Photo by Andy Manis

Congratulations to all the winners of the 2022 World Cheese Championship, including American cheeses on the World’s Top 20 Cheeses list: Land O’ Lakes Aged Cheddar; Klondike Cheese Co. Odyssey Peppercorn Feta; BelGioioso Cheese Co. CreamyGorg; Roelli Cheese Co. Red Rock; Arla Foods Castello Smoked Cracked Pepper Gouda; Roth Grand Cru Surchoix; Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. TomaTruffle; Hidden Springs Creamery Ocooch Reserve;  and Nettle Meadow Kunik.  And a big congrats to Gourmino Le Gruyère AOP, which has been named the 2022 World Champion Cheese for the second consecutive time and third overall. This Swiss Gruyère is made by Michael Spycher of Mountain Dairy Fritzenhaus in Bern, Switzerland for Gourmino AG. Having earned a score of 98.423 out of 100, Gourmino Le Gruyère AOP bested an impressive 2,978 entries.

• A recent study published in Medical Hypotheses found that eating blue cheese can be beneficial in reducing risk for cardiovascular diseases. Next time you’re making a salad, don’t forget to sprinkle some blue cheese crumbles on top for good measure. More here.
• Miyoko’s Creamery is pulling their vegan, oil and starch-based cheese shreds and slices from store shelves. CEO Mikoyo Shinner said that the vegan products compromised “the values and product guardrails” of the brand. 
• Boursin is debuting two new culinary-inspired products this month. Boursin Bites Garlic & Fine Herbs and Boursin Cooking Cream Garlic & Fine Herbs are meant to elevate dishes cooked and served at home. The two products can soon be found at major retailers nationwide.
• Victory Cheese, a grassroots collective of cheese professionals on a mission to protect and fortify the cheese industry, has announced that its Victory Box is back in stock. The Victory Box contains four cheeses and cultured butter from five small farms in Vermont. Proceeds from the collection benefit the Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund.
• Dolly Parton has shared her trick to making a delicious mac and cheese. She adds butter as well as two to three cheeses to her dish, including Velveeta, and has fried apples on the side, which Dolly says “is an absolutely great combination!” We’ll definitely be trying it the next time we make mac and cheese (which will be sooner, rather than later). 
• Savor that last bite of Frolic—Vermont’s Orb Weaver Creamery has closed for good. Kate Turcotte and Zack Munzer spent more than three years building the farmstead cheese business they took over from the owners of Orb Weaver Farm, but due to their unsuccessful search for an affordable home near the farm, they decided they couldn’t continue. Read more here.
• A Swiss company has invented a robot, named Bouebot, that can make fondue with wine and cheese. It will be making its debut to the public at the Paris International Agricultural Show—let’s just hope Bouebot makes enough fondue to share!

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.