Everyone I talk to seems at loose ends right now. What’s the right thing to think, say, feel, do when your country is experiencing an emotional earthquake? Cheese seems trivial, perhaps, but to dairy farmers and cheesemakers it is not. It’s a livelihood. It’s the future for their land, their livestock, their families.

That’s why I have happily devoted many hours in recent weeks to help launch a movement called Victory Cheese. This grassroots volunteer effort aims to help America’s cheese industry survive these dire times. Like the Victory Gardens of the 1940s, Victory Cheese is a call to action. Please take a look at the dozen All-American Victory Cheese Boxes I have curated with online merchant igourmet and consider purchasing one for yourself, colleagues, family or friends. Order a Victory Cheese Box curated by Planet Cheese and igourmet will donate $10 to World Central Kitchen. When your box arrives, enjoy a free 10-minute guided tasting of your collection on the Janet Fletcher YouTube channel.

Victory Cheese Boxes
Curated by Planet Cheese

(*) available now
(**) available soon

Red, White and Blue (*)

Reading from Spring Brook Farm
Little Hosmer from Jasper Hill Farm
Maytag Blue from Maytag Dairy Farm

Experience the different personalities produced by a red rind (Reading), a white rind (Little Hosmer) and an interior laced with blue veins (Maytag Blue) as you taste through this tantalizing trio of cheeses. These All-Stars represent decades of American innovation, beginning with the Maytag family’s pioneering blue cheese in the 1940s to the brand-new creation that is Little Hosmer. Three cheers for the U.S.A.!

West Coast Gems (*pictured above)

Laychee from Pennyroyal Farm
Tomino from Nicasio Valley Cheese
Clothbound Cheddar from Face Rock Creamery

The cool, foggy Pacific Coast from Northern California to Southern Oregon is a paradise for cheesemakers. Pasture is lush and abundant, so dairy animals thrive. The trio of cheeses in this collection cover a range of styles and milk types, from the dreamy, days-old Laychee to a year-old clothbound Cheddar, with the totally original Tomino in between. Serve them together on a cheese board for a tasty overview of what West Coast cheesemaking is all about.

Mixed-Milk Inspirations (*)

Kunik from Nettle Meadow Farm
Invierno from Vermont Shepherd
Ewe Calf to be Kidding from Hook’s Cheese Company

Cows, goats and sheep all produce delicious milk, but very different milk. What happens when you blend them for cheesemaking? There’s a long tradition of mixed-milk cheeses in Europe because cheesemakers simply used what they had. Now American cheesemakers are producing mixed-milk cheeses, too, that blend and balance the butteriness of cow’s milk, the lemony notes of sheep’s milk and the tang of goat’s milk. The trio of cheeses in this collection shows what can happen when a skilled cheesemaker blends two, or even three, types of milk. Total deliciousness!

Cheese Box for Beer Fans (*)

Barely Buzzed from Beehive Cheese
Willoughby from Jasper Hill Farm
Cabra La Mancha from FireFly Farm

Pick up some favorite craft brews and dive into this collection of beer-friendly cheeses from around the country. Any beer fan will be inspired by the possibilities here: an oatmeal stout with the coffee-scented Barely Buzzed? A sharp sour ale with the supple Willoughby? A spicy Belgian brew with the bold and highly savory Cabra La Mancha? So many options, so little time.

Southern Standouts (*)

Brebis from Blackberry Farm Brebis
Providence from Goat Lady Dairy
Griffin from Sweet Grass Dairy

These three cheeses, all from small family farms, represent the best of Southern cheesemaking. All are original creations that don’t resemble anything from Europe; they are proof positive that the South is rising. Get acquainted with the lemony flavor of fresh sheep cheese, the caramel notes in aged goat cheese and the subtle malt and coffee aromas in a beer-washed cow’s milk cheese.

American Originals (*)

Shepherd’s Hope by Shepherd’s Way Farms
Mezzo Secco by Vella Cheese Company
Cave-Aged Chandoka by LaClare Family Creamery

It’s not easy to create a unique cheese that resembles nothing else, but that’s what these three creameries have done with the stellar cheeses in this collection. They are one-of-a-kind recipes and all from family-run creameries. Together on a cheese board, they provide a stirring example of American ingenuity and craftsmanship.

Farmstead and Fabulous (*)

Friesago from Shepherd’s Way Farms
Tumbleweed from 5-Spoke Creamery
Grayson from Meadow Greek Dairy

Farmstead cheeses are made with milk from the farm’s own animals, so the milk is as fresh as can be. That’s important for quality, and it helps explain why these three made-on-the-farm gems are so delicious. You’ll find three states and three families represented in this collection and cheeses made in three different styles. Together, these selections make a balanced and beautiful cheese board.

Cheese Trio for Sparkling Wine (**)

Trillium from Tulip Tree Creamery
Gold Hill from Haystack Mountain Cheese
Estero Gold Reserve from Valley Ford Cheese

Whether you’re drinking Prosecco, Spanish cava, California brut or Champagne, this trio of cheeses makes it an instant party. Buttery triple-cream cheeses like Trillium love the contrast of brisk bubbles. And it may surprise you how well a firm, aged, nutty cheese goes with sparkling wine, but this collection proves it twice over. Both the Gold Hill and Estero Gold Reserve are extra aged and similar but far from the same, reflecting the different flavor profiles of goat’s and cow’s milk.

Cheers for Raw Milk Cheese (*)

Glacier Blue from Cascadia Creamery
Bear Hill from Grafton Village Cheese
Raw Milk Gouda from Marieke Gouda

Celebrate traditional ways with this trio of cheeses made exclusively with unpasteurized milk. In times past, all cheese was from raw milk. Now, it is an ever-smaller niche that deserves support. For some purist cheesemakers, only raw milk will do for their aged cheeses as they believe it harbors much more flavor-producing potential. The cheeses in this collection, in three totally different styles, demonstrate the heights of flavor that emerge from raw milk, skilled cheesemaking and time.

ACS Blue-Ribbon Winners (*)

Dream Weaver from Central Coast Creamery
Tarentaise from Spring Brook Farm
Bay Blue from Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese

Winning a first-place ribbon at the American Cheese Society’s annual competition is like making it to the mountaintop. Competition is stiff, so when professional judges say you’re the best in your category, that means a lot. All three cheeses in this collection are ACS blue-ribbon winners—multiple times, in fact. Serve them together for a true Champion Cheese Board!

Best of the Midwest (*)

Julianna from Capriole Goat Cheese
Flory’s Truckle from Milton Creamery
St. Pete’s Select from Caves of Faribault

Artisan cheesemaking in America’s Heartland is thriving, thanks to pioneers like Judy Schad of Capriole Goat Cheese and the decades of aging expertise at Milton Creamery and Caves of Faribault. Put this trio of cheeses together on a platter and you will be struck by how handsome they are and how diverse in texture and flavor. For Midwest dairy farmers, seeing their milk transformed into these superb creations must be tremendously gratifying. For cheese lovers who don’t know these wheels, a great taste experience awaits.

Coast to Coast (**)

Maia from Briar Rose Creamery
Everton from Jacobs & Brichford
Melinda Mae from Mystic Cheese

Take a tasty road trip across the nation with this delectable trio. You’ll start on California’s scenic Central Coast at Shooting Star Creamery, travel to a family-owned dairy farm in the nation’s Heartland for Jacobs & Brichford’s Everton and end your journey in the historic seaport of Mystic, Connecticut, to meet a phenomenal new cheese. The three selections in this collection provide an inspiring snapshot of what America’s most talented cheesemakers can do.