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Janet Fletcher

180 Stonecrest Dr
Napa, CA, 94558
(707) 265-0404
{ Janet Fletcher / Food Writer }

{ Janet Fletcher / Food Writer }

Janet Fletcher

  • Home
  • About
    • About Janet
    • Media
    • Client List
    • Contact
  • Planet Cheese
    • Planet Cheese Blog
    • Planet Cheese Signup
    • Cheese Library
  • Store
    • All Items
    • World Cheese Tour
    • Books
  • Classes
    • World Cheese Tour Classes
    • Other Classes & Events
    • Custom Class/Event Request
    • Cheese O'Clock Video Archive
  • Recipes
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Autumn
    • Winter
    • Comfort

Canadian Cheddar Welcome Here

March 18, 2025 janet@janetfletcher.com
Avonlea Cheddar from COWS Creamery in Canada

If you want to show Canada some love right now, seek out this award-winning Canadian Cheddar. I was surprised to find it at a local shop recently; we get so few cheeses of any type from our northern neighbor.

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In From: Canada, Milk: Cow Tags Cheddar, clothbound Cheddar, Canadian Cheddar, Canadian cheese, Prince Edward Island, COW Creamery
10 Comments

Cheese Straws Go Greek

December 27, 2024 janet@janetfletcher.com

What will you be nibbling with your New Year’s bubbly? I’ve got a stash of these flaky cheese straws just waiting for a cork to pop. Aglaia Kremezi, the Greek food writer who inspired them, says they’ll last a week, but nothing beats warm from the oven.

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Tags cheese straws; phyllo dough; filo dough; filo appetizers; phyllo appetizers, New Years Eve appetizers, appetizers for Champagne, Cheddar
5 Comments

Confessions of a Bargain Hunter

October 15, 2024 janet@janetfletcher.com

My husband and I spend way too much money trying to find inexpensive wines we like. Sometimes, after three $15 disappointments, I’ll think, “We could have bought a $45 wine.” Rummaging around for a bargain is often a false economy, and a recent endeavor with Cheddar reinforced this. My objective was to identify a few Cheddars that over-deliver for the price

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In From: U.S., Milk: Cow Tags Deer Creek Cheese, Vat 17, Cheddar, value Cheddar, Tillamook, Beecher’s Cheddar
27 Comments

Cheesemaker on a Mission

February 14, 2023 janet@janetfletcher.com
Mystic Cheese - Finback

It’s probably a good thing that the artisan cheese world doesn’t have cult creameries and cheesemakers—at least, nothing like the wine world, where the fandom can be insidious. That said, I’m starting to think Connecticut cheesemaker Brian Civitello deserves a fervent following. He is so capable and so thoughtful about his cheesemaking, and I love what he does.

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In From: U.S., Milk: Cow Tags Brian Civitello, Mystic Cheese, Cheddar, Finback, Salers, Cantal
4 Comments

British Cheddar Goes Green

September 13, 2022 janet@janetfletcher.com
British Cheddar Cheese

The world’s first carbon-neutral Cheddar is landing in U.S. stores this month, just in time for your first autumn cheese board. It’s made in the English county of Somerset, where most of the best British Cheddars originate. If you’ll be watching the funeral ceremonies for Queen Elizabeth II on September 19, you might want a little British snack for the occasion. Alas, this new arrival is not the Cheddar that holds the Royal Warrant —we don’t get that one in the U.S.—but it’s easy to love and from a producer with big environmental goals.

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In From: Britain, Milk: Cow Tags Cheddar, Wyke Farms, British Cheddar, Somerset Cheddar, Royal Warrant
6 Comments

Only in America

November 2, 2021 janet@janetfletcher.com
Cougar Gold with olives and crackers

Several years ago, a colleague came for dinner and brought me a seven-year-old cheese in a can. Do you say “thank you” for what seems like a gag gift? Was she suggesting that I might actually enjoy a cheese that’s packed in a tin like cheap tuna? Well, I did. And you will. If you want this uniquely American cheese for your Thanksgiving table, don’t delay. The shipping charge just dropped for most of the country, and the supply will sell out soon.

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In From: U.S., Milk: Cow Tags Cougar Gold, Washington State University, Cheddar, Americam Cheddar, Thanksgiving cheese board, canned cheese
40 Comments

It’s a First

August 6, 2019 janet@janetfletcher.com
Planet Cheese 286 IMG_9264.jpg

Last weekend’s American Cheese Society competition produced only one Best of Show, of course, but multiple firsts. For the first time, a blue ribbon went to a 15-year-old, who won her category and then placed third overall. For the first time, the first- and second-place cheeses were made by the same person. (Amazing, no?) For the first time, two of the top three entries were private-label cheeses matured by a retailer. And I suspect it’s the first time in the competition’s long history that all three top winners are newcomers, with none more than three years old.

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In From: U.S. Tags American Cheese Society, Old Chatham Creamery, Wegman’s, Central Coast Creamery, Stockinghall, Cheddar, Professor’s Brie, Shooting Star Creamery, ACS
2 Comments

I Say It’s Cheddar

February 19, 2019 janet@janetfletcher.com
Planet Cheese 02 _DSC7957.jpg

Okay, curd nerds. How many clothbound goat Cheddars can you name? Several producers make goat Cheddar in rindless blocks. But a wheel aged in cheesecloth so it can breathe and develop a rind, like a traditional cow’s-milk Cheddar? That’s a rare thing. Thanks to Quicke’s, the English Cheddar specialist, we can taste the magic that happens when experts apply classic Cheddar techniques to goat’s milk. Quicke’s Goat’s Milk Clothbound is irresistible.

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In From: Britain, Milk: Goat Tags Quicke’s, Cheddar, Mary Quicke, goat cheese, goat Cheddar, English cheese, clothbound Cheddar, Carr Valley Cheese
12 Comments

Southern Comfort

November 13, 2018 janet@janetfletcher.com
Planet Cheese 67 _DSC6782.jpg

I was thinking that some of those wavy Southern cheese straws would be a nice addition to my Thanksgiving relish tray, but I can’t find my cookie press. (Maybe I never had one?) However, I did find my autumn-leaf cookie cutters so that’s what I’m using instead. My favorite recipe for the cheese straws comes from an honest-to-goodness Southern belle and good friend who grew up eating them. I think you’ll enjoy making them for Thanksgiving or any holiday parties to come.

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In From: U.S., Milk: Cow Tags cheese straws, Thanksgiving, holiday appetizers, Cheddar
8 Comments

Kissed by Mold

November 6, 2018 janet@janetfletcher.com
Planet Cheese 59 _DSC6680.jpg

A wedge of English Cheddar I purchased recently had a few threads of blue mold inside, the result of a breach in the rind. The blue didn’t deter me—the cheese tasted great—but I knew many shoppers would eye the piece and put it back. I asked the clerk how she talks to customers who flinch at the sight of blue veins in a Cheddar. “I tell them it’s been kissed by mold,” she said. I like that.

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Tags Cheddar, mold, moldy cheese, Benjamin Wolfe, Kirkham’s Lancashire
2 Comments
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