Photo by Jackie Botto form her coverage of the Vermont Cheese Summit.

Can cheese combat climate change? At this year’s Vermont Cheese Summit sustainability was the topic on everyone’s mind. Vermont cheesemakers shared how they are working to minimize carbon output, from developing new packaging solutions to composting stray curds and paper towels, they are all looking for creative solutions to our planet’s biggest problem. Read more from Food52 here. 

• Alleva, a cheese shop in NYC’s Little Italy said to be America’s oldest, is in danger of closure after filing for bankruptcy.
• Old Europe Cheese of Benton Harbor, MI, has issued a voluntary recall of its brie and camembert cheeses, including the Joan of Arc and Charmant brands, because of potential listeria contamination, “which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems,” according to the FDA. Read more here.
• In the latest edition of her blog, Planet Cheese, Janet Fletcher takes a hard look at the high price of cheese with input from Mateo Kehler of Jasper Hill Farm.
• A recent study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that organic dairy farms produced 24 percent less greenhouse gas than conventional dairy farms. Food Tank puts the results in layman’s terms.
• Archeologists in Egypt discovered 2,600-year-old halloumi in pottery vessels unearthed in Giza.
• Jumping on the butter board bandwagon is gonna cost you: The price of butter is up 24.6 percent over the 12 months ending in August. Also, cheese and butter consumption is at an all-time high!
• While real cheese is the ultimate companion to wine, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a low-brow snack with your glass of merlot every once and a while. Wine Enthusiast shares its favorite wine and cheesy snack pairings. Goldfish and Prosecco, Cheez-Its and País, and Nacho Cheese Doritos and Lambrusco are a few of the inventive pairings. Read more here.
• Culture’s Digital and Social Media editor Josie Krogh recently traveled to Italy to learn about six PDO cheeses from the Emilia-Romagna and Veneto regions as a part of a program to promote cheeses made using milk from the territory of origin. Over three days her group toured four different cheesemaking operations and learned about the production methods and subtle nuances that differentiate these hard Italian cheeses from one another.
• Vermont’s Shelburne Farms has an opening for an assistant cheesemaker. 

Events and Deadlines

• On Oct. 13 and Oct. 14 Greg Boehm and Julia Gross are hosting mezcal and cheese tastings at the Cabinet in New York City. The first night will focus on stinky cheeses, while the second tasting will focus on cheeses and mezcals made by women. Tickets are on sale now.
• Our next Virtual Counter Culture is a two-part series celebrating the traditional flavors of Spain. Join us on Monday, Oct. 17 & Monday, Oct. 24 at 4 p.m. EST, to learn how iconic Spanish ingredients such as saffron, pimentón, tinned mussels, raw multifloral honey, and olive oil can elevate a cheeseboard and why they should be on your store shelves. Register here. 
• Registration is open for the 44th annual American Dairy Science Association (ASDA) Discover Conference, in March 2023, which represents the first regional conference collaboration between the ASDA and the American Cheese Society.
• The Comté Cheese Association has announced its 10th annual Comté Scholarship for American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professionals (ACS CCPs)!  This special scholarship opportunity gives CCPs the chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to the Comté region of France. The deadline for entries is Friday, Dec. 9. Learn more and download the entry form here.
• The Specialty Food Association’s 2023 Leadership Awards are now open for nominations.  

Josie Krogh

Josie Krogh is culture's Digital Strategy Lead. She earned her master's degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics from The University of Georgia. Josie developed a love of food while working at farmstands in the D.C. area as a young adult, and discovered her love of cheese while living and working on a dairy farm on Martha's Vineyard. She is passionate about the food supply chain, fresh stone fruit, and dogs. Josie currently lives in Catskill, NY.