From the Cheese Portraits series.

I first learned of Jumi (pronounced YOO-mee) a few years ago as they made a great arrival in the US and had an impressive display to sample at a NYC reception I was lucky enough to crash. The cheeses were mind-blowing.

It is a relatively new enterprise, when you think of cheese from Switzerland, founded around 15 years ago by two childhood friends. They named the company with a combo of their names, Jürg and Mike to get Jümi. They're adding some incredibly sublime cheeses to the world and I'm so glad to have finally gotten one in my studio.

Appemberger Mutschli is made from raw milk of the appenburg mountain cows. Farmers bring their milk to the dairy twice a day and it's made into this cheese while it's still warm. This creamy washed rind cheese is sweet and rich with flavor but not extreme. It's considered "mild" but has a wonderful funky aroma and that rind(!!) has so many colors in an analogous gamut of yellows, oranges, pinks and lime greens. I had a hard time choosing a color background and am a little embarrassed I went with an old favorite.

If you get a chance to have any Jumi cheese, don't pass it up!

Origin: Switzerland

Price: $600