Tonda Corrente is stirring the pot.
Well, the pan, anyway.
Inside, a steamy, creamy concoction coalesces. It coats the spoon with the consistency and color of caramel. It’s scent, too, is caramel-evocative, but becomes infinitely more complex as she douses the pan with a generous splash of French cognac. Vapors rise in shades of apricot, date and boozy, buttery bourbon.
“That’s the stuff,” I say.
She nods and tips the bottle once more.
“It’s all ‘to taste,'” she says, and we laugh.
Corrente, better known in Orlando foodie circles as La Femme du Fromage is making a silky cream-laced fondue from a Norwegian cheese called gjetost (pronounced “yay-toast”) in the cozy confines of her well-appointed stall at East End Market (3201 Corrine Drive in Orlando; 407-571-9947; lafemmedufromage.com).
Gjetost translates, literally, to “goat cheese,” but fans of the more common curdy variety would scarcely recognize this stuff, which intact looks like a smooth, dense slab of caramel fudge. Cube it and all it’s missing is a wrapper with the Kraft logo.
“It’s made with the whey instead of the curd,” she explains, which gives its creamy, atypical texture. “They caramelize the lactose, they cook it low and slow. It sticks to the roof of your mouth like peanut butter, and it really does taste like caramel.”
Fudge. Caramel. Cream. Cognac. All things for lovers of food. Lovers in general, I think (food is so damned sensual) but this story is for National Cheese Lover’s Day (Jan. 20).
So, as we tip our hat to this most beloved bite — bright, red Babybels for your kid’s lunchbox; hard, salty Pecorino Romano; thick, funky Yorkshire blue or rare Serbian pule (which goes for upwards of $500 a pound) — so, too, do we dip our forks in the fondue.
It enrobes the apple slices, the berries, the pretzel rods, the ginger cookies and tastes as though caramel and cheese got together and made a gorgeous, gooey baby.
Corrente celebrates cheese every hour of every day, of course, but relishes the advent of the food holidays.
“Cheese holidays tend to happen at least once a quarter, which is really great!” she says. “There’s Grilled Cheese Day, Fondue Day, National Cheese Day, National Cheese Month…” she rattles off. “This one, though, this is our day — and so we can celebrate it every which way.”
Okay, then. Let’s get weird.
Let’s drink it.
Over in Mills 50, manager Shelby McGowan and the rest of the staff at RoyalTea (714 N. Mills Avenue in Orlando; 407-513-2657; royalteaus.com) are in some cases more than mere purveyors of tea, they’re pushers.
“It’s addictive,” McGowan says of their signature beverage: cheese mousse tea. RoyalTea serves all different kinds — matcha, green, oolong, black — but this spicy, chai-like beverage is topped with a ladle of sweet, milky cream cheese mousse.
“It’s like a liquid cheesecake,” she says. “Some customers drink three of these a day.”
The cups have a mouthpiece which allows for the ideal consumption angle — “about 45 degrees,” says McGowan. “This way you’ll get equal parts cheese mousse and tea and taste it properly.”
It is a dessert beverage to the max, sweet and creamy chai cheesecake in a cup. The flavors blend beautifully, but I’d like a smaller serving. Or better yet, an actual piece of cheesecake. Flavor profiles are subjective, of course, but really no one should be drinking three of these things a day.
RoyalTea has more than 130 franchise locations throughout China, but this location, which has been open for about a year and a half, is their first in the U.S. And I’ll go back. A friend suggested I try the mixture atop unsweetened black coffee. This sounds like it could be my cheese mousse jam.
Speaking of, cheese goes well with jam, says Corrente. Or, in the case of mango ginger Stilton, fruit.
“It’s a beautiful breakfast cheese,” she says. “It’s a white Stilton with dried fruit and pairs amazing with chamomile or other kinds of tea. Great for after dinner, too.”
Let’s face it, cheese is an anytime food, says Corrente, who’s queuing up a love-in for the whole weekend, beginning with the usual Grilled Cheese Happy Hour this evening.
Also on tap for the weekend: mac ‘n’ cheese gumbo with shrimp and spicy sausage, mini spinach dip bread bowls and cheese/charcuterie cones. Keep an eye out, too, for wine-cheese-chocolate pairings, sales on cheeses, champagne-cheese fondue with pretzels and Grilled Cheese Happy Hour offerings all day long on Jan. 20.
“It just makes your mouth happy,” says the Empress of Époisses. “The memes don’t lie. Without cheese, your food is just … boring,” she says, laughing. “It’s just boring.”
Gjetost Fondue
Ingredients:
1/2 pound Gjetost cheese
1/8 cup heavy cream
1.5 teaspoons cognac
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Brown sugar to taste
Instructions:
Chop or grate cheese, set aside.
Pour cream into pan over medium-low heat. Stirring constantly, begin adding cheese as cream begins to steam. Continue to stir, adding vanilla, brown sugar and cognac. Allow alcohol to burn off and continue to stir until mixture is smooth, adding small amounts of cream if necessary. Cooking time should be about 8-10 minutes total.
Pour into small crock or bowl to serve.
Suggested accompaniments include bananas, strawberries, ginger snaps, pretzel rods, soft pretzel pieces, sliced apples and cubed pumpernickel bread. Serves 4.
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