Tasting Notes: Shooting Star Aries at Saltwater State Park

It was a lovely day in early May when we met our friend Shelley at Saltwater State Park for a hike and a picnic. We spent the afternoon walking on the trails that wound through the woods and admiring the native plants that were showiest on that late spring day: Fringe cups! False Solomon’s seal! Lady ferns! Vine maples!

From there, we headed down to the beach for a picnic. Given the nature of this website, I’ll focus on the cheese we ate, though the farm fresh asparagus Shelley brought to the picnic was so succulent that it nearly stole the show. 

Cheese: Aries

Producer: Shooting Star Creamery, Paso Robles, CA

Purchased from: Beecher’s Handmade Cheese – Pike Place Cafe

Shooting Star Creamery describes Aries as a “creamy, alpine style sheep milk cheese that is sure to please any craving.”

I can confirm that all of us found it pleasing, and in fact, quite delightful. Our notes highlighted the creamy color of the cheese, the salty, tangy, mildly fungal taste, and the creamy, crumbly mouthfeel, with protein crystals that dissolved as we chewed.

We paired it with picnic-y foods: bread, pita chips, apple slices, and dried figs. The sweetness of the figs and the crunch of the apple were the best combinations, according to my group of tasters.

We also loved learning the story of Aries – it was developed by a father/daughter cheese making team in California, and the daughter, Avery Jones, has used the proceeds to pay for her college education, give back to her community, and even won an American Cheese Society award for Aries in 2019!

Highly recommend for picnics, as Aries traveled well and brought a lovely depth of flavor to our spread. 

On a cheese plate:

I’d happily serve Aries on a cheese plate, paired with a crisp cracker and a dish of blackberry preserves, in a nod to the blackberry plants we saw during our forest hike.

If you go:

• Saltwater State Park (~30 mins from downtown Seattle)
• Mail order Aries from Central Coast Creamery in Paso Robles, CA. Alternatively, stop by Beecher’s Handmade Cheese in Pike Place Market, which usually has a Shooting Star Creamery cheese available for purchase.