Maple-flavoured cheese?

Tasty product from Black River Cheese Company in Prince Edward County

My two youngest daughters have an incorrigible toothy fondness for sweets and consume about 12 litres of maple syrup a year, which is a rough calculation as they are growing as fast as their appetites.

We were getting down to our last couple of litres of our 2017 backyard syrup harvest before last week’s warm weather rolled in making for a welcome reprieve from winter as it got the sap flowing again, ensuring that my daughters will not have to endure a maple sugar crash anytime soon.

In the season of all things maple my father brought me a block of Maple Cheddar Cheese last week that he had picked up while driving through Madoc at Ivanhoe Cheese, made by the Black River Cheese Company located in Prince Edward County.

This Maple Cheddar is produced using Black River’s artisan, medium aged cheddar combined with locally sourced maple sugar and maple syrup that makes for an exceptionally creamy and mild cheddar that is savoury with just enough sweetness to take the sharp cheeky bite out of the cheddar.

Black River Maple Cheddar is great to use in salads with pecans or almonds, readily pairs with fruits and lighter sweet wines. It also makes for an absolutely epic grilled cheese and apple sandwich using a hearty sourdough bread which lead me to try making some turnovers.

The following recipe is not only kid approved and packs well for lunches it gives us more reasons to ramp up our backyard maple syrup harvest. Locally you can find Black River Cheese at Sobeys Towerhill location in Peterborough.

Maple Cheddar Apple

Filling:

2 tbsp. butter

½ cup minced onion

1 cup finely chopped apples ½ cup dried cranberries, chopped

2 tbsp. maple syrup

2 eggs

2 cups shredded Maple Cheddar Cheese

1 cup goats’ cheese

1 tsp. chopped chives

1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped

Pastry:

½ cup melted butter

1 package of puff pastry

Method:

In a sauté pan melt the 2 tbsp. butter and cook the onion and apples over medium heat until the onions begin to brown. Stir in the cranberries and maple syrup, set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl whisk the eggs and then stir in the cooled onion-apple mixture, cheeses and seasonings. Stir the mixture together until evenly incorporated.

Roll out the puff pastry and lightly brush it with melted butter. Cut the puff pastry into 3” squares. Spoon out about a tablespoon of the filling into the center of each pastry square. Fold the pastry over the filling, to form a triangle and pinch it together at its point, leaving it slightly open on the sides. Place the filled triangular bundles onto a parchment lined baking sheet leaving space between them as they will double in size when they cook. Brush the top of the bundles with a bit more butter.

Bake the bundles in a preheated oven at 425°f for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are lightly golden coloured. Let them cool slightly before serving.

Lakefield area chef Brian Henry owns and operates Chef Brian Henry Private Chef Services: www.chefbrianhenry.com.

CLIFFORD SKARSTEDT/THE EXAMINER Tapping maple trees to make fresh maple syrup is only the beginning of the flavour and fun, writes Chef Brian Henry, who has a recipe for a treat made using Maple Cheddar Cheese from an Ontario cheese company.