If you can’t find Lancaster Cheddar from Pennsylvania in your market, consider some award-winning substitutes, such as Fiscalini Bandaged Cheddar from California or Grafton Cheddar from Vermont.

A slice of advice for would-be cheese retailers from a veteran monger

It is my duty as a cheesemonger to protect my beloved trade from those who would enter it willy-nilly, without sufficient preparation or a clear understanding of its rigors. Be warned: operating a reputable cheese shop is serious business. It is not for dabblers and dilettantes seduced by its glamour and romance.

Chef Harris likes to serve these macerated berries in individual ramekins alongside a bloomy-rind cheese like Sweet Grass Dairy Green Hill from Thomasville, Georgia.

In a large bowl, combine the berries. Pour the vinegar over the berries, and stir in the sugar, to taste, and the salt. Fold in the chopped mint. Cover and allow the mixture to macerate for several hours before serving.

By Jenny Harris, executive chef at Tria in Philadelphia
Photography by Alison Miksch

This simple recipe from the grandmother of Zuleta chef Jose Maria Pumisacho shines due to the quality of its dairy ingredients: cream and milk just hours out of the dairy, freshly churned butter, eggs harvested daily from pastured chickens, and whatever cheese Pumisacho has on hand. In the absence of your own dairy cow, buy the best quality ingredients you can afford, including cage-free eggs from your local farmers' market. The result is a rich, flavorful soup that nourishes both soul and body, thanks to quinoa's remarkable nutritional benefits (including all eight essential amino acids). Pumisacho serves this dish garnished with homemade potato chips.