Do you consider yourself and your Valentine an odd pairing, like Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton, or maybe Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner? Or, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy?
Well, history has given us some truly unusual pairings over the years, including some in the food world. Think pizza and pineapple or, balsamic vinegar and vanilla ice cream.
On Saturday, a Valley cheese shop is bringing us another unique coupling. Shea Cheese is hosting a Girl Scout Cookies and Cheese tasting event.
Jenny Zink, co-owner of Shea Cheese, joined The Show to discuss how this strange pairing came about.
Full conversation
JENNY ZINK: I like to pair weird things. Personally, I don't take cheese so precious that it has to be wine and cheese or this and that. And last year we did Girl Scout cookies and cheese with [Laleh Jamshidi.] She's our local Girl Scout, and it was so fun to have her come in and she helped me pair it.
And I asked her, “Do you want to do this with me? Do you want to lead the class?” She's like, “Absolutely not.” And then this year, I asked her if she wanted to do it with me, and she said “yes.” And I think it's this cool progression.
SAM DINGMAN: To prepare, the duo start out by doing a lot of sampling.
ZINK: I pick out a bunch of cheeses, and we take all of the cookies, and then we'll taste the cheese, because she knows all of the cookies, and she's like, “well, I think this one will go good with this one.”
And then we'll taste it together, and we'll be like, “yep, absolutely,” or “oh, that was weird.” And so it's really meant to compliment the cookie and the cheese. It's not to be crazy bizarre. It's just flavor combinations can come together in such unique and interesting ways.
DINGMAN: Everybody loves Girl Scout cookies and everyone loves cheese. But what happens when you put them together?
SATIVA PETERSON: Could you share a pairing with us that was either better than expected or one that maybe you were like, “Oh, we're not gonna do that.”
ZINK: Well, so we did talk about the “Oh, we don't want to do that.” We talked about doing a vegan cheese with the vegan cookie, which is the Thin Mint. And so we did try that, and it did not work. The vegan cheese did not help the cookie at all. And so we ended up with a fresh sheep's milk cheese from Green Dirt Farms out of Missouri, and that just that creaminess and fat and tanginess of the cheese paired so beautifully with the cookie.
DINGMAN: So if you and your sweetheart go together like peanut butter and pickles, this event might be for you. Zink happens to own the shop with her husband.
PETERSON: Do you consider yourself and your spouse, is that a natural pairing?
ZINK: No, we do not go together that well. I am very much a spontaneous, “hey, let's do this thing” person, and he is not. So for example, our very first time that we traveled together, he sent me an itinerary, and I was like, “I'm sorry, that's not working for me.”
And it was like, we're gonna go to the beach. After we get our car rental, we'll go to the beach for 10 minutes and then we'll go get a snack. Like this is too much. So I think he actually still does the itineraries. He just does it in his head, and he doesn't tell me what.
PETERSON: But maybe there is this unexpected harmony that can come together, like the cookies and cheese?
ZINK: Always. I think there's always an unexpected pairing that works for people. You just have to look for it.
DINGMAN: And we really can't think of any better Valentine's Day advice than that. Shea Cheese will be hosting its Girl Scout cookies and cheese tasting event with a real Girl Scout, Laleh Jamshidi, on Saturday, Feb. 15.
