cheese iq

How Does Winter Feeding (Hay Versus Pasture) Influence the Flavor Development of Cheese?

Josie Krogh — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 16:14:01 +0000

For many herds of sheep, goats, and cows, shorter days and colder winter temperatures hinder the ability to graze on foliage. When fresh vegetation is no longer available, our milk-giving ruminant friends are fed dry hay or silage (a type of compacted and fermented fodder). It is a general conceit of the cheese lover that […]

The post How Does Winter Feeding (Hay Versus Pasture) Influence the Flavor Development of Cheese? appeared first on culture: the word on cheese.

How to Host the Best Fondue Party

Alana Pedalino — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 20:52:04 +0000

November is the unofficial start of the holiday entertaining season and the official start of National Fun with Fondue Month—the ultimate celebration of melting cheese. While February is National Fondue Month, we’ll take any excuse to revive this retro ritual.

Honoring fondue is one thing; having fun with fondue is another. Luckily, the dish is best served with a group of your closest friends and plenty of dippers. This may conjure mental images of conversation pits, shag carpets, and turtlenecks, but don’t fear—there are lots of ways to partake in this time-honored tradition sans donning polyester.

Not sure where to start? Read on to discover tips and tricks for hosting your own fondue party, plus authentic recipes.

The post How to Host the Best Fondue Party appeared first on culture: the word on cheese.

What You Need to Know About Aged Cheeses and Tyrosine Crystals

Alana Pedalino — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 19:27:17 +0000

Plus, why hard cheeses don’t always have tyrosine crystals In the ancient Mediterranean, stone was fearsome. When Battus snitched on Hermes for stealing Apollo’s cows, he was turned to stone. From Medusa to Poseidon, Greek mythology is rife with stories of revenge by petrification. Lacking clothbound cheddars and aged Alpine rounds, it is understandable how […]

The post What You Need to Know About Aged Cheeses and Tyrosine Crystals appeared first on culture: the word on cheese.

Why Does Cheese Taste Better At Room Temperature?

Alana Pedalino — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 18:16:25 +0000

Leave it to noted gourmand and cheese lover Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin to deftly capture both the anatomical accuracy and intoxicating romance of experiencing flavor. In his 1825 treatise, Physiologie du Goût (The Physiology of Taste), Brillat-Savarin breaks down the experience of eating a peach: “He who eats a peach. … is first of all agreeably […]

The post Why Does Cheese Taste Better At Room Temperature? appeared first on culture: the word on cheese.

What Causes the Bloomy Rind on Brie and Camembert?

Alana Pedalino — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 03:56:46 +0000

Learn the science behind bloomy rinds with an affineur. As the French literary realist Gustave Flaubert reached the end of his life, he quipped to his niece, “Sometimes, I think I’m liquefying like an old camembert.” This oozing trait of camembert, and all its bloomy-rind kin, develops as the cheese ages: a mature camembert or […]

The post What Causes the Bloomy Rind on Brie and Camembert? appeared first on culture: the word on cheese.

What Kind Of Cheese Is That? How to identify a cheese style

Mallory Scyphers — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 23:50:27 +0000

Repeat after us: brie is not a style of cheese! It’s classified as a “bloomy rind,” and there are all kinds of “brie-like” cheeses across the globe. To cut down confusion when it comes to types of cheese, we’ve crafted a simple chart: TYPEDEFINITIONEXAMPLESBlueThe growth of blue mold on or in cheeses.Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Stilton, or […]

The post What Kind Of Cheese Is That? How to identify a cheese style appeared first on culture: the word on cheese.

How To Eat Cheese The Right Way

Mallory Scyphers — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 22:44:57 +0000

How To Use All of Your Senses When Eating Cheese There have been papers published about the euphoric attributes of cheese and its ability to keep you coming back for more. To teach you how to make the most of your cheese-eating experience, we’ve pulled an article from our Summer 2010 archives, highlighting acclaimed cheese […]

The post How To Eat Cheese The Right Way appeared first on culture: the word on cheese.

How To Become Friends With Your Local Cheesemonger

Mallory Scyphers — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 22:27:11 +0000

Don’t be intimidated by those folks behind the counter! Their job—beyond obvious cheese sales—is to turn skeptics into believers and expose your palate to new flavors and textures. Here are five tips and tricks from Rachel Johnston, sales and operations manager of Chicago-based cheese shop All Together Now, that’ll help you strengthen your bond with […]

The post How To Become Friends With Your Local Cheesemonger appeared first on culture: the word on cheese.

How to Properly Wrap Cheese, According to an Expert

Mallory Scyphers — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 22:01:48 +0000

While there are no hard rules when it comes to enjoying cheese, there are rules for properly storing cheese to avoid food waste. When traveling on a cheese-focused trip in France, Formaticum founder Mark Goldman keenly noticed how Parisian cheese shops wrapped and packaged their cheese. They weren’t using plastic. So, Mark filled the gap […]

The post How to Properly Wrap Cheese, According to an Expert appeared first on culture: the word on cheese.

How to Build a Better Cheese Board

Mallory Scyphers — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 21:24:13 +0000

Over the past five years, there’s been a noticeable shift in human grazing habits. We’ve discovered the ease of a snack board, and cheese plate curations have skyrocketed in popularity (#cheeseboard has over 2.2 million posts on Instagram!). The shift from going out to hosting has opened doors for creativity when it comes to board […]

The post How to Build a Better Cheese Board appeared first on culture: the word on cheese.