The sought after fungi takes cheese to unique heights. When we think of luxurious food ingredients, few carry the mystique, or command the price tag, of truffles. The fungi, not the chocolates. Synonymous with the extravagance of four-star dining, the price per pound may exceed a month’s rent. The cost of truffles is related to…
Pioneer of Artisan Goat Cheese: Cypress Grove’s Founder MARY KEEHN
Learn how a small time producer spearheaded America’s goat cheese segment. When Mary Keehn, a single mother of four and self-proclaimed serious hippie, adopted two of her neighbor’s goats back in the 70s, she didn’t have a business plan, or any plan, to start her own business. “My start was serendipic and an offshoot of…
Italy’s Coveted PECORINO DI PIENZA
A cheese that reflects its impressive history. Pienza is one of Tuscany’s most enchanting towns. Its only 2,000 inhabitants have the privilege of living in an ancient environment full of history that was admitted to the prestigious UNESCO list of world inheritance places in 1996. But the wonder doesn’t stop here, because Pienza is also…
A Pandemic’s Impact on Imports
Coming to terms with the effect of COVID-19on cheese imports to the U.S. It’s difficult to find a historical parallel for the COVID-19 outbreak and its dramatic, wide-ranging impact on the cheese import industry. Adam Moskowitz, owner of Larkin Cold Storage in Long Island, NY, offers the possibilities of World War I, World War II…
A New Focus On Feta
For the lucky, such as Greek-American chef and cookbook author Michael Psilakis, Feta cheese has held a long celebrated place in the kitchen and in cuisine since childhood.
Online Opportunities
The opportunities and challenges of the specialty cheese e-commerce market.
The Intricacies of Prosciutto di San Daniele
This specialty from northern Italy has characteristics all its own. Where prosciutto is concerned, region plays a big part in the dry cured ham’s characteristics and flavor. Prosciutto di San Daniele, which comes from the northern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, has a melt-in-your-mouth texture, rich flavor, just the right level of saltiness and versatility…
Making the Impossible Possible
A work around has made camel milk cheese possible. Yes, you can milk a camel. Yes, you can make dairy products out of camel milk. Yes, they are edible. Three facts which may be shocking to the majority and perhaps slightly off putting until the unique flavor is fully experienced.
Vermont Creamery Icons: Bob Reese and Allison Hooper
Vermont Creamery founders discuss their journey and the next chapter. It has been about three years since Vermont Creamery co-founders Allison Hooper and Bob Reese sold their business to Land O’Lakes. Now both are giving back, providing other businesses with the benefits of their experiences, while also enjoying the more relaxed pace of semi-retirement.
ALESSANDRO CARPENEDO: Honoring His Father’s Creative Cheese Vision
After his father created Italy’s first refinement laboratory and cheese aged in wine and marc, he helped put La Casearia Carpenedo on a world stage.
Mary Quicke: Upholding 14 Generations on the Farm
The Brits take their cheddar seriously, and this is definitely the case at UK clothbound cheesemaker Quicke’s. “Our philosophy is to see farming as a great responsibility,” says Mary Quicke, who runs her family-owned company. “Not only are we committed to doing right by the land, but we take great pride in creating things for…
Stephanie Ciano’s Cheese Destiny
Coordinating the shipment of containers full of cheese from France, introducing new cheeses from Australia to the U.S. market, and forecasting future cheese trends—it’s all in a day’s work for Stephanie Ciano. As the vice president of international purchasing for Armonk, NY-based World’s Best Cheese, one of the United States’ leading cheese distributors, Ciano is…
The Evolution Of Laura Chenel
Laura Chenel’s was founded by its namesake in 1979, though starting a cheese company was not her initial goal. As a young woman, Chenel was someone who traveled a great deal and was an early adaptor of the belief that one should provide their own food. She grew and made what she could, and acquired…
Margaret Cicogna: The Cheese Lady of Italy
Margaret Cicogna is one of the United States’ leading authorities on Italian cheese. “People call me the Cheese Lady,” she told Cheese Connoisseur over coffee in New York City. “But I do a lot more than cheese. I went to school. I have a family.” Still, Cicogna’s deep knowledge and passion for cheese, and close…
Fig-ure It Out
Some would say that biting into a sweet, sticky, squishy fig has been a gastronomic pleasure since the beginning of time. Fig trees purportedly shaded Adam and Eve and provided them with their first hint of clothing. Archaeologists have found fig branches next to human remains that date from more than 7,000 years ago. Some…
Buffalo Milk Varieties Stand Apart
We don’t have to tell you that Mozzarella di Bufala is a miraculous food. One bite of its milky, sweet, pure, gooey, silky perfection is all it takes to convert chefs, diners, consumers and foodies.
A Domestic Cheese Mecca
For almost a decade, The Cheese Shop of Des Moines has cultivated its offerings of mainly regional and domestic artisanal cheese. The impetus for C.J. Bienert opening The Cheese Shop of Des Moines was simple; after years of working in the cheese industry for different retailers, he was tired of being told no. “I had…
Best in Class
The unique and creative Rogue River Blue from Rogue Creamery in Oregon won Best Cheese in the World at the World Cheese Competition held in Bergamo, Italy. It also is our Centerfold cheese, starting on page 26. This is an amazing cheese and all cheese lovers should strive to taste this cheese at least once…