Mark Rosen Says: Smile (& Win Cheese!)
Sugar River Cheese Company’s gourmet kosher cheeses are a contradiction in terms. The Chicago based company makes handcrafted, hormone-free Cheddars and Monterey Jacks from the milk of pasture-raised cows. Each salty block is infused with a swoon-worthy combinations of jalapeno and cilantro, peppercorns, chipotle, garlic and green onion, or olive and sun-dried tomato. But (here’s the kicker) - they are also certified kosher.
While the world of ethical, gourmet kosher cheese is slowly gaining momentum (find the short-list here), it continues to lag significantly behind its non-kosher counterpart. Sugar River President, Mark Rosen, a technology man with an MBA, who traded weekly flights to New York for life as a professional cheese entrepreneur, considers it his personal mission to prove that while good cheese may be stinky, kosher cheese does not have to stink.
Below the jump, he shares his thoughts on happy cows and why he thinks a ham and cheddar sandwich is good for the kosher industry. He also shares his family’s recipe for Chipotle Macaroni n’ Cheese.
Want to win a gift basket of Sugar River cheese? Tell us your favorite cheesy dish below, and be entered into a drawing to win a delicious assortment of Cheddar and Monterey Jack from Sugar River Cheese Company. (Only one comment per person will be entered into the drawing - comment before Thursday, April 3.)
What is your background with food?
I actually have a History Degree and an MBA, and I worked for years in the technology world - but I’ve been eating all my life, so I have had some exposure to food.
I had a few different motivations for starting this work. Some of it was about lifestyle. Every career path that I had or envisioned having included a lot of traveling. I wanted to change that and to have more flexibility. Then, my wife and I started having children. When you’re wife is pregnant, you start to think more about the things you’re consuming.
On top of that was my own personal crusade that kosher food doesn’t have to be unappealing. Outside of what I call “kosher soul food” (matzah balls, chicken soup, chopped liver, kugel, etc.) kosher food doesn’t have to be bland and marketed in an uninteresting way. Put all that together with the recognition that there are a lot of very good cheese makers in Wisconsin who are looking for more interesting products to make - I saw that there was a real opportunity with cheese to create something special.
Sugar River Cheese has kosher certification from the Chicago Rabbinical Council and Circle K. What does that look like on the ground?
In theory the kosher stuff shouldn’t be so demanding, but in practice it is. Every time I make cheese, a mashgiach from CRC has to be at the factory throughout production to supervise the cleaning of everything the cheese touches. He’s there from the start of production through the end of packaging when we turn the 40 pound block of cheese into individually-wrapped retail-sized packages. He identifies everything as kosher.
There’s also the administrative piece. They want to know absolutely every ingredient we use and need letter certifying the kosher certification for every ingredient (many certifications are not accepted by CRC and OK). It’s good that it’s demanding because that’s what people expect and why kashrut has value beyond the Jewish ritual side of it.
Tell me about the cows you work with.
I’m really lucky. I work with a cheese maker, Bob Wills, who in the 1990s had one of the first cheese plants in America to use rBGH-free milk. He was an innovator with that and with organics too.
I had these ideas for flavors, and I wanted to be kosher-friendly - and I thought I also wanted to make organic cheese. What Bob explained to me is that the milk he gets all comes from small family farms. Everything is relatively small-production, and the economics of that are challenging for everybody involved. So while some [of our dairy farmers] have taken the step to become organic, for others it’s a challenge because of their farms’ circumstances.
But I’m very proud of the fact our cows [are raised as] traditional farm animals. They are out in the pasture up to 9-10 months a year, weather permitting. So when you look at my products and get a perception of what you think they’re like, it’s pretty much just like that.
Why aren’t there more good kosher-certified cheeses available on the market?
There are a few reasons – most of them would fall under economics [and perception]. The softer cheeses like cottage cheese and cream cheese don’t require the same rigorous process to be kosher, but hard cheeses take a little more infrastructure. You really have this kosher conflict because you have a dairy product that traditionally requires a meat product to make it.
There was a rabbi who came up from Circle K to look at the plant. He only eats dairy that is Cholov Yisrael, but he was perfectly happy to supervise the product. Still, he was like, “I don’t know why anybody buys this when they can just buy something less fancy.” A lot of the kosher food business consists of people who don’t have a lot of imagination about the food they’re eating – and you see that reflected in the products that are available.
Are most of your customers Jewish?
No way. I sell at Super Target! The broad range of our customers is unbelievable. Still, I definitely sell to people who keep kosher. I get emails all the time from excited kosher customers - they’re people who either love cheese and have never had that much choice, or really love food and are excited to have a food that’s so appealing.
Is there a growing demand for ethical, gourmet kosher cheese?
Here’s what I think, and it’s sort of different. To be successful as a kosher gourmet product – and you’re probably talking about an expensive product – you need to sell to a lot more than just your target market of observant Jewish people. That’s simple economics of the food business.
I didn’t set out to make the best kosher cheese. I wanted to make something that people would just love - the fact that it was kosher was just a bonus for my tribe. That’s how I look at a lot of kosher stuff. To me a great kosher restaurant is one that non-kosher keepers go to. One of my cheeses won second place at the American Cheese Society’s annual competition. I’m proud that I created a kosher product that can play in the major leagues. This isn’t the Maccabee Games!
On the one hand, “kosher soul food” should be exactly what it is. I want to be abused by the counter guy at the 2nd Avenue Deli. If that’s not that way, then there’s a problem. But if you’re going for sushi and it’s kosher, it should be great. It shouldn’t be bad kosher sushi. It saddens me when the kosher food business could meet that standard and it doesn’t.
Every once in a while, a customer who doesn’t know that the product is kosher or understand what kosher means, will make a comment about how good it is on a hamburger or a ham sandwich. That to me is success for a kosher product!
Sugar River Macaroni and Cheese
Serves 8-12
*If you decide to go with the Chipotle Cheddar, Mark suggests adding a glug of salsa to the recipe and crumbling your favorite tortilla chips on top.
3 tablespoons butter
24 ounces Sugar River Cheese Co White Cheddar Cheese (garlic & onion or chipotle), coarsely grated
1 pound elbow pasta, boiled in salted water until just tender, drained, and rinsed under cold water
Salt (to taste)
2/3 cup milk
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Use one tablespoon butter to thickly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Combine grated cheeses and set aside two heaping cups for topping.
In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, cheeses, (about 3/4 cup salsa, if using) and salt to taste. Place in prepared pan and evenly pour milk over surface. Sprinkle reserved cheese on top, dot with remaining butter and bake, uncovered, 45 minutes. Raise heat to 400 degrees (and sprinkle with crushed tortilla chips or breadcrumbs, if desired) and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until crusty on top and bottom. Top with fresh slices of avocado.
Related Stories
Behold the Power of Kosher Cheese
The Jew & The Carrot’s Sustainable Kosher Cheese List
Poster Boy of the New Jewish Food Movement
Savory Hamantaschen (recipe features Sugar River Cheese)
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36 Responses to “Mark Rosen Says: Smile (& Win Cheese!)”
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Jennifer Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 8:22 amIt’s a shame that both “organic” and “kosher” certifications are so onerous. I wish there were a way to maintain the (for lack of a better word) purity of both without making it so difficult for small producers.
As for cheese recipes, if you want to showcase a good cheese, all you need are some crackers, apples and pears arranged on a plate next to the cheese. Some good wine is also nice.
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Avi Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 8:40 amCheese fondue, or maybe baked brie.
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Becky Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 8:46 amHomemade macaroni and cheese, for sure. But instead of just tossing the cheese and pasta together, my family starts with a roux of butter and flour, adds milk and cheese for a thick cheese sauce. Bake it, and top with cheese and flavored bread crumbs to finish.
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Deb Schiff Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 9:15 amWow! Their cheese sounds great! Mac and cheese is good, but I’m all in favor of just slicing off small pieces and eating them straight. OK, my secret sandwich is grilled provolone (the sharp and pungent kind) with fresh basil and sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil and garlic on fresh Italian bread. Too bad I just have corn rye and swiss downstairs in the kitchen. ;D
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Tovah Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 9:20 amI make quesadillas from Sugar River’s Chipotle White Cheddar, with brown rice tortillas, salsa and avocado. So perfect that I might have to go make one right now, for breakfast!
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Gersh Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 9:28 amGrilled cheese on wheat with tomatoes.
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Sara Korn Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 9:35 amSpinach-Artichoke dip has long been one of my favorite things to do with cheese (and a great reason to have company). I’ve recently revised a lot of the mayonnaise out of the original recipe – but there’s no substitute for a lot of melted Monterey Jack and Parmesan cheese (though it is next to impossible to find kosher).
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patsyk Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 9:39 amI adore cheese in so many different ways, it’s hard to pick a favorite. I love a snack of cheese and crackers… and then there’s the gooey cheese sandwich or even a really good homemade mac & cheese, and even better is a cheese fondue with bread cubes and apple chunks to dip in it!
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shev Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 9:40 amI usually rely on my parents to bring me cheese from London when they visit (once or twice a year). Ordinary kosher cheese in England is so so good (we buy Chevington, which is made with a vegetarian rennet). I always request Mature Cheddar, which is strong, rich and just slightly crumbly. (btw, King George is nice, but doesn’t hold a candle to the original).
When you asked for cheesey recipes, I had to really think to come up with something super-special, but here it is. My Mum makes this for special occasion entertaining: in a largish dish (slightly wider than your crepes), alternate whole crepes with layers of spinach and mushroom creamy fillings until you have a nice stack (somewhere between a cake and a tower :), and then pour a GOOD rich thick bechamel cheese sauce over the whole lot and bake until hot, and the top is beginning to streak with brown. Serve hot and slice like a cake. This stuff is heavenly.
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rachel Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 9:51 amMy favorite way to eat cheese is to pair an extra sharp cheddar with a crisp heirloom apple.
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Larry Lennhoff Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 9:54 amCheese was one of the big things I missed when I went kosher. I’m so glad to see more decent kosher cheeses appearing. While I’m a big fan of cheese foundue, I’d use the Sugar River cheeses to make chili rellenos - a poblano pepper stuff with cheese. My own variant on the recipe is to add rice to the cheese inside the poblano.
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phyllis Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 10:57 amcheese glorious cheese! i will eat it on anything! i <3 cheese. this post made me hungry! my favorite cheese recipe? i think it would be macaroni and cheese, or grilled cheese or just cheese straight up! mmm…count me in to win!
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Yael Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 11:35 amHi,
Like your site a lot. I know you’re in New York but I would love to see stories with foods available in Israel.
my favorite dish is mac and cheese.
Yael -
jbs Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 11:39 amFresh Mozzerala, tomato with balsamic vinigrette on grilled wheat bread. I wish I brought a lunch right now.
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naomi Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 11:43 amButternut squash and gruyere souffle, definitely. It’s much easier to make than it sounds, and is unbelievably delicious.
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Joanne Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 12:13 pmMac & Cheese all the way. Distant second is fondue
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Leah Koenig Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 1:09 pmWow - what an amazing outpouring of love for cheese! I have a personal weakness for sharp, tangy pecorino romano. I keep it around to grate on top of pasta, but have been known to sneak bites straight from the fridge.
Keep the cheesy goodness coming for a chance to win!
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Debs Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 1:56 pmI made a great crustless quiche recently with gruyère, fresh chevre, mushrooms, shallots, flat-leaf parsley, cream, butter and pastured eggs.
I love cheese.
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Kiri Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 2:10 pmMy go to comfort food is a baked macaroni and cheese with an egg mixed in and a ton of crushed crackers on top, but for a more special dish, my boyfriend made a stacked mushroom crepe cake for me once. He layered crepes with a filling of cooked down chopped mushrooms, provolone, and parmesan, and the whole thing was topped with a sprinkle of parmesan that crisped up perfectly in the oven.
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brilynn Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 4:25 pmYou really can’t go wrong with a good homemade mac and cheese!
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shayna Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 6:36 pmmy favorite dish is egg and cheese on whole wheat bread. yum.
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Rochelle Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 7:09 pmI love Chunk o’ Cheese Bread! It’s a delicious sweet bread baked with chunks of cheese. It’s wonderful as a side to a big bowl of chili or simply sliced with a fresh tomato.
Here’s the recipe I use: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/C.....etail.aspx
Of course, I substitute butter for shortening. I also use cheddar instead of the suggested American cheese. Mmm!
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Ellie Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 8:15 pmMy favorite cheese dish is Cheesy Chipotle Corn Chowder. Soothing comfort food at its best.
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Alix Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 11:04 pmlately, during apple season, i’ve been eating an open-faced sandwich with one slice of toasted whole wheat bread, a thin layer of mayo, apple slices, and then melted cheese on top. cheddar and jack both work well. i love a good tuna melt as well, especially when tomatoes are in season. but i join everyone else here as a cheese lover, so it’s hard to name just a few.
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chanie Says:
April 1st, 2008 at 12:32 amglad to see there are more kosher options becoming available.
i’d also say that just plain cheese with some fruit or good bread or crackers are my favorite, but if you want a dish - fresh figs stuffed with cheese and drizzled with honey were a big hit at a rosh hashana meal going for a seven species theme and incorporating the ‘milk and honey’ idea.
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ck Says:
April 1st, 2008 at 1:56 amOh my god I love cheese. Not only am I going to tell you one of my fave dishes but I am going to tell you how to make it. I know this is a drawing and the contest winner will be random and not judged by the quality of his or her comment, but I love this blog, I love cheese and I’m just giving that way. So here it is ck’s shabbat quiche recipe for busy vegetarians, brought to you Brakha style.
OK so here’s the background. I’m a vegetarian, I’m very busy and I love to cook for guests for Shabbat. One of my mainstays is my quickie quiche. It’s yummy, any moron can make it and guests are always “Oooh! Quiche! Fancy!”
First you start with a frozen pie crust. These are available in your grocer’s freezer section and are certified kosher more often than not. They usually come in sets of 2, so you may as well make 2 quiches - this recipe is that simple.
Each quiche should contain garlic. How much you use is up to you but I like garlic a lot so I use at least an entire clove per quiche. Peal and chop the garlic - don’t use a garlic press to crush the garlic or else the quiche will be overwhelmed. Crushed garlic is good for spaghetti sauce, not quiche.
I like to add roasted bell pepper to my quiche too. Roasting pepper is easy. Simply put a pepper on a burner (open flame is best but electric will work too), turning it around occasionally till the skin is evenly burnt and the pepper softens. Run it under the water tap and the burnt part should just rub off. Now clean and chop the pepper. One Pepper per quiche should do it.
Chop up half a medium sized Yellow onion per quiche.
Sautee or microwave a package of mushrooms per quiche. This is simply to cook away the excess water. No one likes a soggy quiche.
Wanna get fancy? Include some chopped up sun dried tomatoes!
Put all that stuff into a bowl and mix it up gently and put it in the pie crust (no need to thaw by the way). Now crack open three eggs (per quiche), add some milk and scramble ‘em up real good. Add salt and pepper to taste, and paprika too if you’re feeling it. Pour the mixture over the veggies in the pie crust.
Now you grate some cheese. What kind? Well, pretty much any mild hard cheese works though I usually go for either Mozarella or Cheddar (or both!). I am also intrigued (to say the least) by the different varieties of Sugar River Cheese and any one of them is sure to be acceptable. How much cheese? I guess that depends on how much you like cheese! I like a nice even topping of melted cheese on top of my quiche so I tend to be pretty liberal…
Finally you pre-heat your oven to 350 deg. F and you bake that stuff for about 35 minutes or till it looks right. You can poke a knife into the quiche and if runny egg peaks out - it isn’t ready. You can serve it hot or you can serve it cold, which is also what makes it such a perfect Shabbat dish! It’s great Friday night and just as great Saturday.
Variations and notes: Some people like the cheese all on top, some people like it half on top and half mixed in, so if you want to switch it up a bit, mix some of the cheese into the vegetables.
The best part about this is that you can use just about any vegetable in the recipe. Use Jalapenos and black beans! Use Shitake mushrooms! Use whatever the hell you like. Don’t have time? No need to roast the peppers, just throw whatever in, it’s all good. Why? Because all quiche really is, is a fancy omelet pie. Use whatever veggies, herbs and spices you like in your omelet and put all that into a pie crust, bake, and you have quiche!
So yeah… fast, yummy, Shabbat friendly, good for the Jews and your friends will think you’re some kind of fancy chef dude. Well, unless they read this comment…
Oh, and if I happen to win, send the cheese to Brakha because I doubt you can get it to me here in Israel. My experiments with Sugar River Cheeses will have to wait till I get back to North America.
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Amy Buondonno Says:
April 1st, 2008 at 6:56 amCheese is amazing! Grilled cheese sammies, mac&cheese, or sliced on crackers are all wonderful…
…but I think that my favorite way to have some of that Chipotle Cheddar would be at breakfast, shredded and scattered liberally atop a bowl of steaming grits, possibly with a fried or poached egg nestled in the middle. There’s no better justification of a big salad for lunch :)
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Leah Koenig Says:
April 1st, 2008 at 9:09 amMy favorite quote: “All quiche really is, is a fancy omelet pie.” ck, you’re right, if this was a recipe contest, you’d definitely be in the running! This time around however, we’re going the cold, hard scientific route: The Random Number Generator -
http://www.mdani.demon.co.uk/para/random.htm
Amy, I’d forgotten all about grits! Cheddar grits with cracked black pepper…mmmm…
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Susan Says:
April 1st, 2008 at 12:15 pmMy favorite cheese dish is a polenta and cheese souffle….it has a little more body than a regular souffle and holds up a bit better.
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judi Says:
April 1st, 2008 at 8:01 pmMy (current) favorite cheesy dish is a strata made with Italian bread (Chabasso bakery in New Haven, CT makes a nice loaf), crumbled & sauteed soy sausage and spinach. It’s essentially a savory bread pudding with lots of grated cheese between the layers. Makes a great Shabbat lunch.
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Devo K Says:
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:33 pmWell I suppose one of the advantages of living in Israel is access to gourmet cheeses from all over Europe… all with at least Rabbanut kosher certification and many with (what is deemed better by the more religious) Mehadrin certification.
Perhaps after the Passover rush, I’ll submit photos of my cheese monger and his world-wide wares.
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Sara Says:
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:43 pmA spinach-pear salad with gouda…
yummmmm. -
Sarit Says:
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:51 pmWhat’s a better cheese dish than a hunk of cheese on a dish and some fresh fruit?
If I have to pick though it might be one of my favorite brunchy foods: 2-3 scarmbled eggs kept together in omellete form topped with melty delicious pepper jack cheese topped with a spoon of fresh salsa all on top of a bed of fresh arugula and mustard greens
or my new guilty pleasure mac and cheese:
whole weat macaroni, spinach and garlic, fresh tomoatoes, mushrooms, with melty pepper jack and gruyere
oyy now i’m hungry
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Mara Says:
April 3rd, 2008 at 1:05 pmMy favorite cheesy dish: Pommes de Terre au Gratin of course! Potatoes, heavy cream, Gorgonzola or a nice veiny blue cheese of another sort, pepper…yum. Of course there are infinite variations, but I am a firm believer that potatoes au gratin should include cheese of some sort.
I have also been known to say “I love you almost as much as cheese” which for me is quite a bit.
Potatoes plus cheese is always a hit…Poutine, or quality cheese fries can’t be beat. -
ck Says:
April 3rd, 2008 at 6:59 pmOK, check it out, wicked yummy and again, easy to make. All the ingredients are readily available at Machane Yehudah - Jerusalem’s central outdoor produce market:
Take a dry fig, put a dollop of soft plain goat cheese on it, sprinkle with candied pecans and voila! Instant orgasm of the mouth. This isn’t a contest entry by the way. I’m just sharing.
Also Mara? Poutine comes in many varieties. The most authentic and most unkosher is a combo of greasy french fries (fried in lard svp), melted cheese curds, and beef or chicken gravy. The least authentic, and an affront to Québecois culture, is what’s sold at Burger Kings in Quebec: Mass produced pre cut french fries, cheese of some kind and hot BBQ sauce. Vegetarian friendly but degeulasse! Not that I would know. Despite the fact that je suis Québecois, being kosher I have never eaten that artery clogging dish. And with any luck, I never will.
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Brent Says:
April 8th, 2008 at 11:32 amI am the wholesale distributor that carries the Sugar River line in the NYC area and supplies it to the retail markets. It’s currently being sold in Whole Foods, Zabars, Fairway, Glatt Express in Teaneck, Riverdale Kosher Market and many other places. Enjoy!
Brent Delman
“Old World Marketplace”
bdgourmet@aol.com
