Buttermilk Cheesecake
concord grape | St. George gin | wood sorrel | yuzu ice cream
This dish showcases all the flavors and aromas of ingredients that grow wild in my home state of Connecticut. The main flavor components are buttermilk, concord grape, wood sorrel, pine, and juniper. Fall is my favorite season and there is nothing better than fall in New England. I love concord grapes and no other fruit represents fall better to me. My wife and I were looking at a house in CT and I wanted to move there immediately because of the yard. It was somewhat secluded in the woods and there were concord grapes growing wild all over the property. I was eating them right off of the tree and tasting them with the aromas of the pine, the huge juniper bush, and the smell of the woods and it was incredible. That inspired this dish. To compliment these flavor notes I use yuzu (which is very pine-y) and buttermilk which is naturally sour. The sour, sweet, and rich cheesecake is made with buttermilk, cream cheese, and cream and is very smooth. I bring the juniper and Douglas fir into the dish by utilizing the St George Gin. It is a truly incredible product made right here in the U S of A. It is very intense and also has notes of sage and citrus. It makes a mean Negroni as well. I cook the alcohol out and with it make a sweetened foam that is super aromatic and tastes like a "walk in the woods". The concord grape is transformed into a bright purple cake and a puree that sets instantly when placed on the plate. Many pastry chefs use concord grape in desserts and it ends up tasting like welches jam. I wanted to avoid this so the underwhelming sweet cake and the puree bring out the natural musky, sour notes of the amazingly aromatic grape. The wild wood sorrel grows wild in CT and is by far my favorite herb. It's sourness brings the dish to a new level. Buckwheat, which is also in the sorrel family, is utilized in a streusel. The streusel is intensified by the use of dehydrated concord grape skins that are pulverized and incorporated into the streusel recipe. The dish is finally rounded out by the sweet, sour and creamy yuzu ice cream. The concord grapes are a stunning color so I tried to replicate that in the plating. Enjoy!
I will post the recipe of the cheesecake shortly!
