Do plant-based products belong in a cheese competition? As we cheese lovers learned in January, a plant-based entry was a finalist in the Good Food Awards’ cheese category. That’s a first. Many people, including me, weren’t even aware that non-dairy foods could compete in the category, which specifies that the entries be “made with milk from animals raised using good animal husbandry.”
Read moreSimply Delightful
I was intrigued to read that superstar baker Dorie Greenspan is working on a book on simple cakes. Simple cakes are the best! You can have a nice slice for breakfast without feeling like you’ve gone off the rails, then another piece in mid-afternoon with a cup of tea. A little sliver before bed with a wee dram of Madeira? Oh, yeah.
Read moreBuild a Better Bagel
Spring = fresh cheese. At least that’s the math at my house. Light, fluffy, spreadable cheese to drizzle with honey or top with chives. It’s what I want on a bagel instead of gummy, clingy cream cheese. It’s what I want on bruschetta topped with roasted asparagus. Now that spring is official, consider exploring some of the fresh cheese options where you shop. Spread the cheese on crostini, top with a drizzle of peppery olive oil and a sprinkle of dukkah—the perfect accompaniment for all the new rosés that are headed our way. Being in a spring frame of mind, I’ve gathered a half-dozen of my favorite schmear-worthy cheeses to inspire you.
Read moreGreen for a Day
I’ll be planting potatoes on St. Patrick’s Day and probably wearing something green. Alas, no Irish cheese board for dinner. My favorite Irish wheels—Gubbeen, Durrus, Coolea—are too hard to find these days. Their high prices make them slow movers at American cheese counters. But green cheese? I can do that. I adore this creamy feta dip, green from pistachios, cilantro and dill. You’ve seen it here before but I’m reprising it as a nod to the holiday and the imminent arrival of spring. I’ve heard raves from readers who’ve made it and hope you’ll soon join that club.
Read moreHall of Fame Name
On my short list of favorite cheese names, I would surely include Ewe Calf to be Kidding (a three-milk blue cheese from Hook’s in Wisconsin); Triple Play Extra Innings (another ménage à trois from Hooks, with extended aging); Bleu 1924 (a good back story); Moser Screamer (because it’s worth shouting about); and Mary dans les Étoiles (a loving tribute to a departed colleague). Wordplay aside, they’re all superb cheeses. So is the wedge pictured above, which I might have purchased for its name alone, but a sample in the shop sealed the deal.
Read moreDoes U.S. Bufala Cheese Have a Future?
I hope I live long enough to see American-made water buffalo cheese at every cheese counter, but it’s not looking good. One step forward, two steps back. Someone starts a water buffalo dairy, another fails. I dream of homegrown mozzarella di bufala, of course. But Italian cheesemakers do so much more with this super-rich milk. The gorgeous, slumpy cheese pictured above demonstrates what water buffalo milk can do in skilled hands. Will we ever get there?
Read moreOne Thousand Days to Greatness
By a wide margin, guests in a recent class of mine voted the cheese pictured above as their favorite. It bested a luscious goat cheese from one of Italy’s acclaimed affineurs, a tasty farmhouse Cheddar from the UK, the pimiento-dusted Alisios from Spain and several others. Wow—such an impressive showing for a largely self-taught cheesemaker from rural Iowa.
Read moreWhat Perfect Tastes Like
Apart from their mutual fabulousness, these two cheeses don’t have much in common. One is German, the other Swiss. One is creamy, one is firm. The German cheese is a new creation, the other a venerable classic, from centuries-old methods that hardly budge. But both are examples of masterful cheesemaking, standard bearers for their style. Tasting the greats is how you develop your palate, so I hope you’ll seek out one or both of these impressive imports.
Read moreRemember Morbier?
After a nine-year absence, real Morbier is returning to American cheese counters. If you didn’t realize it was missing, that’s probably because multiple faux Morbiers have attempted to fill in the gap. The photogenic cheese with the ash ripple in the middle has been MIA since 2014, victim of the uproar we’ll call Ashgate. Thanks to our vigilant FDA, Americans have been protected for the past several years from a cheese that the French have been enjoying for two centuries. Are you ready to take a risk and eat some raw-milk Morbier again?
Read moreGoat Cheese Dresses Up
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.
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