The Alpines: Comté & Gruyère

The Alpines: Comté & Gruyère

Now that we’re back from our winter break, it’s time to start the year with the heavyweights. It is still snowing as I write this, and there is no better “snow day” cheese than a cooked-curd Alpine. The two neighbors, Swiss Le Gruyère AOP from 

Vacherin Mont d’Or

Vacherin Mont d’Or

The Cheese for the Coldest Months Vacherin Mont d’Or is the ultimate holiday season cheese, and that has less to do with marketing than with timing. It is made in the colder months, when alpine herds have come down from high pastures and milk is 

Raclette: A Winter Classic

Raclette: A Winter Classic

We’re serving raclette at the South End Formaggio Kitchen this winter season where I work as a Cheesemonger. Happily, I’m also teaching a class on raclette (and fondue) at the Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge. We’re keeping it seasonal around here! What is Raclette? Raclette can 

Washed Rind Cheese

Washed Rind Cheese

Believe it or not, I’m calling this a seasonal post! A lot of our winter cheeses have washed rinds. Vacherin Mont d’Or, Epoisses, even Gruyère and Comté. Many of the cheeses we melt in the colder months, like Raclette, are on the stronger, funkier side, 

Stilton

Stilton

It’s our first post in a while that’s actually about cheese. It’s November and I’ve just finished teaching class on Stilton and Port, the perfect duo for these cold nights. They’re a classic pairing, and I thought I’d write about them together. What I realized, 

Pitchfork Cheddar

Pitchfork Cheddar

Our previous post was about the Trethowan Brother’s Gorwydd Caerphilly, so we decided it made sense for our next post to be about Pitchfork Cheddar, a West Country Farmhouse PDO Cheddar, also made by the Trethowans! When the brothers left Wales, where they had already 

Gorwydd Caerphilly

Gorwydd Caerphilly

I’ve always been drawn to Caerphilly. It’s a Southern Welsh cheese, and family lore says my great-grandparents on my mother’s side were Welsh coal miners before they emigrated to Pennsylvania. Beyond that though, I think Gorwydd Caerphilly maybe the prettiest cheese I’ve ever seen. What 

Yoredale Wensleydale

Yoredale Wensleydale

Yoredale from Curlew Dairy in the Yorkshire Dales, is real farmhouse Wensleydale, brought back from extinction. For many people, Wensleydale means the industrial blocks in the supermarket, studded with cranberries at Christmas. Yoredale shows what the cheese was meant to be. It’s one of my 

Kirkham’s Lancashire

Kirkham’s Lancashire

Kirkham’s Lancashire is an English Territorial, one of the Crumblies, and one of my favorites. It’s buttery, tangy, and as one of my colleagues said, “fluffy.” However, when people see Kirkham’s Lancashire on the counter, they figure it’s another cheddar. With this post, we’re hoping 

Cheddaring

Cheddaring

Often I hear, “Oh, I just like boring cheese like cheddar” or if I suggest a cheddar to try, they look disappointed. But it’s a fantastic cheese! Cheddar is the cheese most of us know by name, but very few of us truly know. When