All wrapped up with somewhere to go...

Maybe because I could imagine Frodo carrying one on his Lord of the Rings trek for snacking, I’m a sucker for leaf-wrapped cheeses. They look ancient and majestic, they have their own little handy wrapper, the leaves flavor the cheese, they’re good for baking (more on this soon), and damn they look good on a cheese plate.

One leaf-wrapped cheese that has always had my heart is Capriole’s O’Banon. Inspired by the French Banon goat cheese that’s wrapped in chestnut leaves, this one is made in Indiana and also wrapped in chestnut leaves. But these chestnut leaves have been soaked in bourbon.

Uncurl the leaves and inside you’ll see a bright white cheese with leaf imprints. The cheese is young, so is sweet on its own, but it also takes on slightly green flavors from the leaves and a sultry headiness from the bourbon.

And then I love the cheese because of its creator, Judy. The owner of Capriole, Judy Schad, bought her farm in the late seventies just to live on. No cheese intended. Soon enough though, they bought goats, and then soon enough again, the goats had babies! Cheesemaking became a way to use the milk, and this catapulted them into opening their own creamery. * A little cheesemaking secret is that some of our best cheesemakers ended up mastering their craft and earning a creamery on accident * And Judy is one of the original movers and shakers of the American artisan cheese movement. And she’s also really funny.

Do you have a favorite leaf-wrapped cheese? Another I love is Hoja Santa by Mozzarella Cheese Company. One of the coolest things about this style is that it can be super-local and reflect a region. Hoja Santa, for example, is a leaf found mainly in Mexico and former parts of Mexico, and hoja santa leaves grow in Texas, where the cheese is made. Chestnut trees are found in Indiana, so O’Banon earns a regional title too. Some amazing Italian leaf-wrapped cheeses can be found in the states, too.

And coming soon- you can also bake or grill these cheeses right in their leaves. If you have a favorite leaf-wrapped cheese, tell me over on Instagram!