Spring = fresh cheese. At least that’s the math at my house. Light, fluffy, spreadable cheese to drizzle with honey or top with chives. It’s what I want on a bagel instead of gummy, clingy cream cheese. It’s what I want on bruschetta topped with roasted asparagus. Now that spring is official, consider exploring some of the fresh cheese options where you shop. Spread the cheese on crostini, top with a drizzle of peppery olive oil and a sprinkle of dukkah—the perfect accompaniment for all the new rosés that are headed our way. Being in a spring frame of mind, I’ve gathered a half-dozen of my favorite schmear-worthy cheeses to inspire you.
Read moreHoping for More
For me, the life-changing cheese from the four Cheese O’Clock tastings I did in May with Laura Werlin was Shepherd’s Hope. I could not get enough of this moist, tender sheep’s milk wheel. I inhaled it. And then wanted more. Shepherd’s Hope would be a staple in my fridge—alongside the feta and the pecorino romano—if only I could get my hands on it easily. But Shepherd’s Way Farms, the Minnesota producer, is small, with limited distribution. Fortunately, if you would like to try this completely original and addictive cheese, I know where you can find it.
Read moreCheese for the Win
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.
Read moreTwenty Years and Counting
Twenty years ago, many Americans had never heard of sheep cheese. (You can milk a sheep?) I’d say we’ve made progress, thanks in part to pioneer cheesemakers like Jodi Ohlsen Read. Despite a tragic setback just as her sheep farm’s notoriety was spreading, Read and her husband, Steven, are about to celebrate 20 years of cheesemaking at Shepherd’s Way Farms in Minnesota. I’ve admired her cheeses from the get-go and ached for the couple when tragedy struck. The path back to a healthy farm and normal life has been arduous and, to those of us watching, inspirational. “I’m not good at quitting,” says Jodi.
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