ruminations

Why I Love Butter (and Kale Will Never Love Me Back)

Matt Miller — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 11:30:00 +0000

I was dreaming my life had ended. I was walking along a beach, a large stick of cultured butter at my side, and the path along the sand marking my life was defined by our footsteps. My body had finally succumbed to the stresses of yo-yo dieting, spurts of working out, and extreme lifestyle changes—all driven by the belief that being healthy was better than being happy. After all the starts and stops, the good foods and the bad, in the end all I could think about was how hard I’d tried to be fit and eat right.

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I Never Noticed my Grandmother’s Cheese Plates—Until They Became Mine

Josie Krogh — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 15:56:53 +0000

Pamela Vachon ruminates on a different kind of cheese plate. Growing up, cheese in my family’s Midwestern household usually came in plastic-wrapped blocks, cubes, or slices. The dairy appreciation was strong, but anything bordering on artisanal just didn’t cross my path until adulthood. Even conventional brie or gouda wasn’t anywhere on my radar. I was […]

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Finding Meaning in a Cheese Club

Alana Pedalino — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 15:05:14 +0000

Hannah Gershowitz reflects on cheese and community I’ve never done anything traditionally. I moved and changed schools often, so I didn’t hold onto friends or hobbies for long. I regularly struggled with a lack of belonging and community, and graduating college during the pandemic didn’t help. So, I took an unnerving leap and moved back […]

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The Case for the “Indie Cheese” Category

Josie Krogh — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 21:13:42 +0000

Like indie music and films, the indie cheese category is about independence and a defiant or necessary DIY spirit. Here, cheesemakers turn their backs on the mass market and focus instead on crafting cheeses with an unfiltered spark. This category name occurred to me when I was working with a cheese brand that felt “artisan,” […]

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How I Fell In Love With Cheese—and The Art Of Describing Flavor

Hannah Howard — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 13:26:17 +0000

When I was an 18-year-old college student in New York City, I found a job on Craigslist. It happened to be at a Michelin-starred, old-school French restaurant called Picholine with a magnificent cheese cart curated by Maître Fromager Max McCalman. Each afternoon, just as I started my shift, he would share a taste of a […]

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How Cheese Unlocks Personal Myths and Memoirs

Alana Pedalino — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 05:27:11 +0000

Humans are innate storytellers, and cheese is an edible story. When we actually slow down and commune with ourselves, each other, and, yes, the cheese itself, parts of our own world can be opened up to us.

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Curds in the Classroom: Cultivating the Next Generation’s Passion for Cheese

Josie Krogh — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 13:36:09 +0000

Former teacher turned cheesemonger shares her passion for cheese with children to create the next generation of curd nerds.

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This London Cafe Opened My Eyes to Vegan Cheese

Josie Krogh — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 14:16:33 +0000

A food writer shares how this vegan cheese shop shifted the paradigm.

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Trenton Speer Reflects on His Journey From Challenging Teen to Cheesemaker

Josie Krogh — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 20:30:07 +0000

Trenton Speer may be too young to have a beer, but he's already raked up years of cheesemaking experience.

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Ruminating on Retail: Finding My Flow in a Sea of Boxes

Josie Krogh — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 15:17:47 +0000

A retail pro ruminates on her love/hate relationship with retail after a 2-year break.

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