We’re done with insalata caprese, right? Even in sunny Napa Valley, where I live, the tomato plants are saying, “Enough already.” Time to move on. I’m looking forward to revisiting some cool-weather favorites, like these six from my personal autumn hall of fame.
Read moreThe Murky Matter of Raw-Milk Cheese
Always raw: Cascadia Creamery Sawtooth (left) and Jasper Hill Farm Alpha Tolman
With raw milk experiencing surging demand in the U.S., it seems a good moment to revisit raw-milk cheese. Almost certainly, it’s on the decline. Both here and in Europe, cheesemakers are abandoning raw milk. And almost certainly, many of the “raw milk” cheeses in the marketplace are not raw—at least not in my estimation. That’s because the definition is not as cut-and-dried as you might think.
Read moreThe Girls Got It Done
Photo: AlexandreAlloul.com
First at last! Almost 50 years after American vintners upended the wine world by beating the French, an American cheesemonger has done the same, topping the podium at the recent Mondial du Fromage, a biannual competition informally known as the Cheese Olympics. And the story gets better.
Read moreHappy Ending
With several independent cheese shops closing and with tariffs wreaking havoc, the cheese world hasn’t been a font of feel-good stories lately. But here’s one: Grafton Village Cheese, a 130-year-old Vermont producer in financial meltdown, has found a buyer. David is saving Goliath in this case…
Read moreStar-Studded Evening for Cheese
Seven blue-ribbon winners on one plate. Am I fantasizing or what? Thanks to a little help from my friends, it happened. Guests in last night’s World Cheese Tour class got to taste not only a hand-picked selection of first-place finishers from the recent American Cheese Society competition. Among those seven were the Best of Show, the first runner-up and another cheese that finished in the Top Ten overall. For us cheese lovers, that’s a Grand Slam.
Read moreThe Brie That Never Dies
Many years ago, I ordered cheese in a Paris restaurant (surprised?) and I vividly recall the moment it arrived at the table. “Le véritable Brie de Meaux,” the waiter announced as he set it down with ceremony, pronouncing each syllable slowly so we couldn’t miss his message: This was the real deal—raw-milk Brie with a protected name, the epitome of French soft-ripened cheese.
Read moreMascarpone Works Magic
I know full well that a single Sungold plant generates more tiny tomatoes than my two-person household can eat. Still, you can’t grow less than one, so every year at this time I am inundated. We snack on them like peanuts, but even so we can’t keep up. When we’re really getting backed up, I’ll roast a baking sheet full of them.
Read moreBack from the Brink
Even well-known cheeses with long histories can vanish if people stop making them. Traditional Wensleydale has been on the brink more than once. But now this centuries-old British cheese is experiencing a mini-revival, with a handful of artisan producers hoping to save it from a purely industrial fate. I had never heard of Yoredale Wensleydale (pictured above) until I started hunting for some interesting selections for a recent class.
Read moreNew Tuscan Cheese is a Fan Favorite
“Sometimes a new cheese arrives that’s so striking, so alluring, that customers ask about it the second it appears.” That’s not me talking—that’s Milkfarm, the highly regarded Los Angeles shop, on its Facebook page. But I’m equally taken with this Italian newcomer, which the retailer aptly describes as “a beautiful white cloud of a cheese.” It’s from Tuscany, from a blend of cow’s and sheep’s milk, and it’s one of the most enticing cheeses I’ve tasted all year.
Read moreTough Times for Swiss Cheese
Swiss made: Cannalina
Prepare to hoard some Gruyère, people. Unless talks this week produce a shift in positions, the U.S. will immediately implement a 39 percent tariff on imports from Switzerland. I can live without milk chocolate, but I can’t imagine life without my beloved Swiss cheeses. What will happen to Gourmino, the cooperative of small Swiss producers who send us their cave-aged gems, including the wheels from a four-time World Champion? What will happen to Caroline Hostettler, whose U.S.-based business and life’s mission is sourcing, shipping and celebrating traditional Swiss alpine cheeses? Her Adopt-an-Alp program has raised awareness for these rare products and may not survive a trade war.
Read more