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 moreNew Year, New Ewe Cheese
Fresh sheep cheese wasn’t even a thing a decade ago. Now we have options, including this newcomer from Spain. Like a buttery cream cheese, it’s all ready to schmear on your morning bagel. Or marinate with extra virgin olive oil and garlic confit for wine o’clock. To savor this cheese at its most seductive, warm it until it quivers.
Read moreWhat Cream Cheese Emergency?
So New York delis have a cream cheese shortage. What more trauma does this pandemic have in store for us? The good news is, we have alternatives. Several other fresh cheeses can fill in for the schmear on your bagel. In fact, they’re tastier than Philly cream cheese. A lot tastier. They don’t have the gums that make Philadelphia cream cheese so…gummy. So go ahead and buy your bagels. Here are five great choices to go under the smoked salmon until we get this cream cheese situation resolved.
Read moreNext-Gen Urban Creamery
What good is cream cheese without bagels? The folks at Tomales Farmstead Creamery had the cream cheese down but couldn’t find a worthy bagel to spread it on. At least that’s the nickel explanation for their leap into the bagel business, with an ambitious new bakery-café in San Francisco. The sprawling former factory they rented was big enough for a little cheesemaking, too. So now San Franciscans have their own urban creamery whipping up cultured butter, cream cheese, quark, ricotta and ghee. Plus warm bagels. And craft beer. Hungry yet?
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