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 moreWhich of These Is Good for You?
I don’t rely on the government for nutrition advice but apparently some people do. The FDA certainly spends a lot of time and resources telling us what we should and should not eat. Mostly I ignore these guidelines because, by now, I know to choose broccoli over doughnuts. But if the FDA is going to be the arbiter of “healthy,” you would hope they would take the big-picture view.
Read moreSo Long to Another American Cheese
America wouldn’t have a dairy industry without immigrants. Italians, Dutch, Germans, French, Mexicans, Swiss…they came here with their recipes and expertise, started dairy farms and made the cheeses they knew. Next week, one of these immigrant families—cheesemakers for five generations—is calling it quits, and I’m not the only one grieving.
Read moreNew Year, New Artisan Cheese
Getting the year off to a promising start, this new cheese makes me hopeful that America’s small dairy farms can find a way forward. We are losing these enterprises at an alarming rate—down 95 percent since the 1970s. Is that trend line irreversible, or are there viable models for young people who want to milk cows and make cheese?
Read moreCottage Cheese is Having a Moment
Because my mom was on a diet her entire life, I grew up with cottage cheese. I didn’t dislike it, but I definitely associated it with deprivation. That was then. Today, cottage cheese is a TikTok phenom, with hundreds of millions of views and counting.
Read moreCheese Straws Go Greek
What will you be nibbling with your New Year’s bubbly? I’ve got a stash of these flaky cheese straws just waiting for a cork to pop. Aglaia Kremezi, the Greek food writer who inspired them, says they’ll last a week, but nothing beats warm from the oven.
Read moreThe Cheeses You Loved
By now the critics have spoken. We know the year’s best movies, books, albums and restaurants. But who will speak for the cheese? I shared my own favorite tastes from the past 12 months in last week’s post. This week, some of the nation’s top mongers weigh in. These front-line folks are going to tell us what their customers flipped over. I also asked them what cheeses in their shop deserve more love than they got. Sometimes even a fabulous cheese fails to find an audience.
Read moreThe Year’s Epic Cheeses
I try a lot of new cheeses over the course of a year, and it’s not hard to identify the standouts. They’re the ones I can’t wait to serve to guests in my home and introduce to guests in my classes. I want these cheeses to still be here next year, and the year after, and the year after that. All ten of these lovelies were new to me (but not necessarily new) and help convince me that we live in a Golden Age.
Read moreBrie Dresses Up
Love them, or love them not so much, truffled cheeses occupy more space than ever at the cheese counter. Obviously they are popular, or creameries wouldn’t make them. From truffled goat cheese to truffled Gouda, there are fungi-scented renditions of virtually every cheese style. Fresh truffles blossom in butter and cream, so it makes sense that the most successful truffled cheeses—in my view—are buttery, creamy types. The luscious new arrival pictured above makes my case. If you’re seeking some bling for a holiday cheese board, look no further than this bloomy beauty.
Read moreWill Tariffs Hurt Cheese?
If the new administration makes good on its tariff threats, there could be pain at the cheese counter. Importers will pay the duties, but they’ll likely try to recoup the expense. They may ask European cheesemakers for price breaks, or pass some of the cost to distributors, who then raise prices to retailers. Ideally, everyone along the supply chain absorbs some of the blow. “To be blunt, when stuff like this happens, you learn pretty fast who believes in partnership and who wants to pass it on to the consumer,” says Adam Moskowitz of Larkin, an important importer of specialty cheese.
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