With raw milk experiencing surging demand in the U.S., it seems a good moment to revisit raw-milk cheese. Almost certainly, it’s on the decline. Both here and in Europe, cheesemakers are abandoning raw milk. And almost certainly, many of the “raw milk” cheeses in the marketplace are not raw—at least not in my estimation. That’s because the definition is not as cut-and-dried as you might think.
Read moreMy husband and I are planning a trip to South Korea, so we were watching Korean food videos on YouTube one recent evening. In one travel vlog, a young American couple is checking out a popular fast-food chain called No Brand Burger (definitely not on our itinerary). The official motto of No Brand Burger is refreshingly un-American: “Why pay more? It’s good enough.” The frankness made us laugh, but at a cheese tasting the day before, a guest had basically asked me the same question. How much do you have to spend to get good cheese, he wanted to know, and at what point are you spending more but not getting more quality?
Read moreCheese and other dairy products are getting the evil eye these days from many corners. Some voices argue that we need to be eating a more plant-based diet, both for the sake of the planet and for our own sake. I don’t disagree. But I do believe that cheese—a nutritious food that has sustained pastoral cultures around the world for millennia—is compatible with a healthy and low-impact lifestyle. The dairy farmers I know prioritize their animals’ welfare (why wouldn’t they?) and they aren’t ducking environmental concerns. They are seeking solutions.
Read moreHave you heard about all those people getting sick from eating Roquefort, raw-milk Morbier and raw-milk Tomme de Savoie? I haven’t either because it hasn’t happened. And the FDA is going to make sure that it doesn’t.
Read moreWhat does Italy's incomparable Parmigiano Reggiano have in common with Wisconsin’s Pleasant Ridge Reserve, England’s Colston-Bassett Stilton and French Comté? All of them, indisputably, are among the world’s finest cheeses, and all are matured on wooden shelves. Because of that age-old practice, common to countless other cheeses, these beauties are currently in the cross-hairs of the FDA.
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