2

May 2005

History: The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600s, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday".  "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England.

In 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day.  It was successful as a holiday and by 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day as a national holiday that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

1- Buying cheese:
Cheese counter service should always be clean and sanitized, and the cheese cut in front of you. More important than variety is the quality and condition of the cheese on sale. This is why we have new and fresh cheese delivered at Cardullo's on a regular basis. This is also why you must reduce the length of storage of any cheese. Our best recommendations are:
- Do not buy more than you can eat.
- After making your choice by looking, you can ask for a taste… anytime at Cardullo's.
- Avoid prepackaged cheese since its quality is often inferior to that cut and wrapped at the shop.
2- Keeping and storing:
- It is important not to let a cheese dry out.
- Big pieces of cheese keep well.
- The best place for storing cheese is a cool, dark, well-ventilated room.
- Only cover the cut sides of a piece of cheese and let it breathe through its rind or crust.
- Wrap soft cheese loosely.
- Use waxed or grease proof paper.
- Do not store cheese with strong smelling foods.
- Small quantities of cheese may be stored in a refrigerator for short period.
- Use of any bakery paper can help prevent too rapid oxidation.
3- Tasting cheese:
- Let cold cheese warm up for about ½ hour before eating to allow the flavor and aroma to develop.
- Cover with a damp cheesecloth or paper tissue if the air is very dry.
- Cut the cheese into equal portions of rind and heart.
- Remove hard crust if necessary
- Have a nice baguette or special bread from Cardullo's, along with a good red or white wine.
- Leftover cheese can be used for seasoning (either cut in tiny pieces or shredded to accommodate pasta or salad).
- Fruit, nuts, olives are the best friends of cheese.