The American Cheese Society’s 40th conference is underway this week in Des Moines, with nonstop tastings and educational sessions and—always a highlight—the awards ceremony for the competition winners. I’ll report next week on the victors, but I’m betting on five newish creameries, in particular, to bring home some ribbons. Four of the five have been making cheese for less than 10 years and the fifth is only a year older. With their consistently top-notch output, these newcomers give me hope for the future of American artisan cheesemaking.
Read moreBest New American Cheeses? Ask a Monger
Monger favorite: Alemar Cheese Apricity
After a long pandemic pause, American creameries are launching new cheeses again. Hooray! Optimism is trouncing uncertainty and yielding some exciting newcomers for our cheese boards. American Cheese Month—that would be May—is a great time to celebrate this creativity and encourage our cheesemakers to keep at it. I asked some of the nation’s leading retailers to name a new domestic cheese that they’re loving. Consider this your bucket list for the months ahead.
Read moreCheesemaker on a Mission
It’s probably a good thing that the artisan cheese world doesn’t have cult creameries and cheesemakers—at least, nothing like the wine world, where the fandom can be insidious. That said, I’m starting to think Connecticut cheesemaker Brian Civitello deserves a fervent following. He is so capable and so thoughtful about his cheesemaking, and I love what he does.
Read moreBreakout Stars of 2022
Which cheeses broke away from the pack at retail counters this year? I asked a few of the nation’s influential mongers what generated the most buzz in their store, and to guess—if they could—why those cheeses resonated. Some of their choices are newbies, some are classics, and a few I haven’t yet tried. If you want a cheese “bucket list” for 2023, this could be it. How fun, after the long pandemic standstill, to have some new cheeses to try.
Read moreCrazy Good
The cheeses I crave most in summer are light, fresh, moist and milky. They have no rind or just the merest one. Their flavor is bright, lactic, buttermilky. They go with rosé, crisp white wines, wheat beers and kölsch, which pretty much describes my beverage menu right now. Mozzarella makes the list, of course. Burrata. Feta. And now, moving straight to the top, is this new-to-me charmer, Melinda Mae. I’m crazy for it and you will be, too.
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