The cheese community is stepping up to support relief programs helping Ukraine. The Guild of Fine Food (GFF), organizers of the World Cheese Awards, is fundraising for the war-ravaged country through the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. “The fact that this year was to be held in Ukraine brings the enormity of the crisis even closer to the global cheese community, many of whom met the ProCheese team in Oviedo, Spain,” the GFF said in an email. Learn more and donate here. Jasper Hill Farms’ Feed Your Friends Collection offers a generous box of Willoughby and Harbison to share with your nearest and dearest—while also feeding refugees in Eastern Europe. Every collection purchased includes a donation to World Central Kitchen (WCK). Through Sunday, 3/20 (that’s today) Goldbelly is donating 100 percent of the proceeds from their Support Ukraine Collection to WCK. The collection includes Elegant Brie’s Sunflower Baked Brie.

• The Cheesemonger Invitational, in which mongers take on multiple challenges to prove their expertise, continues to bring joy while supporting this noble profession. At the most recent CMI in San Francisco, Sam Rollins of Cowbell Fine Cheese rose to the top to take the trophy.
• Ever wonder why cheese curds make that distinctive squeaking sound when you chew them? Tasting Table breaks down the science behind the famous squeak here. If you want to make your own cheese curds at home, we’ve got you covered.
• Despite cheesemaking being an expensive time-consuming practice, it’s rapidly increasing in popularity in Washington. The Seattle Times has an in-depth piece about the growing attraction of cheesemaking in the state.
• Wearing a white bowler and expressing genuine interest in the process, Prince Charles recently toured the Lynher Dairies Cheese Co. in Cornwall UK, makers of Cornish Kern and Cornish Yarg, the latter of which is wrapped in nettle leaves. Prince Charles, patron of the Specialist Cheesemakers Association, is well-known for his support of artisan food production. Watch the video here.
• Next time you’re planning a cheese board, make sure your cheese is at room temperature! Mashed breaks down the science about why you should never eat cheese straight out of the fridge (even though it’s always tempting!). 
• “It’s not a job, it’s a disease,” Alfio Sassella says of cheesemaking in the Italian Alps. Sassella is part of a small group of cheesemakers who distanced themselves from the PDO makers of rare Bitto Storico to make Storico Ribelle (ribelle means rebel in Italian). The process of making the cheese, including the milking, is done by hand just as it was 200 years ago. More here.
• Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, the geniuses behind last year’s fan fave, Kraft macaroni and cheese ice cream, are back with seven new flavors sold exclusively at Walmart, including … wait for it … Pizza — a cream cheese and mozzarella ice cream with tomato jam swirl and basil crust cookies. The cheesy flavors will be available for just 10 weeks.

Alli Beard

Alli Beard hails from the Midwest but currently resides in Washington, D.C. On her breaks from Instagram-scrolling and cheese-tasting, Alli enjoys listening to her ever-growing vinyl collection, avidly following St. Louis sports and reading poetry at her local coffee shop.