Every so often at the Zingerman’s Deli, the call comes from the cheese counter that it’s time for more Emmentaler. Some fortunate person has purchased the last tasty portion and the time has come to break open a new wheel.

The cheesemongers are dispatched. Down they go, and into the cheese cooler underneath the Deli. Here, in chilled comfort, wrapped chunks, half-moons, and huge wheels of delicious cheese await their turn up on the sales floor. The air inside the cooler has a dairy tang, a promise of fine curds aged to perfection by traditional methods. The cheesemongers find the box they’re looking for and wrestle it upstairs. This is a public unveiling.

I’m fortunate to have cheesemonger Chad Hayes as my guide through this process, and he drops facts about the cheese as he works. This wheel of Emmentaler weighs in at 210 pounds, just about average for this cheese. It’s produced in “larger format” because it’s an Alpine cheese and was traditionally made by folks living high in the mountains of Switzerland who were often cut off by winter storms. The big wheels of cheese provided a source of protein for the long winter months of isolation. It’s made from cows milk and the curd is cooked to help stabilize the cheese for longer storage. This Emmentaler has been carefully aged for over a year.

Emmentaler originated in the area around Emmental, Switzerland, and is probably the best-known of all swiss, or Alpine, cheeses. The signature holes in the cheese are the result of trapped carbon dioxide gas during the fermentation process. The cheese has a mellow and savory (but not sharp) flavor and melts easily. It’s an excellent choice for fondue, gratins, or simply enjoying along with some fresh fruit and a nice glass of semi-dry white wine.

Just 7 days left to stock up and save on delicious Zingerman’s Pot Pies!
All of our homemade pot pies are available heated, ready to heat or frozen.
Keep a few on hand this winter for a quick and delicious dinner option!

Zingerman’s Classic Chicken Pot Pie
Free range chicken hand picked off the bone and blended with big chunks of carrots, celery, potatoes, onions and herbs. Wrapped in a handmade butter crust. It’s the perfect lazy cook Winter meal; it’s warm, filling and easier than pie.

John H. Turkey – Turkey Pot Pie
Harnois & Son Farm turkey with big chunks of celery, carrots, onions, potatoes and spiced with Turkish Urfa pepper and fresh herbs. Then wrapped in a handmade butter crust.

Fungi Pot Pie
*vegetarian selection*
A fun pie for the fungiphiles! Michigan Maitake Mushrooms, Tantré Farm Organic Shiitake Mushrooms and a little Balinese long pepper, tucked in an all-butter crust.

Darina’s Dingle Pie
A salute to the miners on the Dingle Peninsula of Ireland: this pie is made with lamb from Back Forty Acres in Chelsea, MI, loads of potatoes, rutabaga, onions and a dash of cumin and rosemary. Wrapped miner-style (no tin) in a butter crust.

Cheshire Pork Pie
Made from a 4-H Tamworth hog raised by Nic Harnois a future star farmer from Northern Washtenaw Co. Braised with onions, apple cider and spices then stuffed in a handmade pastry crust with apples from Kapnick Orchards in Britton, MI. Wrapped miner style (no tin).

The Red Brick Beef Pot Pie
This beef pie is our heartiest one yet. Packed with big chunks of all natural beef from Ernst Farm Here in Washtenaw Co., carrots, potatoes, fresh herbs and wrapped in our handmade crust.

Stock up for winter on frozen pies and save!
– Buy 10 or more get 10% off
– Buy 20 or more get 20% off
– Buy 30 or more get 30% off

Call ahead to order for pick up at the Deli, 734-663-3354, or call 1-888-636-8162 for shipping.

Add this new arrival from Western Wisconsin to the already long list of delicious butters we’ve got at the Zingerman’s Deli. This one comes from the Alcam Creamery in the town of Richland Center about an hour northwest of Madison. The creamery was started in 1946 by Cameron Peckham and is run by his son Gary.  The butter is still all hand rolled and paper wrapped in the old style which means that, even before you taste it, it definitely looks appealingly old-school!

More importantly it tastes great.  It’s got a very big flavor, one of the biggest I’ve had in a butter.  The whey cream makes a big difference—because the whey is taken off after the cheese curd has been set, all of the cultures and flavor development from the cheese will be carried out in the whey as well.  when the whey solids are formed (through slow cooking of the whey) they have a whole lot of flavor.   Ultimately, this is butter so tasty you could probably eat it by the piece sans bread.  In fact, I find myself putting it on bread in much bigger quantities than I normally would.  Less of a spread, more of a slice—in a good way, this may be the cheesiest butter you’ve tried.

No need, I don’t think to tell you what you can do with it.  Anything you do with butter .  .. will be better with better butter.   So whether  it’s this wonderful offering from western Wisconsin or the Kerrygold butter from Ireland or the cultured butter from our friends at Vermont butter and cheese, the main this is to eat it! cook with it!  Bake with it!  Roast with it!  Whatever you do, better butter will be sure to taste better!

“So, fall asleep love, loved by me… for I know love, I am loved by thee. ”
— Robert Browning

This coming Thursday, February 14th, is Valentine’s Day, a holiday that we associate with romantic love, flowers, and candy. But, how and when did this holiday begin? And why do we celebrate l’amour with Valentine’s Day cards and gifts of sweets?

Valentine’s Day, or more accurately, Saint Valentine’s Day, (or the Feast of Saint Valentine) began as a liturgical festival celebrating the life of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. According to early church history, there were several martyrs who went by the name Valentinus, but there are three specifically celebrated on February 14:

• Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome was martyred about AD 269. His flower-crowned Skullof Saint Valentine is exhibited in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome.
• Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna, and was martyred about AD 197 by Emperor Aurelian.
• The Catholic Encyclopedia also speaks of a third saint named Valentine who was martyred in Africa on February 14. Not much else is known about him other than his head was preserved in the abbey of New Minster, Winchester and venerated as a holy relic.

A popular legend surrounding Saint Valentine concerns his arrest for performing Christian marriages and spreading the ministry.  Condemned to death, he was imprisoned, and while awaiting execution he is said to have healed the blind daughter of his jailer. Just before he was led away, he wrote her a farewell note, which he signed, “Your Valentine,” thus providing the inspiration for our tradition of Valentine’s Day notes.

Another legend says that Saint Valentine performed clandestine marriages for Roman soldiers, who were forbidden to marry at that time. In order to remind the soldiers of God’s love and to remind them of their Christian vows, Valentine cut paper hearts out of parchment, giving them to the soldiers and other persecuted Christians. This is often cited as a possible source for our use of the heart as a symbol of Saint Valentine’s Day.

The first recorded association of Saint Valentine’s Day with romantic love comes from the medieval English poet Geoffrey Chaucer in his Parlement of Foules (1382):

“For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.”

(“For this was on Saint Valentine’s Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate.”)

Chaucer wrote the poem to commemorate the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia, both just 15 years old at the time of their wedding. Several other medieval authors mention Saint Valentine’s Day, including Shakespeare, and John Donne. But, it was Edmund Spenser in The Faerie Queene (1590), who supplied the an early version of ‘roses are red’:

“She bath’d with roses red, and violets blew,
And all the sweetest flowres, that in the forrest grew.”

Clearly, the words resonated, because we then see the recognizable form in Gammer Gurton’s Garland (1784), a collection of English nursery rhymes:

“The rose is red, the violet’s blue,
The honey’s sweet, and so are you.
Thou art my love and I am thine;
I drew thee to my Valentine:
The lot was cast and then I drew,
And Fortune said it shou’d be you.”

From there, it was just a small step to 1797’s The Young Man’s Valentine Writer, a compilation of verses intended for use by those unable to compose their own sentiments. Eventually, printers began to reproduce these verses on card stock with romantic illustrations, creating the first direct ancestor of our modern Valentine’s Day card.

Since that time, Saint Valentine’s Day has established itself as a significant holiday, and traditions have expanded to include gifts of flowers, candy, treats, and many other affectionate tokens. And while the focus of the holiday may have shifted over the centuries from a liturgical expression to a gesture of love and affection, the current sentiment is clearly a treasured tradition that shows no signs of fading.

We’ll leave the flowers and cards to their respective industries, but we know a little something about good food. And Zingerman’s has many delicious sweets and treats available to help make your Valentine’s Day memorable.

The Zingerman’s Bakehouse will make you a delicious Valentine’s Day Cake, completely covered in hand-piped pink butter cream rosettes and a sprinkle of sparkle. Inside are tempting layers of buttermilk chocolate cake and a kiss of strawberry butter cream filling.  We also have Valentine’s Day Heart Cookies, delicious butter cookies with a hint of fresh citrus zest, and adorably decorated with fresh vanilla fondant that spells out expressions of love and affection.  Or, perhaps a loaf of heavenly Chocolate Cherry bread, made with the best Belgian and French chocolates and dozens of Michigan dried cherries!

The Zingerman’s Deli has more delectable Valentine’s Day sweets than a person could possibly eat in a sitting – but it would sure be fun to try! We’re currently taking pre-orders for our wonderful Chocolate Dipped fresh strawberries and Chocolate Covered fresh vanilla marshmallows from the Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory. Available for pickup at Zingerman’s Next Door 2/12, 2/13, & 2/14.  Call 734-663-3354 to pre-order.

The Deli also carries a huge selection of luscious chocolates, bonbons, truffles, and many other distinctive confections from Grocer’s Daughter, Chocolate Moderne, Sweet Gem Confections, Chocolate in Chelsea, and Fran’s Chocolates, and, of course, Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory. Let us create a custom gift box for your sweetie!

Don’t forget, you can find Zzang Bars and other Candy Manufactory delights at any of the Zingerman’s businesses! Adopt a delicious Zzang bar today!

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt. “
— Charles M. Schulz

There’s still time to order your special Mardi Gras foods!

The Zingerman’s Deli and the Zingerman’s Bakehouse are still accepting pre-orders for pickups on Tuesday, February 12 ONLY! 

We make our delicious Paczkis  fresh with the traditional Polish recipe, a little Spirytus alcohol in the dough. Choose from: Raspberry Preserves, Chocolate Pudding, Sweet Ricotta Cheese, Rose Hip Jam, or Plum Jam!

We make the traditional version of the Mardi Gras King Cake. No food coloring or plastic dolls, just buttery layers of puff pastry filled with our own almond frangipane. Each cake is baked with one whole almond inside, get the lucky slice and you’re crowned king (or queen) of the party!

This is a very limited engagement, so don’t miss your chance. Pre-order today!

Contact the Deli:
Email: rleber@zingermans dot com, or call 734-663-3354.

Contact the Bakehouse:
Call 734-761-2095.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!