[1] Jarlsberg from Norway: the top special cheese in the U.S. [2] Jarlsberg Cheese Crisps in four flavors: Chipotle, Garlic & Herb, Mediterranean Sea Salt and Rosemary & Olive Oil. We’ve been enjoying them plain, with soup and salads, and with dips. [3] “What big eyes you have,” said Goldilocks to the Jarlsberg. Eyes is the industry term for what consumers call holes (photos courtesy Jarlsberg).

The origin of the modern cheese they created traces back to the early 1800s when Swiss cheese makers came to southern Norway to teach Norwegians how to make cheese.

Norwegians began to produce their own cheese similar to Swiss cheese, but after the departure of the Swiss, the particular style did not endure.

Fast forward: 1956 arrives, along with the students who had a project under the direction of their professor, Ole Martin Ystgaard of the Dairy Institute at the Agricultural University of Norway. Their project: to revive an old-style cheese.

They studied ancient texts and recipes, experimented, and created a wonderful cheese they named Jarlsberg® (pronounced YAHRLS-berg).

It was named after Count Vadel Jarlsberg, whose countship was created in 1673. His estate was located near where the earlier version of the cheese was first produced.

A mild, semisoft, part skim, pasteurized cheese made from cow’s milk, Jarlsberg has been beloved from the beginning for its mild, sweet and nutty taste and the appeal of its large round holes (eyes).

It is Norway’s most famous edible export, the #1 cheese imported to the U.S., and the #1 specialty cheese* brand in the U.S.

As a bonus to millions of Americans, it’s also lactose-free†.

Bravo, Professor Ystgaard and team. Who wouldn’t love bragging rights to this creation: for oneself and for generations to come!
 
A VERSATILE CHEESE

Jarlsberg is one of the most versatile cheeses. More than a table cheese and sandwich cheese, it can be:

 
The line has expanded to include:

 
For starters, see some of the recipes below.
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*Specialty cheese is defined as a cheese of limited production, with particular attention paid to natural flavor and texture profiles. The opposite is factory cheese, mass-produced.

†Cheddar and authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano are the other two cheeses that are 100% lactose free.
 

Each of the world’s cheeses is made from a specific recipe, which includes both the type(s) of cheese cultures and the production techniques. Both combine to deliver each cheese’s unique flavor, aroma and appearance.

Jarlsberg enchants not only with its flavor, but with its eyes.

Emmental, the first cheese with large eyes, is what Americans think of as Swiss cheese—although there are more than a dozen different types of Swiss cheese, including Appenzeller, Raclette, Gruyère, Tête de Moine, Tilsit and Vacherin Mont d’Or. (Emmental, Gruyère and Vacherin Mont d’Or are also made in France.)

Some Swiss have eyes, some don’t.

Some people find Jarlsberg similar to French Gruyère, which has holes. Modern-style Swiss Gruyère does not.

The larger the holes, the more mature the cheese. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a stipulation that the “eyes” in “grade-A Swiss” can be no larger than 13/16 of an inch in diameter.

Why? Because larger eyes can make the cheese difficult to slice on modern cheese-slicing equipment. The blades were catching on the large holes and shredding the cheese rather than slicing it.
 
Why Does The Cheese Have Holes?

The holes in cheese are a deliberate byproduct‡ of fermentation, the process by which milk is turned into the curds that are used to create cheese.

They are the result of propioni bacteria, which cause gas to expand within the curd and create the holes’

The longer cheese ages, the bigger the holes get, and the more intense flavor is developed.
 
YUMMY JARLSBERG RECIPES

Head to Jarlsberg.com for dozens of new and familiar recipes, such as:

[3] Jarlsberg Eggs Benedict. [4] A Croque Monasieur sandwich made with Jarlsberg instead of Gruyere (photos courtesy Jarlsberg).

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‡In recent centuries the eyes a deliberate part of recipes, and can be created larger or smaller. In the beginning, the eyes were a happy accident. They certainly do have eye appeal! (Pun intended.)
  

[1] Pumpkin Pie-tini. Photo courtesy SandAndSisal, which uses a different recipe from ours, with whipped cream vodka, pumpkin eggnog and a rim of brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice. [2] Pinnacle is one of the brands of pumpkin-flavored vodka on the market. Pumpkin is a seasonal offering.

Today is National Vodka Day, and it’s fall. So what better than a pumpkin martini?

To make a true pumpkin martini, you’ll need a bottle of clear, pumpkin-flavored vodka and the other ingredients for your favorite martini recipe. We picked up a bottle of Pinnacle Pumpkin Pie Vodka, which gave a pumpkin-pie-spice accent to a standard martini. For garnish, we floated a star anise on top.

Otherwise, you can make a Pumpkin Pie-tini with vanilla vodka and real pumpkin purée (top photo). If you want a spicier drink, use pumpkin pie filling instead of purée; pie filling includes the pumpkin pie spices.

 
RECIPE: PUMPKIN PIE-TINI

Make one of these as a test drink. You can then decide to vary the ingredients—more or less of something, pumpkin vodka, etc.

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. PURÉE the purée. Why? Pumpkin purée can be slightly grainy. For a smooth cocktail, run the pumpkin through a food processor or use an immersion blender in the can.

2. CREATE the glass rimmer. Using a small amount of maple syrup, honey or water on the rim of the glass, place the rim on a plate of cookie crumbs and twist until the rim is coated.

3. SHAKE the cream/milk and pumpkin puree with ice to combine. Add the remaining ingredients and shake well. Strain into the martini glass.

All you need are vanilla beans and vodka…and 10 days to let them infuse.

If you’ve had the vanilla beans for a while, check to see that they’re not dried out. If they are, get new beans and stick the old ones in a sugar jar, where they’ll lightly scent the sugar.

If you don’t need an entire bottle of vanilla vodka, make half a bottle.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. CUT the vanilla beans in half lengthwise to expose the interior as possible (that’s where the flavor is).

2. POUR the vodka into the glass jar, retaining the original bottle for the final product.

3. PLACE the vanilla beans in the jar, cap it tightly and shake gently. With a quart jar, the top 20% should be empty. Then put the bottle in a cool, dark place to infuse.

4. STRAIN the vodka after 10 days. Use a funnel and a fine sieve, coffee filter or cheesecloth to strain the vanilla vodka into its original vodka bottle. You’re ready to go!
 
  

October 4th is National Taco Day, and this year it coincides with Taco Tuesday. What does that mean?

Tacos for breakfast? Definitely. We have a breakfast taco recipe for you (below). If you’re a taco lover, you’ve already had tacos for lunch and dinner. How about tacos for dessert?

> January 25th is National Fish Taco Day.

> March 21st is National Crunchy Taco Day.

> In Mexico, Día del Taco (Day of the Taco) is celebrated on March 31st.

> The recipe is below. But first:
 
 
A BRIEF TACO HISTORY

Surprisingly, the Aztecs did not invent the taco; nor did anyone else, until the 18th century.

According to Professor Jeffrey M. Pilcher, author of Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food, tacos are not an ancient food.

Rather, as he discusses in an article in Smithsonian Magazine, Mexican silver miners in the 18th century likely invented the taco as a hand-held convenience food.

Deriving its name from the “tacos” of gunpowder used to blast through rock, the humble miner’s fare was followed by taco carts and taquerías in the working-class neighborhoods of Mexico.

As the taco spread throughout Mexico, each region added its own touches: meats, spices, salsas, and garnishes.

Mexican Americans in the Southwest reinvented it. As late as the 1960s, tacos were virtually unknown outside Mexico and the American Southwest.

In 1962, businessman Glen Bell founded Taco Bell as a drive-up with a few outdoor tables. It grew into a mass-marketing powerhouse, serving an Anglo version with a hard shell at quick-service restaurants nationwide.

This hard pre-fried corn tortilla shell (photo #2) is not authentic. Like the burrito, a larger wheat flour tortilla, it was born in the U.S.A.

Yet within 50 years the United States had shipped its hard taco shells worldwide, from Australia to Mongolia—redefining the taco in the eyes of millions, if not billions.

Today the taco is an internationally beloved snack and meal, with an abundance of styles and varieties. You can invent your own “signature” taco. Ours is Japanese-style spicy tuna in a hard corn tortilla shell with a drizzle of wasabi mayonnaise.

Along with diced onions, instead of diced tomatoes, we add diced mango.

We make the mayo ourselves, to make it have more wasabi and less mayo. The process is the same: Just blend wasabi into mayonnaise until you reach your preferred degree of wasabi heat.

See more creative spins below.
 
 
And Taco Tuesday?

This American event was begun in 1982 as a successful promotion by Taco John’s.

It encouraged people to go out for tacos on Tuesday nights and offered specials like $1 fish tacos.

Since tacos are easy to make at home and popular with the whole family, Taco Tuesdays are also a frequent event in home kitchens.

While Taco John’s trademarked the name, other venues use the trademark but can receive “cease and desist” letters.

Taco Tuesday has become such a part of American culture that we think Papa John’s should allow Taco Tuesdays for everyone!
 
 
TACOS BEYOND THE TRIED-AND-TRUE

You may think that National Taco Day is a day to celebrate the classics; but as you do, put on your thinking cap and invasion the next great taco combination you can make.

 
RECIPE: DIY BREAKFAST TACOS

Unlike the American-invented breakfast burrito, essentially an egg-and-sausage wrap sandwich, this recipe is truer to Mexican preparations.

There’s a fight between Austin and San Antonio over the origin of the breakfast taco.

At first, it was a breakfast made at home: eggs, sausage, or other pork and cheese, rolled in a warm tortilla. In Mexican kitchens, tortillas are a staple, like a loaf of bread.

The concept then migrated to breakfast stands and restaurants, as far back as the 1950s.

Thanks to IMUSA USA, a maker of kitchenware for global recipes—for this breakfast taco recipe. You can find more recipes on their website.
 
Ingredients

[1] An upscale taco in the classic mold. This one includes braised beef and mole sauce, with cottage cheese Here’s the recipe (photo © McCormick).

[2] Fried hard taco shells are an American invention. They stand up on their own (photo © Old El Paso)!

[3] Baked breakfast tacos. Here’s the recipe (photo © Pillsbury).

[4] Breakfast taco with scrambled eggs and sausage (photo © Imusa, recipe below).

[5] A DIY set-up from David Burke at Fabrick | NYC (photo © David Burke).

[6] A simple dessert taco in a waffle cone shell (photo © We Heart It). Add as many toppings as you like. You can use a waffle maker to make a soft waffle shell.

1. MIX the sour cream, lime juice, and salt in a bowl; put aside.

2. CHAR the tortillas over a gas flame or directly on an electric burner until blackened in spots, turning with tongs. Place in a tortilla warmer or aluminum foil and set aside.

3. ADD the olive oil to a nonstick sauté pan and bring to medium-high heat. Sweat the onions for about one minute and add the diced chorizo. Cook for 5-6 minutes until chorizo is browned.

5. ADD half of the cilantro and all of the cooked chorizo to the beaten eggs. Blend and pour into the pan. Cook on low heat, stirring from time to time.

6. PLACE the cooked eggs, cheddar, tomatoes, and remaining cilantro in separate bowls and lay them out throughout the table with the warm tortillas. Let everyone build their own.

Jessica, from The Novice Chef Blog, isn’t such a novice. She designed this elegant pear salad that is easy in its execution, yet dazzling on the table.

You can vary the filling, the color of the pear, and/or the vinaigrette.

If you prefer, you can make candied nuts instead of simply toasting them.

For more vertical salads, see our vertical veggie ideas.
 
RECIPE: VERTICAL PEAR SALAD

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
For The Vinaigrette

Another option is to add a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup (a nice fall touch) to your usual vinaigrette.

Whichever you choose, choose a ratio of 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar.

Here’s the best technique to make a vinaigrette that holds together without separating.
 
Preparation

1. SLICE the pears horizontally into 3 or 4 slices depending on the size. Leave the stem on the top piece.

2. USE a paring knife to remove the cores, creating a “donut hole” in the middle. Brush the cut sides with lemon juice to keep them from browning. When you’re ready to serve…

3. MOISTEN the watercress, pecans and blue cheese with the vinaigrette and toss to coat.

4. ASSEMBLE the pears on individual plates, with the watercress salad in between each slice.

5. DRIZZLE the vinaigrette on the plate around the pear, and serve.
 
 
Thanks, Jessica: You rock!
  

[1] Stacked vegetables as short or tall as you like (photo courtesy Citrine World Bistro, late of Redwood City). [2] Stack polenta or fritters, like these from Like It Short (website no longer up). [3] If you don’t want to deal with ring molds, stack your veggies in rocks glasses (photo courtesy The Whole Gang.

These look fancy, don’t they?

But you can easily make vegetable stacks at home, even with leftovers.

While many people currently are focused on stacked salads in mason jars, we’re freeing the veggies from the jar today, and serving them cooked as well as raw. Even those who don’t like their vegetables will be happy.

 
HOW TO STACK THE VEGETABLES

 
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*Don’t worry about PVC leaching into your food. You’re not cooking/heating the rings, and you’re only using them for a couple of minutes to assemble, as opposed to plastic bottles that can hold water for months or years.

†One of the problems with using the time-honored empty can for stacking is that many cans now have “formed” bottoms that stack more easily, but can’t be removed with a can opener. So don’t throw away expired canned food without checking to see if you can use the empty can! Also, look for the older can bottoms with foods from Mexico and Asia, from packing plants that still use the old technology.
 
RECIPE: VEGETABLE STACKS

Ingredients

Ingredients can be whatever you want or already have, and in whatever form: cooked, puréed, raw.

Be sure to vary the colors (you don’t want a stack of beige ingredients) and include pops of color.

 
Pinterest has a page of lovely stacked vegetable ideas.

You need just a light sauce on the side: ramekins of balsamic vinegar, a vinaigrette, infused oil‡ or a vegetable oil blended with dark sesame oil (a little goes a long way).

Also consider dipping sauces from Asia, such as chili sauce or ponzu. Both can be purchased or made at home.

We also love a yuzu vinaigrette.
 
Preparation

1. CHOOSE your ingredients. Try for contrasting colors and plan your layers. Stack heavier items at the bottom.

2. SPRAY the inside of the molds, if using, so the food slides out more easily.

3. SET each stack on a serving plate, and garnish the plate with droplets of olive oil (especially flavored oil!).
 
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‡A delicious alternative to a vinaigrette, infused oils are available in a score of flavors: basil, blood orange, chile (ancho, habanero, jalapeño), dill, garlic, Meyer lemon, lemon pepper, oregano, rosemary, truffle, scallion, wasabi, etc.