Nettle Meadow’s Kunik Triple Cream is fantastic. It is early on Sunday morning, Memorial Day Weekend. I have already walked 2.5 miles and had breakfast with Tillie. “Tillie’s House,” as we call it, has a beautiful front porch with rocking chairs and a breeze. What better place than to review this sublime cheese.

Nettle Meadow Artisan Cheese is My New Best Friend

Nettle Meadow Farm is currently home to well over 100 sanctuary animals.

Last Sunday morning, I strolled through the farmer’s Market in Saratoga Springs with my friend Lauren.  She is the master of the farmer’s market.  We grabbed an iced coffee and hit the booths.  It is no secret that my passion for cheese only rivals my love for coffee.

The Nettle Meadow booth was calling my name.  The wonderfully kind and generous gentlemen sliced a piece of Kunik for me, and I had to have it- right then and there. Now for those of you who ask where to buy the cheeses I review, this is a simple trip to Saratoga, not Syracuse. (Tell them Pasta on the Floor sent you!)

Nettle Meadow Sanctuary Farm is the home to well over 130 farm sanctuary animals and a cheese company in Thurman, New York, just below Crane Mountain in the Adirondacks between Gore Mountain/North Creek and Warrensburg. It is owned and operated by Lorraine Lambiase and Sheila Flanagan. Both have a great love of animals, artisan cheese, and the unique challenges of farm life. Nettle Meadow Farm was originally founded in 1990. The ‘residents’  are a combination of older or differently abled sheep and goats from Nettle Meadow’s production herd and farm animals such as llamas, horses, donkeys, chicken, ducks, turkeys, pigs, cats and bunnies who have been dropped off or picked up when they had no place else to go.

Kunik- sheer perfection

Kunik is triple crème, one of our favorites.  Unlike many triple crème cheeses, Kunik is smooth and buttery, with little of the overwhelming stickiness of many in this class.

Here is a little info from their website:

Kunik is our triple crème wheel made from goat’s milk and cow cream. It has a white rind and a tangy, buttery flavor. Delicious on its own or with fruit and crackers. A wonderful addition to any cheese plate. Larger wheels vary in size from 11 to 16 ounces. “Buttons” are also available and are smaller in size ranging from 7 to 12 ounces.  “Minis” are now available in an easy 3.5 ounce format for grab and go convenience.

Awards: American Cheese Society (2010 Triple Crème Blue Ribbon), U.S. Cheese Championship (2019 Second Place) and World Cheese Championship (2016 Gold Medal), Good Food Award (2019), and the New York International Cheese Competition (2021 Silver Medal).

The taste is phenomenal.

Chip’s favorite word when food was great was phenomenal.  He would love this cheese. I would categorize this as a low-maintenance cheese, meaning it needs nothing to be enjoyed.  Right off the cheese knife or spread on a non-descript cracker, it stands perfectly on its own. The blend of goat’s milk and cow cream is lethal, rivaled by few other triple crème cheeses. Slightly salty it needs little to bring it to life. It is early Sunday morning, and I revel in the guilty pleasure, almost criminal aspect of eating Kunik, crackers, and grapes in the warm sunshine.

Cheese should be enjoyed; great cheese should be shared. If you are out and about today in the Saratoga area, stop by the Spa City Farmer’s Market, http://www.spacityfarmersmarket.com/ and pick up some Kunik.

This cheese challenges the Cave cheeses from my friends at Wegman’s.  I cannot convey this cheese’s richness and smooth, buttery texture. A few minutes ago, I ran out of crackers and just continued to eat this right off the knife.

Life is short, don’t waste it eating bad cheese.

Just to review, cheese never comes in a can, Joey. It has a shelf life and cannot survive on the space station for six months, nor does all cheese belong on hamburgers. Kunik is well priced for value and, even for me, managed to last over a few different Karen-sized cheese boards. (yes, they are now for one, and that’s okay.)

Enjoy this Memorial Day weekend and remember those who sacrificed to enjoy a sunny day with our family and friends- in freedom.

Photos courtesy of https://www.nettlemeadow.com/. People who make cheese that makes life.