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

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

The Blue We Need

February 4, 2025 janet@janetfletcher.com

Most cheese counters I visit—even the best ones—have a big gap in goat blues. The options just aren’t there, domestic or imported. It’s not an easy style to make, according to the cheesemaker who just launched the one pictured here. Goat curd is dense and wants to mat. If it doesn’t remain open and airy, it’s hard for blue veins to grow. But the flavor of a well-made goat blue can be captivating—more tangy than buttery, sometimes closer to feta than to Stilton. I’ve fallen for several over the years—Persillé de Rambouillet from France, Andazul from Spain, Harbourne Blue from the U.K.—but then they vanish. Let’s hope this California newcomer finds an audience and sticks around.

Read more
In From: U.S., Milk: Goat Tags goat cheese, blue cheese, California cheese, Shooting Star Creamery, Central Coast Creamery, Reggie Jones, Avery Jones, goat’s milk blue cheese
8 Comments

Newcomer at a Nice Price

July 9, 2024 janet@janetfletcher.com

A cheese shop owner told me recently that he now prices his inventory by the half-pound instead of by the pound. The sticker shock was just too much for some customers and hardly anybody buys a pound of cheese anyway. I get it. At least for me cheese is a deductible expense, but I’ve been watching the climbing prices with alarm. Good cheese should be an everyday pleasure, not a pain point. Which is why I was eager to devote a session in my World Cheese Tour series to products that over-deliver for the price. The class is sold out, but pictured above is one of the amazing values I discovered as I researched the best selections for the evening. I’ll share the entire class lineup in next week’s Planet Cheese post, but this highly aromatic little guy will be on the plate. What a bargain!

Read more
In From: Italy, Milk: Goat Tags good value cheeses, bargain cheeses, Arnoldi, Capriolina, World Cheese Tour, goat cheese, washed-rind cheese, Italian cheese
Comment

Goat Cheese Dresses Up

January 30, 2024 janet@janetfletcher.com

For someone who doesn’t typically want stuff in or on my cheese, I sure do love this herb- and spice-rubbed beauty. In fact, I can’t think of too many goat cheeses I enjoy more than this aromatic gem from France, which I wouldn’t hesitate to serve to goat cheese avoiders. People who think goat cheese is always tart and chalky are amazed when they encounter a chèvre as sweet, nutty and creamy as this one. So whether you’re a goat cheese enthusiast or on the never-chèvre side, prepare to be amazed.

Read more
In From: France, Milk: Goat Tags chèvre, goat cheese, French cheese, Tomme de Fontenay, Rodolphe Le Meunier
14 Comments

A Star is Born

November 13, 2023 janet@janetfletcher.com
Firefly Farm's Carpenter's Wheel

If you are looking for an exceptional American cheese for your Thanksgiving festivities, or for a host gift, you won’t be disappointed by this beauty. It’s a recent release with a long origin story and absolutely worth the wait. A collaboration between the Maryland creamery that produced it and the New York affinage team that nurtured it from infancy to its prime, this aromatic goat cheese seduced me at the first sniff. I’m hoping that affinage—expert cheese aging—will become more of a thing in this country, as it is in Europe, and that success stories like this one will pave the way.

Read more
In From: U.S., Milk: Goat Tags goat cheese, aged goat cheese, affinage, Murray’s, Firefly Farms, Southern cheese
Comment

Buzziest Creamery in America

May 9, 2023 janet@janetfletcher.com

Top: Linedeline (left) and Shabby Shoe; bottom (l to r): Sunny Ridge, Afterglow and St. Germain

In last week’s post, I polled retailers around the country about their favorite new American cheeses. Laura Downey, who owns the Greenwich Cheese Shop and Fairfield Cheese Shop in Connecticut, replied immediately. “Veronica Pedraza is making some of the best cheese in the U.S. at the moment,” wrote Downey. Wow. I’ve written about Pedraza before but not since her latest career move: to a new goat farm and creamery in Wisconsin, where she has creative freedom and an employer with deep pockets. Time for an update on this rock-star cheesemaker and what seems like the “buzziest” creamery in America.

Read more
In From: U.S., Milk: Goat Tags Blakesville Creamery, Wisconsin cheese, goat cheese, American goat cheese, chèvre, Veronica Pedraza, Lynde Uihlein, Shabby Shoe
18 Comments

Goat Cheese for the Big Leagues

April 4, 2023 janet@janetfletcher.com

Gran Capra—"big goat cheese”—is certainly that. You rarely see goat cheeses in large formats, nothing close to an 80-pound Parmigiano Reggiano or Gruyère. But “rarely” doesn’t mean never, and here’s proof that hefty goat cheeses are technically possible. Weighing in at about 50 pounds, this one may well be in a league of its own and, flavorwise, I can’t think of another cheese quite like it. Some shoppers may look at Gran Capra and see a grating cheese—an alternative to Parmigiano for people with cow’s milk allergy or intolerance—but I view it as a compelling table cheese, especially with a few drops of fine balsamic vinegar.

Read more
In From: Italy, Milk: Goat Tags goat cheese, aged goat cheese, Italian cheese, Cremonesi, Grancapra, Gran Capra, balsamic vinegar
2 Comments

New Kid on the Block

January 31, 2023 janet@janetfletcher.com
Truffle Cheese

Does the world need another truffled cheese? Well, maybe this one. It’s Spanish, from goat’s milk, and new on the scene—just in time to add some love to your Valentine’s cheese board. Try it shaved—it feels like a silk handkerchief. Grate it for fondue, happy hour panini or asparagus risotto. A truffled cheese omelet speaks to me, needless to say. Truffles, bubbles and cheese—that’s my love language.

Read more
In From: Spain, Milk: Goat Tags truffle cheese, Spanish cheese, goat cheese, cheese board, Valentine’s cheese, cheese and sparkling wine, cheese and Champagne, cheese and bubbles
13 Comments

Second Time Around

November 20, 2022 janet@janetfletcher.com

This focaccia bread pudding with mushrooms and goat cheese got good reviews from [ital] Planet Cheese [end ital] readers last year so I’m bringing it back for an encore. If you’re ready to change up your Thanksgiving dressing, or need a vegetarian alternative, please give it an audition. It’s crusty and custardy, with soft nuggets of goat cheese, sweet leeks and toasty bits on top.

Read more
In From: U.S., Milk: Goat Tags bread pudding, focaccia, wild mushrooms, mushrooms, goat cheese, Thanksgiving side dishes, vegetarian, meatless main course
10 Comments

Big Win for a Glorious Goat Cheese

October 4, 2022 janet@janetfletcher.com
Pennyroyal Farm's Boont Corners

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 more
In From: U.S., Milk: Goat, Milk: Mixed, Milk: Sheep Tags goat cheese, chèvre, aged goat cheese, chevre, Pennyroyal Farm, Anderson Valley, Navarro Vineyards, Firefly Farms, Andante Dairy, Goat Lady Dairy
8 Comments

Summer of Chèvre

June 28, 2022 janet@janetfletcher.com
Summer of Chèvre

A creamy goat cheese coated with sweet paprika, shallots and garlic, Fleur Soleil is my new summer crush. With a bottle of rosé, a fresh baguette and a salad, there’s lunch. Or dinner. Or a picnic. I could eat this dreamy cheese all day long. The texture is almost fluffy, and the seasoning is bold but not overdone. Just in time to pair with summer tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant and peppers.

Read more
In From: France, Milk: Goat Tags goat cheese, chèvre, Fleur Soleil, fresh cheese, French cheese, summer cheese, rosé and cheese, cheese and rosé, Chèvrefeuille
12 Comments
Older Posts →
 

Subscribe!

We respect your privacy.

Thank you!
Planet Cheese RSS

Browse the Archive:

Planet Cheese Blog

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.


NEW!
2025 World Cheese Tour Class Schedule


Monthly
through November

June 10: SOLD OUT
Reserve for July
Reserve for August
5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Winston’s Café
1517 Third Street
Napa


Order signed copies
Free Shipping!

Just received a new shipment of Gather. You can order signed copies here. Third-class shipping is free.

Cheese&Wine
Cheese-Beer
BS-Yogurt.jpg
BS-Wine Country Table.jpg
EatingLocal
BS-FFFM-New1.jpg
Summary Block
This is example content. Double-click here and select a page to feature its content. Learn more
Featured
Latest Article

Powered by Squarespace
     Photographs: Douglas Fletcher, Ed Anderson, Megan Clouse, Faith Echtermeyer, Eva Kolenko,
Victoria Pearson, Sara Remington and Meg Smith
Design: Jennifer Barry Design | Props: Tangerine Prop Shop | © 2024 Janet Fletcher, All Rights Reserved