Why is it so hard to find ricotta salata these days? This salted and pressed Italian sheep cheese used to be more present, and I almost always had some on hand for shaving into salads—especially spring salads with fava beans, asparagus or beets. It’s a must for pasta alla Norma but I grate it on pasta sauced every which way. It’s moister than pecorino romano so it makes the dish creamier. Now it is scarcer than it should be, given that it’s neither costly nor rare.
Read moreTwo Thumbs Up
I went a little crazy at the cheese counter the other day and came home with more than I usually buy at one time. So, at the end of a simple dinner that night, Doug and I had an over-the-top cheese course. Miraculously, we had the same favorite. A new import from Spain, it had all the features I seek: captivating aroma, pleasing texture, proper salting. That it played well with the red wine on the table earned it some more points.
Read moreFrench Cheese from a Master
The notion that cheeses have seasons is less valid than it used to be, but springtime still says goat cheese to me. On small French farms run the traditional way, goats give birth in early spring. Once the kids are weaned, there’s abundant milk for cheese—for all those delicate fresh chèvres and, a few weeks later, lightly aged creations like the one pictured above. Breeding advances and sophisticated aging rooms have altered this pattern, but I still associate the warming weather with creamy, tangy goat cheese…
Read moreDown Memory Lane
This is the cheese of my childhood. What memories! The one-and-only choice for Mom’s mac and cheese, her whole cauliflower baked with cheese sauce and her oozy grilled cheese sandwiches (on Wonder Bread, no less). It’s so supple, and it melts like a dream. It was the only cheese in our fridge unless company was coming. On those occasions Mom traded up to Cracker Barrel. Artisan cheeses have come and gone, but this icon persists, celebrating a century in production in 2018. Sales were lagging until Covid but now are reportedly strong. You don’t need me to tell you this cheese should be a kitchen staple. Could so many Americans be wrong?
Read moreExceptions to the Rule
Doug and I were watching a favorite Italian cooking show the other night when I practically started hyperventilating. “No!” I shouted at the screen, as the Michelin-starred chef prepared to serve up his pasta. “Don’t do it! Don’t do it! You just RUINED the dish.” I couldn’t believe my eyes. The chef was spooning spaghetti with squid sauce into a hollowed-out round of cheese.
Read moreChill Out, People
Temps are supposed to hit 90°F this week in Napa Valley, where I live, and it’s still technically winter. Forecasters say many states may experience record-smashing heat over the next few days. My advice: yogurt. I don’t have much appetite for cheese in hot weather, but yogurt salads and chilled yogurt soups have a lot of appeal. Yogurt is cool, tart and refreshing, and we know it’s good for us.
Read moreDreamy Crostini
People often ask me about the cheeses I buy at Trader Joe’s, the emporium famous for its bargains. Alas, the list is short. I buy my feta there—the store’s private-label Greek feta is excellent—but I’m rarely tempted by anything else in the cheese department. The crackers, however! I have fallen hard for TJ’s seedy Norwegian crispbread. These crunchy, grainy flatbreads are so good with fresh, spreadable cheeses—whipped feta, for one—and they make it easy to produce a platter of colorful crostini in minutes.
Read moreBenchmark Ricotta
I made fresh ricotta last week for the first time in months and was reminded how easy it is. Forty minutes start to finish. I was admiring my handiwork at breakfast the next day when my husband, Doug, said, “Too bad it’s not sheep milk.” Well, yeah. Until we move to Italy (not gonna happen), I’ll have to make our ricotta with cow’s milk, but I’ll enjoy every bite. The result is tender and sweet. But ricotta produced the Italian way, with rich sheep’s milk, is the benchmark for me and—glory be—I just found some in San Francisco.
Read moreSenior-Citizen Cheddar
One of the biggest hits in my World Cheese Tour class last week was Deer Creek’s Imperial Buck, a four-year-old bandaged Cheddar from Wisconsin. It was so creamy, so mellow, so well balanced between savory and sweet. My experience with traditional bandaged Cheddars is that they rarely improve after 18 to 24 months. They start to dry out and lose their allure. How did this cheese manage to stay so moist and inviting for so long?
Read moreTop Cheesemaker Hits Pause
I hate bearing bad news, but Central Coast Creamery has ceased production. This acclaimed California enterprise, launched in 2007, pulled the plug late last year, selling its creamery and everything in it to a paneer manufacturer. If you loved Central Coast cheeses as much as I did, this development is beyond discouraging. So long to Dream Weaver, Holey Cow, Faultline, Seascape, Ewereka and Ewenique, not to mention the award-winning aged sheep cheeses from its sister brand, Shooting Star Creamery.
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