Why Aren’t There Points for Cheese Like There Are for Wine?
I have never felt more confident shopping for wine than when staring at a shelf tag advertising “94 points.” I don’t know who gave it the 94. I don’t know what happened to the missing six. I just know that 94 feels safe, and it looks close to 100.
SAVEUR’s Kat Craddock on Cheesemongering and Staying Curious
There’s a certain kind of confidence that comes from knowing a system inside and out, then choosing to remake it on your own terms. After slinging cheese behind a counter in Massachusetts, working her way through professional kitchens in New York, and climbing the editorial ranks at SAVEUR, Kat Craddock now owns the magazine she grew up reading—reshaping it as an independent, print-forward, multi-platform brand in a media landscape that’s constantly shifting. In some ways, SAVEUR exists to push back against the fast-paced world of TikTok and doomscrolling, and Craddock’s mission is to maintain the brand’s legacy of immersive storytelling via food and travel while tightrope walking through the digital noise.
Mexico’s Most Popular Cheese You’ve Likely Never Heard Of
Meet queso Menonita: A superb melting cheese made by Mennonites in Mexico.
Cheesemaking in the Driftless
In Wisconsin’s Driftless area, a landscape untouched by glaciers has shaped not only the flavor of its cheeses, but the lives, traditions, and global influence of the people who make them. The Driftless Area of Wisconsin is a robust landscape of rolling hills, spring- fed streams, and limestone bluffs that has become a quiet epicenter […]
The Goat Ladies Who Built American Chèvre
4-H teen Jennifer Bice receives a champion award for her Nubian kid. We are living in that tech-fueled world and we know the names of those industry makers by heart. But running quietly alongside the tech boom, another revolution has been unfolding; one that receives far less attention but has transformed the way Americans eat—the […]
I Survived the Charcuterie Board Craze
The year was 2020. I was happily living in New York City, working a steady job in corporate real estate. But suddenly, my days were consumed with back-to-back Zoom calls about social distancing, desk spacing, and return-to-office strategy (oof). Like many others, my then-fiancé and I joined the great city exodus. By summer, we’d washed […]
Oakfield Artisanal Is Bringing Authentic Mexican Cheese to New York
Backed by 12 generations of dairy farming, the Lamb and Veazey families of Oakfield Artisanal blend deep roots with a forward-thinking vision to craft culturally inspired, premium cheeses. Photos provided by Oakfield Artisanal If you’re lucky, the cheese aisle at your local supermarket offers some variety—American, cheddar, Swiss at least. A bag of store-brand shredded […]
Cheesemonger Gordon Edgar on American Cheese, Co-ops, and the Future of Cheesemaking
Gordon Edgar is many things: the cheese buyer for San Francisco’s Rainbow Grocery Cooperative, one of the most prominent worker-owned grocery stores in the US; the author of several books, including one on cheddar cheese, aptly named Cheddar; and a longtime Californian with a love of punk rock and Teleme, a legendary Bay Area soft-ripened […]
Inside Kingston Creamery: Amish Blue Cheese at Its Finest
Some of the most complex cheese flavors in the country start with quiet, intentional farming—and few places do it better than Kingston Co-op Creamery. Nestled in Kingston, Wisconsin, this Amish-owned creamery has been crafting award-winning blue cheeses since 1984, combining centuries-old tradition with hands-on care and sustainable practices. Kingston’s Amish community arrived in these rolling […]
A Conversation With Author, Nomad, and Fermentation Educator Trevor Warmedahl
Trevor Warmedahl, a cheesemaker and culture contributor known as the “Milk Trekker,” trots the globe visiting pastoral communities. His purpose? Investigating how milk is treated and transformed by indigenous microbes and the human touch.
It’s not a glamorous lifestyle, per se. In order to be the Milk Trekker, Warmedahl has to be comfortable navigating countries solo and communicating his intent to observe and understand niche dairy practices in spite of language barriers. He also travels light—and on a budget.
Cheese Trekking is as much a travelogue as it is a reflection on the links between terroir, cheesemaking, slow-food pathways, and heritage. We were lucky enough to catch up with Warmedahl, who was staying at a yurt in between his travels. Read on to learn about the experiences that shaped his writing, plus his views on the role of old-world food systems in a modern climate with high demand for all things quick and processed.
