Spring is artichoke, asparagus and fava bean season and prime time for radishes, green garlic and beets. We know that. But which cheeses reach peak flavor in spring? What’s tasting great at the cheese counter now?
Read moreHoly Jacob, Batman →
A new Swiss cheese in the U. S. market is always something to celebrate, especially if the importer is Florida’s Quality Cheese. Caroline and Daniel Hostettler, who run the company, got their start 17 years ago with the impeccable cheeses from Swiss affineur Rolf Beeler. They made Beeler into a rock star here (he was already acclaimed in Switzerland) and have since expanded their line to include many other gems from their native Switzerland.
Read moreBack in Business →
In early January, California cheesemaker Seana Doughty announced a voluntary recall of all of her Bleating Heart cheeses—among them, the award-winning Fat Bottom Girl and Ewelicious—because FDA testing found evidence of a pathogen, Listeria monocytogenes, in some samples. Recently, she discussed the recall experience with Planet Cheese.
Read moreBritish Bargain
Eight years have passed since I wrote about Sharpham Rustic in the San Francisco Chronicle, and I have hardly seen this lovely cheese since. Why it isn’t more popular eludes me. The price has not budged on this English farmstead beauty. I paid $22.99 a pound then, which probably seemed like a lot, and $22.99 a pound recently, which now seems like a bargain.
Read moreEasy as Pie →
Years ago, the best cheese shops used to sell a baked ricotta imported from Italy. It had a pale, firm, sliceable interior and a dark, crusty skin. I haven’t seen baked ricotta in years, and even back then, it appeared so sporadically and unpredictably that I eventually decided to recreate it myself. Apart from draining the ricotta, which takes a few hours, it’s a five-minute recipe.
Read moreWhere the Bufala Roam →
For years, the only buffalo-milk cheese available in the U.S. was Italian mozzarella di bufala. It came from the Campania region around Naples, where the water buffalo were. But that’s rapidly changing.
Read moreAll Washed Up →
About 20 years ago, a small group of French shepherds who supplied sheep’s milk for Roquefort decided to break away and establish their own creamery. A risky venture, certainly, but they were unhappy with the Roquefort system and thought they could bring more value to their milk if they made their own cheese.
Read moreTriangle Love →
Created with chefs in mind, Bermuda Triangle appears on a lot of restaurant menus but not so often at retail. So when a local cheese merchant told me he had some, I leaped on it. I hadn’t tasted Bermuda Triangle in years.
Read moreTable for Two →
Somewhere it is cold outside. Not here in Napa Valley, but somewhere. This balmy winter has all the plants confused; someone just told me they saw a pomegranate blooming, which is about four months early.
Read moreLittle Stinker →
I hope you like strong cheese. This sweet-looking little guy had to move into the isolation ward at my house when it threatened to stink up everything in sight. I enjoy that decaying-mushroom smell at dinner time, but not when I open the fridge to hunt for breakfast. My husband couldn’t take it, either, so he put the cheese, still in its cardboard box, inside another lidded container and banished it to the outdoor fridge.
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