Are you up for a quiet island vacation in a natural setting with few other tourists around? After hearing Manual Maia describe Terceira, one of the nine islands in the remote Azores, I put it on my bucket list. “There are more cows than people,” says Maia, whose company, TradiFoods, imports Portuguese specialties.
Read moreMais Non, It's Not Morbier →
If you’re a fan of Morbier, you need to taste Spring Brook Farm’s Ashbrook. This new Vermont cheese, a Morbier lookalike, leaves many examples of the well-known French cheese in the dust.
Read moreAmerican Beauty
This country may not need another fresh goat cheese, but another semisoft raw-milk washed-rind cheese? You betcha.
Ameribella, a new farmstead cheese from southern Indiana, is helping flesh out this thin category. Matthew Brichford, the cheesemaker, cites Taleggio as his inspiration, although he is not trying to replicate that Italian classic.
The New Pub Grub
Across the country, creative cheese professionals are helping upgrade the image of pub food. Who would have thought you could sell beer without burgers? But in some new beer-centric establishments, artisan cheese platters are getting top billing.
Read moreSuper Subtle →
I can’t explain why I’m so smitten with this little goat cheese from northern Italy, but I am. I couldn’t leave it alone. Nocetto di Capra, a bloomy-rind cheese from the Lombardia region, doesn’t have the mouth-filling flavor that usually flips my switch. It’s a subtle little guy, but so unlike any goat cheese we make in this country or any other goat cheese I know for that matter.
Read moreThe One and Only Monterey Monterey Jack
For years, I’ve thought of Monterey Jack as the White Zinfandel of cheese. It’s easy to like, reasonably priced, available everywhere and—I would hope—a bridge for cheese consumers to more interesting choices eventually.
Read moreSix Cabernet All-Stars
I’m vaguely aware that my husband, Doug, maintains a list of cheeses that go well with Cabernet Sauvignon. You might imagine that I would be the one with that list, but no, he’s the go-to source. He’s the winemaker, after all.
Read moreYogurt Today, Cheese Tomorrow
Here’s the easiest cheese recipe I know: Dump a quart of plain yogurt into a cheesecloth-lined colander or a sieve set over a bowl. Put a plate on top and refrigerate. After a couple of hours, stir in salt to taste. Continue draining until the yogurt is as thick as cream cheese, about 24 hours.
Read moreEmbrace the Raw
If you enjoy Parmigiano Reggiano, Bellwether Farms San Andreas and Pleasant Ridge Reserve, now’s the time to show them the love. All three are raw-milk cheeses—a shrinking category both here and abroad—and on Saturday, April 18, the spotlight is on them.
Read moreBoost Your Buying Power
Life in Silicon Valley is not all about silicon chips. Sunnyvale entrepreneur Dacia Hsueh makes time for cheese, too. By day, Hsueh consults to data centers on energy issues. But in her off-hours she’s delivering stinky wedges to members of the Silicon Valley Cheese Club, a buying group she launched last year.
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