People often ask me whether they can freeze cheese. “Sure,” I reply. “But it won’t be the same when it thaws.” Putting cheese in the freezer is almost never a good idea—it alters the texture—although I can think of a couple of exceptions. If you like to stockpile Parmigiano Reggiano rinds for making broth or enhancing a pot of beans, by all means keep your collection in the freezer (although the rinds will also be fine in the fridge). But with the onset of autumn, I’m reminded of a little trick with frozen cheese that I learned from celebrity chef Michael Chiarello.
Read moreThe Salad You’re Missing
If you have room for one more dish on your Thanksgiving table, I nominate this one. A crunchy, colorful salad is often what’s missing on the menu, a contrast to all the rich, creamy, brown food that Thanksgiving is usually about. As we know, but sometimes forget, the holiday is a harvest celebration (although where I grew up, in Dallas, it was more about football). A salad with persimmons, radicchio, grapes and walnuts is autumn in a bowl, and of course a few nuggets of blue cheese will only improve it.
Read moreTop-Value Cheeses for Tight Times
Left to right: Piave Vecchio, Taleggio, La Dama Sagrada, Point Reyes Toma, Bleu d’Auvergne
Seems like everything’s going up but the stock market. My neighborhood bakery just hiked the price of my favorite loaf by 33 percent. Ouch. That’s serious inflation. Cheese is hardly immune, and the stresses in the grain market guarantee more sticker shock to come. We cheese lovers just have to shop smarter. The values are out there. I’ve rounded up a few well-priced favorites for these inflationary times. There aren’t many cheeses that make me think “Is that all?” when I see what I’ve spent, but these dozen do.
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