The American Cheese Society’s 40th conference is underway this week in Des Moines, with nonstop tastings and educational sessions and—always a highlight—the awards ceremony for the competition winners. I’ll report next week on the victors, but I’m betting on five newish creameries, in particular, to bring home some ribbons. Four of the five have been making cheese for less than 10 years and the fifth is only a year older. With their consistently top-notch output, these newcomers give me hope for the future of American artisan cheesemaking.
Read moreThe Unforgettables
It has been a pretty good year on the cheese beat, all things considered. Some shops are offering samples again. Importers are expanding shipments from Europe. And our domestic cheesemakers seem to have largely rebounded from their pandemic straits. Looking back on the year’s highlights for me, I compiled a short list of standouts—
Read moreBig Win for a Glorious Goat Cheese
I am overjoyed to see aged goat cheese getting more attention from America’s cheesemakers. Personally, I can’t work up much enthusiasm for another fresh, rindless chèvre—we have plenty of those—but a new firm, nutty goat cheese with a natural rind, made in the U.S.A., gives us more choice in a slender category. The blue ribbon-winning beauty pictured above isn’t new—it debuted maybe 10 years ago—but it’s tasting better than ever. And I am noticing a few more entries in this slim niche. Many people tell me they don’t like goat cheese, but in my experience, everybody likes this type.
Read moreCheese for the Win
Everyone I talk to seems at loose ends right now. What’s the right thing to think, say, feel, do when your country is experiencing an emotional earthquake? Cheese seems trivial, perhaps, but to dairy farmers and cheesemakers it is not. It’s a livelihood. It’s the future for their land, their livestock, their families.
Read moreSix to Try Now
Cheesemakers across the nation want to get their cheeses to you. Many are making it easier with discounts and deals—even waiving shipping fees in some cases. I’ve heard from some readers who saw my list [link here] and were moved to order, and I’ve heard from others who saw the list and couldn’t decide what to order. The cheeses most in need of a home are the fresh and lightly aged ones (think Camembert) that aren’t built to last. While you’re housebound, why not make your happy hours extra joyous with these six lovelies?
Read moreTrouble in Paradise
How quickly cheesemakers’ livelihoods can crater, especially when they make mostly perishable cheeses or care for animals that have to be milked twice a day. What are you supposed to do with that milk when nobody’s buying your cheese? I checked in with two West Coast cheesemakers I greatly admire to see how they’re faring in this crisis and how they plan to climb out of the pit. Because they will.
Read moreWine Family's Awesome Cheeses
Nothing makes cheese taste better than seeing the place where it’s made. Alas, most American creameries don’t welcome visitors. Sanitation is the main issue, and few small producers have the staff for tours. But in California’s scenic Anderson Valley, Pennyroyal Farmstead Cheese is charting a different course. In March, the three-year-old Boonville creamery opened a tasting room and began offering tours. From anywhere, it’s worth the journey.
Read moreRaw Deal
Will you miss them when they’re gone? America’s raw-milk cheeses haven’t been outlawed—yet—but they are definitely under threat. The FDA is currently scrutinizing this tiny sliver of the dairy world and considering heightened regulations. Although an outright ban strikes me as unlikely, the agency may well make compliance so onerous and expensive that many raw-milk cheese producers will toss in the towel.
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