Cheese

Buy from a cheesemonger when possible — they can cut wedges to order and advise on ripeness, which is especially important for soft cheeses like Brie and Camembert that change dramatically as they mature.

Avoid pre-shredded cheese, which is coated with anti-caking agents (cellulose, potato starch) that impair melting and dilute flavor. Grate your own for the best texture and taste.

For cooking, choose cheeses by their purpose: mozzarella for melting, Parmigiano-Reggiano for finishing and umami, cheddar for all-purpose flavor, and fresh cheeses like ricotta and feta for texture and tang.

Wrap hard cheeses in wax or cheese paper (not plastic, which suffocates them) and refrigerate for weeks to months. Soft cheeses keep a week or two once opened.

Store different cheeses separately, as they can transfer flavors. A dedicated cheese drawer or container helps maintain humidity.

Always bring cheese to room temperature before serving — cold mutes its flavor and texture. Take it out 30–60 minutes before eating.

Cheese enriches, melts, and finishes dishes across every cuisine.

Melting: Mozzarella on pizza, Gruyère in fondue, cheddar on a burger — melting cheeses bring richness and pull to countless dishes.

Finishing: Shaved Parmigiano over pasta, crumbled feta on salads, blue cheese on a steak — a little aged cheese adds savory depth and umami.

Baking: Ricotta in lasagna, feta in spanakopita, cheddar in biscuits — cheese enriches and flavors baked dishes throughout.

Cheese Boards: A selection of soft, firm, aged, and blue cheeses with fruit, nuts, and bread is one of the great simple meals.

Aging: Hard cheeses are a preserved form of milk — aged for months or years, they concentrate flavor and keep indefinitely when properly stored. This is one of humanity's oldest preservation methods.

Freezing: Hard cheeses freeze reasonably well (grate before freezing for easy use); soft cheeses do not freeze well and become crumbly.

Rind & Wax: The rinds of aged cheeses (Parmigiano, Gruyère) are edible and can be simmered into soups and broths for flavor rather than discarded.

Cheese is a concentrated source of protein, calcium, phosphorus, and vitamins A, B2, and B12. An ounce of hard cheese provides about 7g of protein and 200mg of calcium.

Because cheese is made by concentrating milk, its nutrients are dense — a small amount delivers significant protein and minerals. Aged cheeses are nearly lactose-free, making them tolerable for many lactose-sensitive individuals.

Cheese is high in sodium and saturated fat, so enjoy in moderation — but it is also one of the most nutrient-dense foods available, and full-fat cheese has been associated with neutral or beneficial health effects in recent studies.

There are more than 1,800 named cheeses produced worldwide. France alone produces over 1,200 distinct varieties. Charles de Gaulle famously lamented, 'How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?'

Cheese is one of humanity's oldest foods — evidence of cheesemaking dates back over 7,000 years, predating bread. It was developed as a way to preserve milk before refrigeration.

The holes in Swiss cheese (Emmental) are caused by carbon dioxide bubbles produced by Propionibacterium bacteria during aging — the same process that gives Swiss its nutty flavor.

Like all dairy, cheese has a significant environmental footprint — it takes roughly 10 pounds of milk to make a pound of cheese, concentrating the land, water, and emissions behind it.

However, aged hard cheeses are an efficient way to preserve milk's nutrients for long periods without refrigeration, reducing waste. Choosing cheese from pasture-based and organic dairies lowers the impact.

Buying whole wedges rather than pre-shredded or pre-sliced cheese reduces packaging waste, and using rinds in soups and stocks extracts every bit of value from the resource.