As usual, the winners’ circle at the recent American Cheese Society awards included several repeat victors who almost always land ribbons. They’re just that good. A few new creameries won blue ribbons, but the top honors—the Best of Show and four runners-up—went to long-established producers. These five winners, from five states, had at least one common feature. “What struck me, standing on stage, was that it was all independent cheesemakers,” said Andy Hatch of Wisconsin’s Uplands Cheese. In an industry that constantly grapples with the meaning of “artisan cheese,” it is indeed worth noting that the five winning wheels are all made by hand.
Read moreKeep Your Eyes on These Five
The American Cheese Society’s 40th conference is underway this week in Des Moines, with nonstop tastings and educational sessions and—always a highlight—the awards ceremony for the competition winners. I’ll report next week on the victors, but I’m betting on five newish creameries, in particular, to bring home some ribbons. Four of the five have been making cheese for less than 10 years and the fifth is only a year older. With their consistently top-notch output, these newcomers give me hope for the future of American artisan cheesemaking.
Read moreU.S. Cheesemongers Vie for World Champion
Photo: Janee' Muha
Will an American be the next World Champion Cheesemonger? It could happen, although it never has. But this year is different. This year, a small army is working mightily to clinch the title for Team U.S.A. The U.S. has two entrants—Courtney Johnson from the Seattle area and Sam Rollins from Portland, Oregon—who will be competing against each other and against 14 mongers from other nations at the biannual contest in France in September.
Read moreBest Fresh Cheeses for Summer’s Dog Days
Whew, it’s been hot. And probably not for the last time this summer. Retailers are stocking up on mozzarella and burrata, of course, but I’m more tempted by other fresh cheeses—the creamy, fluffy, rindless types that I can slather on toast and top with roasted cherry tomatoes. Or sliced peaches. Or a flurry of snipped chives. Add a big salad and a cold brew and call it dinner. Maybe I’m just paying more attention, but it seems like there are more options in this fresh category than ever. I’ve chosen seven of my favorites that should carry you through the next heat wave and beyond.
Read moreA Creamy Finale for the 4th of July
No disrespect to pie—I love it—but you can serve more than one dessert on Independence Day. I nominate this luscious Greek yogurt panna cotta. With blueberry sauce or a strawberry-rhubarb sauce, it’s appropriately dressed for the day. Gluten-avoiding guests will be grateful, and any leftovers will make a dreamy breakfast. It took a few tests to get the panna cotta to that perfect quivery state, but I think I nailed it.
Read moreBetter Than Ever
I recently led a small cheese and wine tasting for the winners of a charity auction lot. The cheeses were donated by the makers and maybe not what I would have chosen—they weren’t fancy-schmancy—but free is a nice price. So I wasn’t expecting any “wow” moments from this cheese plate but…wow.
Read moreRemembering Cindy Callahan, Sheep Cheese Pioneer
A registered nurse who became a tax lawyer and, in her fifties, a California cheesemaker and shepherd, Cindy Callahan died in early June after a brief illness. She was 88. Callahan was an American sheep cheese pioneer who, with her son, Liam, and his wife, Diana, built one of the most successful U.S. creameries devoted largely to sheep’s milk products. Bellwether Farms, in Sonoma County, is now the nation’s leading producer of sheep’s milk yogurt and an acclaimed producer of sheep cheese. In her multi-faceted career, “shepherd” was the job Callahan loved most. She didn’t exactly choose the role but life happens.
Read moreGood Health News for Dairy Fans
As an enthusiastic consumer of cheese, yogurt, butter, buttermilk and all things dairy, I’m dismayed that so many people consider these products unwholesome. I associate dairy foods with Heidi, happy cows, spring grass and strong bones. I eat cheese every day and—not boasting here, just saying—I can still fit into my decades-old wedding dress. (Why I know this is another story.) So it was unsettling to read that a majority of respondents in a survey of New Englanders agreed that “dairy products are bad for my health” or were uncertain. Maybe you are uncertain, too.
Read moreAward-Winning Crème Fraîche for Berry Days
I live in a pretty food-savvy place (Napa Valley) so I was surprised when nobody at my local supermarket knew where the crème fraîche was. The clerks didn’t even know what it was. I finally located some in the store but it wasn’t the product I was hoping for, from nearby Bellwether Farms. It was a French brand I had never tried. And OMG, was it amazing. I needed it for an ice cream recipe but kept sneaking little spoonfuls.
Read moreSuperstar New Cheeses from Europe
“How many cheeses do you have to eat to become a cheese expert?” someone asked me recently. As if there’s a checklist. I’m not counting, but I did add several remarkable new cheeses to my life list last week. I led a tasting of “New Arrivals from Europe,” including the beauty pictured above, and I was blown away by these newcomers.
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