Learn about the art of the Affineur from a world-renowned master, Hervé Mons who discusses the business practices of Mansion Mons as well as their Tommes de Bois Noir goat’s milk cheese.

In 1998 I was visiting our Northern California Whole Foods Market stores and I came across a new cheese when dining in a local restaurant. It was a tasty cheese, very creamy with a luscious mouthfeel. It wasn’t like any imported brie I had tasted before – the flavors were quite unique. It was fresh with soft overtones of mushrooms. I loved it. Later I found out this was a triple-crème cheese named Mt. Tam. When I asked the waitperson about the cheese, she confirmed it was made in Marin, across the bridge from San Francisco. I was surprised to learn of this cheese and wanted to find out more. This started my quest for this unforgettable Marin County cheese and the Cowgirls who made created it.

Coincidentally, in 1998 I was living in Washington, DC, and was invited to attend an event put on by the American Farmland Trust. This event was honoring Marin-based Ellen Strauss with the “Steward of the Land” Award. I met this dynamic person and her family. I was so impressed with the rich history of her dedication to organics, being the first organic dairy farmer west of the Mississippi. I was interested in the mission and passion of the Strauss family. It was here that I begin to understand the synergies developed with the commitment of the farm and the cheesemakers from Marin. Read the rest of this entry »

In this episode, I traveled to Monroe, WI to visit the Klondike Cheese Company, one of the few feta producers in the United States that meets our Quality Standards. The Buholzer family has grown the company tremendously since they started making cheese in 1925. Our partnership with this family owned, third generation operation began back in 2002. Even though they are now a large company, they only work with 85 locally family-owned dairy farms and because the milk is fresh, the cheese is deliciously fresh too. My personal favorites include the Mediterranean feta and the feta with black pepper.

In 1991, following in the footsteps of four generations of cheese makers, Felix and Ulrich Roth founded Roth Käse USA, the focus being to craft and cure European-style specialty cheeses in America’s Dairyland. Green County, Wisconsin was a natural home for the Roth Käse cheese factory, not only for its lush landscape and high quality milk supply, but also because the area is commonly referred to as “Little Switzerland.”

In the beginning, their focus was in crafting traditional alpine cheeses. As they’ve grown, they’ve added other outstanding cheeses from across the world to their range of products, including one of my favorites, Gran Queso, modeled after Spanish Manchego. To support their growth, rather than expanding their own facilities, they partnered with struggling local production facilities, helping to keep the dairy industry alive in their community and they work with local dairy farmers so their products are made from the freshest ingredients possible.

In this segment of Cheese Travels, I traveled to Waterloo, Wisconsin to visit Crave Brothers, an amazing cheese producer that makes fresh mozzarella, mascarpone and other fresh cheese for our stores.  This extraordinary company is run by four brothers who run a self-sustaining operation where they raise their own animals and over 80% of the feed right on the farm.

A wheel of Hervé Mons Camembert is a strong, earthy, creamy little piece of heaven. Check out the footage of my interview with Mons during my spring visit – including footage of the caves and the surrounding region. We’ve partnered with Mons, one of the most well respected French affineurs, who selects Camembert exclusively for us from small producers near the lush green pastures of Normandy and then oversees the aging process. Delicately salty and smooth, Hervé Mons Camembert is exquisite when paired with a sparkling wine or a dry French cider and warm, crusty bread.

Interested in learning more about cheese? Follow our Global Cheese Buyer and Cheese Fanatic, Cathy Strange on Twitter @WFMCheese.

Traveling through France it is easy to get caught up in the history of the country. Roadside buildings made of stone that are abandoned or in disrepair often lead me to daydream of who lived in the buildings in decades or centuries past and what was their daily life about. What did they eat? Was the forest the same as it is now or were the fields more cultivated…or less cultivated? When I get to experience cheese(s) many times the names help answer these kinds of questions because they reflect the location or specifics about the area where the cheese is produced. This is the case for the Cazelle de Saint Affrique sheep’s milk cheese aged by Hevre Mons that we are featuring in April

The “Cazelle” portion of the name refers to the stone building that is used to house hay or even shelter the shepherds and/or sheep. The area of origin is located in Aveyron. Monoliths and other stone monuments are still present in the hillsides of this area in the south of France. The Cazelle is probably a natural evolution of using regional stone to construct the shelter. Hevre and his team at Mons came up with the name because the form of the cheese reminded them of the Cazelle structure. The history of humans in this area dates back over 12,000 years. Read the rest of this entry »

The luck of the Irish is lucky for all of us too – we get to try one of the Emerald Island’s best cheddars infused with it’s best known fermented beverage, Irish Stout. Well, maybe not truly “infused” cheese, but this is a new concept. While we’ve experienced beers being used as a solution to “wash” cheese to add flavor and complexity, the stout is actually introduced into a “double milled” cheddar. Traditional Irish Stout, made with roasted barley, is bitter with a slight hoppy finish. The stout adds caramel and coffee notes that accentuate the flavors of the cheese. When tasting this cheese, the creaminess fills your mouth, the nutty flavors begin to open up and the caramel finish lingers on the palate. It is really a unique flavor experience.

So, how does it get this way? Dubliner cheddar is aged 12 months and is a very complex cheese. Produced in County Cork, south of the city of Dublin, it’s made from the milk of grass fed cows that graze on the lush green rolling hills of southeastern Ireland. The grass makes the cheese rich in beta carotene. The cheese is made using the traditional “cheddaring” process and is set aside to age. When it is matured, the cheese is milled again. Milling is a process where the cheese is put through a “grinder” to break it into smaller pieces. This is where the beer comes in. The Irish Stout is mixed into the cheddar pieces and the combination is put into a cheddar form where it is aged a bit longer to assure that the smaller pieces combine to form a cheddar wheel. The cheese round is then finished with a dip into green wax. Not only is this colorful, but it acts as a preservative against mold. Read the rest of this entry »

Kalamata olives on tree prior to harvest

December memories have many meanings to different people.

For many of us who deal with food on a daily basis, other than eating it, keeping up with the crops and the seasonal harvests going on around the world is key.

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Hello to all the cheese lovers out there! During the holiday season, we always get a lot of questions about how to select cheese and pair it with wines for entertaining this time of year. Our team members are always available to help you out in the stores, but we also put together this short video about choosing and serving soft-ripened cheese, like brie. Check it out and if you are inspired, try out our awesome exclusive brie from Isigny Ste. Mère, a co-operative of 700 farmers in Normandy, France. This holiday Brie is unique because it contains 60% butterfat, a formula customized especially for Whole Foods Market. Let us know what you think about it!