Halloween is here! Whether you plan to spend the holiday trick-or-treating with the kids (and raiding their candy), building a spooky cheese plate for your Halloween party, or snacking on festive treats while watching a horror movie, we hope you indulge in all the spooky wonders of the season.
In other cheese news:
- This year’s World Cheese Awards—taking place November 3rd in Oviedo, Spain—is shaping up to be a historic event, with 4,079 cheese entries from record-breaking 45 countries—that’s a 7.2 percent increase in cheeses from 2019! Learn more here.
- Rush Creek Reserve season is upon us. This award-winning, ultra-seasonal cheese only comes once a year, and according to Uplands Cheese’s Instagram post, the 2021 batch is filling up shelves at stores now. Order yours (before they’re gone!) here.
- Parmalat is debuting Nata, a Latin American clotted cream-like spread that’s great spread on toast, topped on fruit, or mixed into desserts.
- Stats show that this year’s football season is boosting cheese sales. Not a huge surprise to us at culture; We’ll take any excuse to make nachos, pizza, and cheesy dips—especially if there’s a game on in the background.
- To expand its reach into the US market, Italian dairy products giant Granarolo has acquired Connecticut-based Calabro Cheese Corp., a producer of award-winning ricotta, mozzarella, and burrata.
- This cheese is old enough to be served at your next cocktail party: A 21-year-old wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano—one of the oldest cheeses in the world—is up for auction, with all proceeds going to charity. Put in your bid here.
- Entries are officially open for the 2022 American Cheese Society Judging & Competition, set to take place in Minnesota next May. Learn more about the competition and how to enter your cheese here.
- ’Tis the season for cheese (and chocolate and wine) advent calendars! Browse where to find the best calendars for the foodies in your life here.
- Widmer’s Cheese Cellars will soon be celebrating 100(!) years of making cheese in the same way at the same location, after four generations of cheesemakers. Cheers to tradition!
- The UK-based International Cheese & Dairy Awards announced the 2021 winners last week. Among the American winners were Rogue Creamery, Carr Valley Cheese Co., Jasper Hill Farm, and more. See the results here.
- INTERVAL, exporter of French dairy products, just announced a change in ownership: Diane Sauvage, Parisian native and volunteer for Slow Food Wisconsin, and Nicolas Lecuq, Normandie native and former Director of Imports at Saputo USA, are excited to take over the company as co-owners.
- Gordon Ramsey has finally gotten a taste of his own medicine on TikTok, where a creator called him out for his “ultimate grilled cheese,” which was lacking any crucial meltiness. Don’t worry, Gordon; we can show you the ropes. (See his response video here.)
Monica Petrucci
Monica is Culture's former Social Media Editor. Coming from a formaggio-obsessed Italian family, she was very excited to combine her passions for cheese and writing at Culture. She loves experimenting in the kitchen and pairing wine and cheese in her spare time.
