It’s fresh pear season around here, although my favorite variety—the Comice—arrives a bit later. No fruit is a better friend to cheese, in my view. The juicy, honeyed flavor and melting texture of a ripe pear is so compatible with pecorino, blue cheese, and fresh cheeses like ricotta. Italians even have a proverb about the pairing: Al contadino non far sapere quant’è buono il cacio con le pere. Don’t tell the farmer how good cheese is with his pears. Like most proverbs, there’s more to this saying than meets the eye.
Read moreAnother One Bites the Dust
The news that Vella Cheese Company was closing, its business no longer viable, hit hard. We Californians consider this 94-year-old creamery as a bedrock part of our food culture, a producer that has always been there and always would be, representing our state’s cheesemaking prowess with its acclaimed Dry Jack. That cocoa-dusted wheel’s unique appearance and nutty flavor—not to mention its modest price—earned it critical accolades, numerous blue ribbons and a space at almost every serious cheese counter.
Read moreSummer on Toast
My Sungold tomato plant is out of control. One of these years, I will tally the number of pounds I harvest from one vine but I’m certain the figure would be three digits. If asked to rate Sungold on a 100-point scale, I would probably give it a 99, deducting a point for its refusal to know the meaning of “Enough already!” Speaking of 100-point scales, I read a provocative essay recently suggesting that cheese should be rated that way, as wine often is.
Read moreMozzarella for All
I’m one of those fortunate people who can eat everything (and pretty much do). But not surprisingly, I hear from a lot of folks who tell me cheese doesn’t agree with them, especially cow cheese. Many say that goat cheese presents no problems, so at least they don’t have to swear off dairy entirely. But eggplant parmigiana, pizza Margherita, baked rigatoni—for those classics, you need oozy mozzarella. And until recently, goat mozzarella was barely a thing. I know of one creamery in Wisconsin that makes it, and a California producer recently entered the niche. So if you’re a cow cheese avoider and want to make my baked rigatoni with fresh summer tomato sauce, you have options.
Read moreRed Grape Focaccia is Cheese-Board Ready
If this year’s California grape harvest isn’t the earliest on record, it’s close. In Napa Valley, where I live, the sparkling wine houses are full speed ahead, and even the still-wine producers are harvesting. Red table grapes are at their annual peak—juicy, crunchy and impossibly sweet. I picked up a bunch last week for a focaccia recipe I hadn’t made in years. Dusted with coarse sparkling sugar and aniseed (if you like), grape focaccia will be the star of your cheese board.
Read moreGet Your Cheese PhD
I’ve spent the past 25 years learning about cheese through reading, writing, traveling, teaching and tasting. According to the 10,000-Hour Rule, I should be an expert. But you don’t need to invest quite so much time if your mission is simply to know more (a lot more) about cheese a month from now than you do today. For that, I can recommend a terrific new online course that impressed me with its thoroughness and structured approach.
Read moreCanadian Cheese Plate Time
photo: Valerie Tobias Photography for American Cheese Society
I’ve been waiting years for American distributors to figure out how to import Canadian cheeses. The hurdles are many and hard to grasp, especially given that Vermont (dairy state) and Quebec (dairy province) share a border. It should be so easy, so unremarkable. Allies trade with each other. And very recently it was starting to happen.
Read moreBest Bites from Cheese Camp
The American Cheese Society conference has been an annual highlight for me for the past 25 years. I get to learn, connect with colleagues and eat cheese until I cry “uncle.” Held in steamy Louisville earlier this month, the three-day meeting brought together makers, mongers, suppliers, distributors, shop owners and groupies like me. My favorite event is the walk-around Meet the Cheesemaker tasting, when dozens of creameries from around the country showcase their wares. When a cheese stands out for me in that cacophony, I know I’ll enjoy it even more in a calmer setting.
Read moreVermont Slays It
Again?? Yes, unbelievably, again. For the fifth time, a Jasper Hill Farm cheese was deemed Best of Show at the American Cheese Society’s annual judging. What’s more, the winning cheese is a two-time champion, finishing first in 2013 as well. This year, it prevailed over more than 1,600 entries, seducing the judges who elevated it over all the other category winners. “This particular batch was one of the best cheeses I’ve ever eaten in my life,” said the creamery owner after the awards ceremony in Louisville last week.
Read moreChampion Cheesemonger Tells All
Photo|Liam Myerow
She slices, she dices, she cuts and wraps. She pairs to perfection, blind-tastes with aplomb and has read The Oxford Companion to Cheese from A to G (because, really, who could finish it?) That’s why 28-year-old Hanna Lee is the newest winner of the Cheesemonger Invitational, a wild and wacky competition that can rocket the victor to cheese-world fame.
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