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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

Build a Better Bagel

March 19, 2024 janet@janetfletcher.com
Snøfrisk on bagel with smoked salmon

Spring = fresh cheese. At least that’s the math at my house. Light, fluffy, spreadable cheese to drizzle with honey or top with chives. It’s what I want on a bagel instead of gummy, clingy cream cheese. It’s what I want on bruschetta topped with roasted asparagus. Now that spring is official, consider exploring some of the fresh cheese options where you shop. Spread the cheese on crostini, top with a drizzle of peppery olive oil and a sprinkle of dukkah—the perfect accompaniment for all the new rosés that are headed our way. Being in a spring frame of mind, I’ve gathered a half-dozen of my favorite schmear-worthy cheeses to inspire you.

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Tags cream cheese, fresh cheese, bagels, schmear, spring cheese, Green Dirt Farm, Snøfrisk, Madame Loïk, Bellwether Farms, Shepherd’s Way Farms
16 Comments

Hot Takes from Cheese Camp

July 31, 2023 janet@janetfletcher.com

Every year, I return from the American Cheese Society (ACS) conference with my brain spinning from all the conversations and ideas. I’m still trying to process everything I heard, observed and tasted at this packed three-day meeting, which a lot of attendees liken to summer camp. It’s certainly as fun as summer camp (if you’re a cheese nerd) but with less fresh air, more alcohol and way more food for thought. While I mentally unpack from the recent meeting in Des Moines, I wanted to share a few hot takes from the gathering, including a surprising statistic I heard about goat cheese.

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In From: U.S. Tags American Cheese Society, Green Dirt Farm, Prairie Fruits Farm, Dutch Girl Farm, Cypress Grove, Whole Foods Market, Certified Cheese Professional, ACS
10 Comments

Meet America’s Top Cheeses

July 24, 2023 janet@janetfletcher.com
ACS winners

As usual, the winners’ circle at the recent American Cheese Society awards included several repeat victors who almost always land ribbons. They’re just that good. A few new creameries won blue ribbons, but the top honors—the Best of Show and four runners-up—went to long-established producers. These five winners, from five states, had at least one common feature. “What struck me, standing on stage, was that it was all independent cheesemakers,” said Andy Hatch of Wisconsin’s Uplands Cheese. In an industry that constantly grapples with the meaning of “artisan cheese,” it is indeed worth noting that the five winning wheels are all made by hand.

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In From: U.S. Tags American Cheese Society, American Cheese Society competition, Pleasant Ridge Reserve, Sequatchie Cove, Green Dirt Farm, Pure Luck Dairy, Farm at Doe Run, Blakesville Creamery
4 Comments

Fresh Sheep Cheese is Rye Bread Ready

April 26, 2022 janet@janetfletcher.com
Fresh sheep cheese on rye bread

With May on the horizon, it’s prime time for fresh sheep cheese. The ewes are back on the job after some winter R&R and they are giving their all right now. To manage the surge of spring milk, a few creameries produce a soft, rindless, spreadable sheep cheese that I vastly prefer to fresh chèvre. This category hardly existed a decade ago. Now your favorite cheese counter should have (or can get) at least one of these lovelies. Slathered on whole-grain toast, stuffed in pasta, dolloped on pizza…what an endlessly useful cheese.

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In Milk: Sheep Tags sheep cheese, toast, fresh cheese, American cheese, Bellwether Farms, Green Dirt Farm, Hidden Springs Creamery, Shepherds Way Farm, Nettle Meadow, Icelandic rye bread, rye bread, rúgbrauð
6 Comments

Pass the Lox, Please

May 16, 2017 janet@janetfletcher.com
SheepCheese&Lox

Fresh, spreadable goat cheeses are a dime a dozen. But a little tub of lemony sheep cheese that tastes like the most delicate cream cheese ever? Well, that’s something to get excited about. With Danish rye and radishes…or bagels and lox…you will quickly be scraping the bottom of the tub.

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In From: U.S., Milk: Sheep Tags cream cheese, fresh cheese, Green Dirt Farm, Sarah Hoffman, John Spertus
6 Comments
 

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Welcome to my world: a fragrant, fascinating universe devoted to great cheese. In this and future Planet Cheese posts, you’ll find profiles of the world’s best cheeses plus insights into everything cheese: shops, recipes, interviews, pairing discoveries, classes, videos, travel. If you haven’t already done so, sign up here - it’s complimentary - and join me in learning something new about cheese every week.


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     Photographs: Douglas Fletcher, Ed Anderson, Megan Clouse, Faith Echtermeyer, Eva Kolenko,
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