Eco Wine & Cheese Party
I actually hate, with a big old capital H cheese. All my friends and family LOVE cheese, but if it were up to me everyone would throw beer and chocolate parties. However, if your taste buds run more sophisticated than candy you may be considering a cheese and wine get-together this holiday season. With that in mind I can’t let you thrown an un-eco party, so here’s how to keep it green. We’ll start with a look at the food choices then move on to presentation plus some other handy tips.
THE CHEESE:
Cheese that’s organic is a must. Dairy products contain large amounts of growth hormones. Also, organic versions of dairy are more beneficial for your health. If you can’t find enough eco-friendly organic cheeses, you should look for cheese made on a smaller local farm in tiny batches. Artisan (handcrafted) cheeses made right on the farm are made with minimally processed milk which means your cheese will contain beneficial bacteria.IF you can’t find local cheese that’s suitable try an artsy online cheese shop like Cheesemonger or SwissLand Cheese or an organic specialty shop like igourmet.
Choose 5-6 cheeses. You don’t want to overwhelm people. I hear from one of my cheese loving pal that you should choose different textures; such as soft and hard PLUS make sure that your choices come from different milk – i.e. goat, cow, sheep. Egad. If you need help choosing read a much more enthusiastic cheese guide.
THE WINE:
Wine is so much easier for me to discuss than cheese. I don’t hate, or even dislike wine, in fact I like it once in a while and luckily it’s easy to find eco-friendly wine. Of course you want to make sure your wine comes from a sustainable vineyard. Look for biodynamic and/or organic wines. See more info about organic wine.
Your wine and cheese party should be intimate, because it’s not the sort of party you invite a million people to, so you shouldn’t need scads of wine. If you have about 10 people aim for 4-5 wines of varying colors and flavors and about two bottles of each. Double it for a party of 20.
OTHER MUNCHIES:
You should gather some of the following munch-worthy choices – Organic grapes, olive bread, organic artsy whole grain crackers, fresh French bread, toasted hazelnuts, sliced oranges and pears, dried cherries, fresh figs, organic walnuts, Italian prosciutto di Parma, fancy olives, or another treat. You don’t need tons of extras though. It’s not a dinner party. No matter what you serve look for organic and minimal packaging.
Stay tuned, in the next post we’ll wrap this up with some eco-friendly serving options and extra tips for those who may need more planning help.
[image via stock.xchng]
Post from: Blisstree