalfa.
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It's no surprise Fiore di Capra sells milk by the gallon at the local co-op: They really have some of the freshest, best tasting milk around. And that purity is reflected in their simplest cheese product, the cloud-like pillows of tangy fresh chevre.
But the creamery was recently recognized for another Arizona delight: supple pucks of goat cheese marinated in olive oil, garlic, herbs and pickled jalapeños. The Southwestern hybrid recently took home second place at the nation's premier cheese conference in Sacramento, the American Cheese Society.
The cheese is lightly-aged for 10 days, and then immersed in the oil mixture for about another month until the flavors harmonize. At this point, the cheese is so delicate and crumbly that it's hard to pull out of the jar in one piece. But no matter, the creamy chunks are gonna go straight in your mouth anyway, comforting and rich until a wallop of spice hits you on the back. They're incredibly addictive, these nuggets, calming your palate just enough keep you wanting more of that intoxicating pickled pepper. Raging fire, then release.
While I heartily recommend the jalapeño chevre, I'm even more excited about what's to come: With their 11 new sheep — possibly the first dairy sheep in Arizona — the Swift family is working on a local version of the famous, nutty table cheeses of the Basque region. Located near the border between France and Spain, the mountainous area has a unique style unlike anywhere else in the world.
And now, we can say the same around here!
Still hungry? For American Cheese Month, Andi has pledged to review a cheese from every dairy in Arizona. Catch the rest here at our fall blog Autumn in Tucson, or on her personal blog My Dinner With Andi.
Contact Andi Berlin at aberlin@tucson.com. On Twitter: @AndiBerlin
