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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
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What Tariffs Mean for Cheese Fans

April 8, 2025 janet@janetfletcher.com
Tariffs on Swiss Cheese

Maybe, by the time you read this, the tariff wars will be over. Or maybe not. In that case, we’ll be pining for the good old days of $40 a pound French cheese. The on-again off-again import duties have cheesemakers, importers, distributors and retailers unable to make key business decisions. But as it stands now, we’re looking at a 20% tariff on cheeses from EU countries. Switzerland, inexplicably, got slapped with a 31% duty. Go figure. I checked in with importers, distributors and retailers about what this means, potentially, for consumers—and for their own businesses. It’s not pretty.

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Tags cheese tariffs, imported cheese, impact of tariffs on cheese
28 Comments

Cheese Meets Matzo

March 22, 2021 janet@janetfletcher.com
Planet Cheese 194 _DSC3960.jpg

The matzo brei I grew up with did not have cheese in it. Just eggs, soaked matzo, salt and pepper. That was my mother’s way, and she wasn’t inclined to experiment. But I’m in charge now. At my house, matzo brei can have green onions and asparagus, and it most definitely can have cheese.

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In From: U.S., Milk: Cow Tags Passover, Passover recipes, matzo recipes, matzo brei, matzo brei with cheese, asparagus, asparagus recipes, tariffs, cheese tariffs, imported cheese
12 Comments

Bumpy Ride for Cheese Imports

August 11, 2020 janet@janetfletcher.com
Planet Cheese 79 _DSC1787.jpg

Six months into this horrid pandemic and we still can’t plan for the future. Will we be able to gather for Thanksgiving? Will we have holiday parties? For me, these aren’t top-of-mind questions, but if you’re a cheesemaker, you need to guess, now, what people are going to want two or three months from now. The usual customer buying patterns have been completely upended. Montenebro (above), the fabulous Spanish goat cheese, is in short supply because the cheesemaker slashed production two months ago. Iffy flight schedules still plague air-freighted cheeses from Europe.

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Tags imported cheese, coronavirus and cheese, Montenebro, French cheese, Spanish cheese, Italian cheese, Victory Cheese, Forever Cheese, World’s Best Cheese, Aniata Cheese
Comment

Cheese Takes a Beating

March 16, 2020 janet@janetfletcher.com
Travel woes: (clockwise from upper left) Camembert au Calvados; Clochette; Burrata; French ashed cheeses

Travel woes: (clockwise from upper left) Camembert au Calvados; Clochette; Burrata; French ashed cheeses

Maybe cheese wasn’t the first thing you thought about when President Trump announced a 30-day ban on flights from Europe last week. But cheese is, indeed, a victim. It won’t be getting on planes, either. All those lovely soft spring goat cheeses from the Loire Valley…fresh mozzarella and burrata from Campania…delicate robiolas from Piemonte…these cheeses and many others have effectively had their passports revoked. “Trump said it’s not going to affect cargo, but it doesn’t work that way,” says Stephanie Ciano of World’s Best Cheese, a major importer.

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In From: France, From: Germany, From: Holland, From: Ireland, From: Italy, From: Portugal, From: Spain, From: Switzerland, Milk: Cow, Milk: Goat, Milk: Sheep, Milk: Water Buffalo, From: Britain, From: Austria Tags Coronavirus, cheese imports, flight ban, imported cheese, cheese importer, World’s Best Cheese, Fresca Italia
7 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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