Just when you think there are no bargains left at the specialty cheese counter, I’ve rounded up eight selections that consistently over-deliver for the price. In my view, these beauties outclass comparable cheeses that cost a lot more. “Value” doesn’t just mean you paid a low price; you can always find inexpensive cheese at the supermarket. Value means you got more than you paid for.
Read moreThe Unforgettables
It has been a pretty good year on the cheese beat, all things considered. Some shops are offering samples again. Importers are expanding shipments from Europe. And our domestic cheesemakers seem to have largely rebounded from their pandemic straits. Looking back on the year’s highlights for me, I compiled a short list of standouts—
Read moreThe Magic Touch of Hervé Mons
After years of disappointing encounters, I stopped buying Camembert and Tomme de Savoie. The French Camembert sold in the U.S. always tasted lifeless to me. The Tomme was often stale or cardboardy. My wonderful taste memories from France did not jibe with the sorry specimens I was finding at American cheese counters. But then came Mons. Thanks to French affineur Hervé Mons and his team, we’re getting superb versions of these two classic cheeses, and others as well. In anticipation of Bastille Day, I assembled an all-Mons cheese board. So much deliciousness on one tray! Then I reached out to Fromagerie Mons to see if they could explain his magic touch.
Read moreFromages Without End
Who knows whether Charles de Gaulle really said, “How can you govern a country that makes 246 cheeses?” If he did, he was underestimating. I think I’ve had 246 French cheeses myself, and I’m still discovering new ones. Take a look at the seven beauties I served last week in my “France Off the Beaten Path” tasting and see how many you know. Two were new to me. And I have to say, the class favorite surprised me.
Read moreYou’ll Appreciate This
I was shaving one of my favorite cheeses the other day and thinking how underappreciated it was. Ricotta salata is my go-to for grating over pasta alla Norma—or any pasta with eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini or sweet peppers. Sometimes I mix it fifty-fifty with pecorino romano; sometimes I don’t. Often I shave it with a cheese plane into salads. Yet cheesemongers tell me it doesn’t sell so they’re reluctant to stock it.
I wondered if others who work in the cheese world had an Underappreciated List—cheeses they adore that don’t get enough love from the general public. So I asked. I’m hoping their answers will steer you to some great discoveries.
Read moreSo Long, Roquefort? →
Have you heard about all those people getting sick from eating Roquefort, raw-milk Morbier and raw-milk Tomme de Savoie? I haven’t either because it hasn’t happened. And the FDA is going to make sure that it doesn’t.
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