Nothing at the low-lying, timbered farm whose courtyard I’ve just driven into announces the place as one of the finest dairies in Normandy.

There isn’t a proper sign or a cow to be seen or even a noise to be heard, aside from the sudden peal of bells from the needle-spired church across the street. But when owner and veteran dairyman Jérôme Spruytte suddenly appears, ambling across the courtyard to greet me, I know I’m in the right place. Hand held out and ruddy face offering a shy smile, Spruytte is apologetic. “We’ve got a market tomorrow and a cheesemonger coming today to pick up his order,” he says. “I had to finish getting the cheeses ready and my wife will pack them up in boxes.”

Milk is a liquid; cheese is not. Cheesemaking is about solving this problem. To set milk, many of the world’s great cheeses are made using animal rennet—a complex cocktail of enzymes extracted from the first stomach of a calf, lamb, or kid that acts as a coagulant. Some cheesemakers have turned to laboratory-produced vegetarian coagulants in an attempt to save money or appease vegetarian consumers. The best of these mimic the activity of the single-most plentiful component of rennet, the enzyme chymosin.

At Il Forteto in Tuscany, cheesemaking begins with a culture of solidarity

This story isn’t all about cheese. That may sound odd considering it takes you inside Cooperativa Agricola Il Forteto, a lauded producer of traditional Italian cheeses. Recognized the world over for its products, Il Forteto pecorinos have won first place of all DOP (designation of production) cheese at the Tuttofood International exhibition in Milan and a gold medal at the 2009 World Cheese Awards in Gran Canaria.
Cheese this good practically speaks for itself.

With a few essentials, it’s easier than you think.

At our store in Sonoma County, California, we’ve been selling cheesemaking supplies since 2006, the year we expanded our 25-year-old business that provides wine- and beer-making equipment to consumers. Offering the tools to make cheese seemed a natural extension of our work—and it’s become really fun! All of us behind the counter have learned, hands on, about making cheese, as well as about our dairy-loving community. We’ve discovered that some of our neighbors own a goat or two and that many are avid cheesemakers. A few goat-keepers have even gone beyond the traditional range of fresh goat’s milk styles into more advanced cheesemaking. But all of them started off simply, with a classic chèvre (goat cheese) recipe—such as the one we share here.

With a few essentials, it’s easier than you think.

At our store in Sonoma County, California, we’ve been selling cheesemaking supplies since 2006, the year we expanded our 25-year-old business that provides wine- and beer-making equipment to consumers. Offering the tools to make cheese seemed a natural extension of our work—and it’s become really fun! All of us behind the counter have learned, hands on, about making cheese, as well as about our dairy-loving community. We’ve discovered that some of our neighbors own a goat or two and that many are avid cheesemakers. A few goat-keepers have even gone beyond the traditional range of fresh goat’s milk styles into more advanced cheesemaking. But all of them started off simply, with a classic chèvre (goat cheese) recipe—such as the one we share here.

Tradition is much enjoyed, but breaking it can be awfully nice too.

Take this birthday cheese “cake,” for example, created especially for those among us—and there are many—who’d rather spoil themselves with a few sumptuous wedges of cheese than a fat slice of sweet cake. For such birthday honorees, we’ve rounded up, quite literally, a collection of some of our favorite cheeses ranging in age and increasing maturity. Beginning with a young, bright sheep’s milk specialty, this flight of six cheeses finishes with a deliciously meaty, complex aged Gouda. Tasting each savory slice, the flavors are many and the message is clear: every age has its benefits!

1
Vintage Gouda
Pasteurized cow’s milk,
traditional rennet
Aged 36 months

Eating cheese makes us happy, but does it also make
us healthy? Nutrition expert and author Dr. Marion Nestle weighs in on our favorite food.

culture: There’s a lot of talk these days about “good” fat versus “bad” fat. Where does cheese fit into that discussion?

I remember that brisk winter day in 1999 as if it were yesterday. The crystal blue sky dazzled as I made my way north across the Golden Gate Bridge and west through the forest of towering redwoods. I was headed to the tiny coastal town of Point Reyes Station and to the renovated barn that was home to a fledgling cheese operation called Cowgirl Creamery. Co-owner Sue Conley had graciously agreed to let me observe their cheesemaking as part of my research for a book I was writing on American cheese. It was a subject for which I had passion, but no real expertise.

At the time, the only type of American cheese most people knew about was the orange, presliced kind that was scorned more than savored, especially by food sophisticates. When I told people I was writing a book on American cheese, many would ask, incredulously, “What’s to write about?” Without hesitation I’d respond: “A lot.”

The venerable Rogue Creamery in Central Point, Oregon, has become synonymous with award-winning blues, and its latest addition to the American artisanal cheese market is no exception. Caveman Blue, is a moist, dense, and wellrounded cheese, streaked with green-blue veins in a pale golden paste. Its sweet, caramel, and hazelnut flavors are balanced by a blend of spice and pepper overtones, resulting in a rugged yet easy-to-love, big, bold blue. Owners David Gremmels and Cary Bryant proudly carry on the tradition of Tom and Ig Vella’s cheesemaking expertise, gently handling the curd to allow for a greater retention of moisture and a much longer aging time. Aptly named, the cheese is aged in caves with limestone walls. It pairs well with big red wines and a strong stout beer.
http://roguecreamery.com

Fresh from the land of salt and honey— Utah, that is—Beehive Cheese’s new SeaHive, a golden, buttery, and crumbly cow’s milk cheese, is hand-rubbed with local wildflower honey and salt harvested from an ancient seabed near Redmond, Utah. The result is a complex combination of sweet cream with a salty finish. Situated in a canyon in the middle of the Wasatch Mountains, Beehive Cheese Creamery uses whole milk from a local Jersey dairy farm to craft a line of American originals. Owners Tim Welsh and Pat Ford specialize in incorporating unusual ingredients into their cheeses to create unique flavors.
http://beehivecheese.com