What's ahead for America’s cheese counters? As 2014 draws to a close, I asked some leading cheese merchants and mavens to share their insights. I hoped someone would say that American sheep’s milk cheeses were trending, but no one did. So that’s my wish for 2015, if not my prediction.
Read moreAroma Coma →
Last week at the grocery store, I watched a woman casually drop $200 on white truffles. When the clerk weighed them and announced the price, the customer didn’t flinch but I did. I got to enjoy the aroma briefly while the precious nuggets were on the scale, and that’s probably as close as I’ll get to white truffles this year.
Read moreHaving a Meltdown →
I’m not typically a big fan of cooking with fine cheese, but Reading begs to be melted. Made by Vermont’s Spring Brook Farm, this handsome wheel is modeled on Raclette, the alpine cheese so delicious that it has a dish named after it.
Read moreNuts About That Honey →
With a jar of these honeyed nuts in your pantry, you are two minutes away from dessert. Warm the jar in a saucepan of gently simmering water until the honey is just pourable, then serve with a favorite blue cheese or spoon some over ricotta. The honey helps mellow spicy blues like Gorgonzola and Valdeón, and the toasted nuts provide a crunchy complement.
Read moreRipple Effect →
Seasonal and costly but a splurge you won’t regret, the cheese pictured at right is luscious beyond words. I’d like to call it Vacherin Mont d’Or but I can’t. The official name is Petit Vaccarinus, which sounds like a condition that requires antibiotics. But aficionados will recognize it as a Vacherin twin, identical to that sought-after Swiss cow’s milk cheese in almost every way that matters.
Read moreBetting on Alpha
If you’re a guest on Thanksgiving and haven’t yet settled on a gift for your host, put cheese on your short list. An American Cheddar might be the obvious choice, but I’m going to nominate Alpha Tolman, an aged Vermont cheese that any host should be happy to get. It has several features that fit the occasion: an approachable flavor that even children will like; durability (for those all-weekend houseguests); and a nutty character that will enhance the turkey sandwiches.
Read moreMaking Scents →
Mandy Aftel loves cheese. A lot of people love cheese, but I was surprised to learn that Mandy did because, as a celebrated perfumer, she spends most of her day sniffing tuberose and sandalwood. Could the same nose be drawn to cheesy aromas like leaf litter and cow barn?
Read moreCheesecake Heaven →
Finally, a cranberry dessert I like. Could that be because it’s mostly cheese?
I’ve been waiting for the right occasion to share the recipe for this fluffy cheesecake, and in the meantime the berry season has slipped by. But wait: we have cranberries. They wouldn’t have been my first thought as an accompaniment, but they do make a gleaming ruby sauce that really does cut the richness.
Little Seductress →
One of the trends I’ve spotted in American cheeses recently is the growing use of beer to wash cheeses. You have probably tasted Epoisses, the Burgundian cheese brushed with marc de Bourgogne (grape-pomace brandy), and Spain’s Murcia al Vino (also marketed as Drunken Goat), which is steeped in red wine. Oregon’s Rogue River Blue ages in grape leaves soaked in pear brandy. And then there’s the irresistible Tome d’Aquitaine (aka Clisson), a French beauty bathed twice: first with Muscadet, then with Sauternes.
Read moreCheese for All Seasons →
Your eyes tell you something about these Comté samples, but what exactly? I thought I could distinguish winter cheeses from summer ones on paste color alone (the paste is the inside), but I learned otherwise on a trip to the Jura last June.
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