Let’s get this year underway with a delicious discovery—a sheep cheeses that left me hunting for superlatives. Aged sheep cheeses are always my go-to on a cheese board, but this newcomer gobsmacked me. It had a warm butter aroma and distinctive sour cream flavor that just reeled me in. Don’t leave me alone with it. It’s 100 percent perfect by itself, in my view, but you could pair it with olives and salumi for an antipasto or serve it at the end of your meal with quince paste or poached quince.
Read moreSuperstar Cheeses of 2025
Thinking back on the year in cheese puts me in an uneasy mood, to be honest. Independent cheese shops are struggling or shuttering. Importers are grappling with tariffs and paralyzing uncertainty. Retail cheese prices are giving me heartburn, and I worry that consumers will start trading down or just doing without. On the other hand…great cheese continues to deliver so much pleasure and value, a ready-to-eat shareable artisan food that elevates everyday meals. Here are a few—not all new, but new to me—that made the biggest impression this year.
Read moreAntipasto of My Dreams
My fava beans are happening and a friend just brought me a fabulous Tuscan pecorino. Is that an opportunity or what? Young favas straight from the pod. Nuggets of buttery sheep cheese. Crisp white wine. It’s the antipasto I fantasize about when I plant the beans in the fall, and now’s the moment. Every good cheese counter will have an aged pecorino suitable for pairing with fresh favas—an Italian spring custom—but I am smitten with this new-to-me cheese.
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