Its about to get stinky at the Market. But as any Limburger lover knows, the aroma will lure you into this weekends Seattle Cheese Festival. Two dozen local and international vendors will provide hundreds of samples to satisfy any palate. Chefs will also demo some of their favorite recipes; there are seminars for pros and foodies alike; and a grilled cheese contest will also be held. But where is a cheese newbie to begin? According to Pat McCarthy of DeLaurenti Food & Wine, Start young and go to bleu. The fresher cheeses, at the beginning of the tasting line, will prepare your taste buds for the pungent, stronger, salty bleu cheeses, he explains. Among the fresher varieties, McCarthy says each slice holds a hint of its barnyard origins: Goat cheeses can be tangy; milk cheeses can be nutty for the most part. Nice spring cow milk cheeses are really grassy; you can actually taste the grass. And you can taste a hint of flowers in the mountain cheeses. And of course there can be no cheese without wine, with five glasses available for $10 in the 21-and-over wine and beer garden. There, McCarthy advises you pair whites with most cheeses, and reds with the earthier truffles. PARISA SADRZADEH
Sat., May 15, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun., May 16, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 2010
