{ Janet Fletcher / Food Writer }
Meg Smith Photography
The world of cheese is rich in colorful stories, questionable lore and, yes, alternative facts. Who knows what’s actually true and what’s just fun to imagine? Did Napoleon really slice off the top of a pyramidal cheese with his sword, inspiring the shape of Valençay? I’m going with it. But a few myths and misunderstandings about cheese really do deserve to die.
Read more
Parm by breed: (left to right) Sola Bruna, Razza Reggiana, Bianca Modenese
One thing (among many) that I love about cheese is that you don’t have to spend a fortune to taste the gold standards. A cult Cabernet Sauvignon can cost more than a round-trip ticket to Europe, but anyone with ten dollars can get a sizeable taste of a cult cheese. And that’s what I would call the three Parmigiano Reggianos pictured above. They are costly, acclaimed, rare and sought after by in-the-know cheese fans. Are they more compelling than the everyday Parm you’ve been using? Well, it won’t cost you much to find out.
Read more
I’ve long thought of Grana Padano as the thrifty person’s grating cheese, lacking the stature or complexity of Parmigiano Reggiano. Then a cheese colleague told me he thought Grana Padano deserves more love than it gets. “I use it in any situation where most people would use Parmigiano Reggiano,” said Brian Keyser, owner of Casellula Cheese & Wine Café in New York City. “It’s great with just about any crisp, dry white wine.”
Read more
Cheesemongers call it “Parm arm,” the itchy rash they sometimes get from breaking down a whole wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano. I’ve never had that experience, but Parmigiano Reggiano and some other aged cheeses can make my tongue burn. Ouch. It’s really unpleasant. And I’m not alone in this reaction. My husband never feels the burn, but others do, and last week I learned more about what causes it.
Read more
If you cook at home on Valentine’s Day, I have the dessert for you. Silky, sexy, surprising. What more do you want? I tasted it at a party at the Cheese School of San Francisco, where chef Jocelyn VanLandingham dreams up all sorts of creative ways to slip cheese into recipes. Crème brulée infused with Parmigiano-Reggiano and topped with black cherry jam…no, I never would have thought that up, but man, is it good.
Read moreWhat's ahead for America’s cheese counters? As 2014 draws to a close, I asked some leading cheese merchants and mavens to share their insights. I hoped someone would say that American sheep’s milk cheeses were trending, but no one did. So that’s my wish for 2015, if not my prediction.
Read moreMandy Aftel loves cheese. A lot of people love cheese, but I was surprised to learn that Mandy did because, as a celebrated perfumer, she spends most of her day sniffing tuberose and sandalwood. Could the same nose be drawn to cheesy aromas like leaf litter and cow barn?
Read moreWhat's the one cheese you can’t live without? I asked 10 top American cheese merchants recently to name their “desert-island cheese” and got 10 different answers. Actually, more than that because some folks just could not commit. I know the feeling. I’ll reveal my choice at the end (don’t skip ahead), but here are the cheeses some leading retailers love most.
Read moreWhat does Italy's incomparable Parmigiano Reggiano have in common with Wisconsin’s Pleasant Ridge Reserve, England’s Colston-Bassett Stilton and French Comté? All of them, indisputably, are among the world’s finest cheeses, and all are matured on wooden shelves. Because of that age-old practice, common to countless other cheeses, these beauties are currently in the cross-hairs of the FDA.
Read more