While getting new cheeses is always exciting - especially these days when not much changes in our daily lives - it’s also nice to welcome back some favorites we haven’t had in a while. It’s like reuniting with a longtime friend! Aaahh, remember that? Seeing friends? What was that like? Well, this is like that…I think.

Manchego 1605

Manchegs! We carry our usual one year old Manchego consistently, but we’ve just brought back the younger Manchego 1605. There are fewer than ten producers in Spain making Manchego like 1605 – legit PDO, milk from Manchega sheep, farmstead with a natural (not wax) rind – because it’s a labor intensive and expensive way to produce cheese. Here is cheesemaker Maria José Gonzalez pressing Manchego curds into their forms by hand.

This slow, traditional process makes for a complex cheese that smells of hay and almonds and tastes of toasted brioche, caramel, nutmeg and earth. Since it is younger and more delicately (but we believe more interestingly) flavored than its older compatriot, it really is best at room temperature. Cut this semi-firm, juicy Manchego into chunks and drizzle with olive oil for extra flair.

Bear Hill

Another sheepy! Bear Hill is probably my favorite cheese from Grafton Village Cheese Co. in Vermont. Alpine cheesemaking inspired Bear Hill, and we can see similarities in the smooth texture and nutty flavor, while the nontraditional sheep’s milk adds an extra fresh grassiness and brown buttery warmth. It is a cheese that hits that combo of sweet, savory, and salty notes that we’re always craving.

Wrångebäck

Pronounced vrong-guh-beck, this is Sweden’s oldest recognized cheese; it has been in production since the early 1830s!. It is smooth as silk and melts in your mouth if you have the patience not to gobble it up right away. It tastes like a mellow cheddar and a brothy Alpine cheese rolled into one, making it perfect for a breakfast sandwich or gooey mac and cheese.

Come say hello to our cheese friends and they can become your friends too!

For the love of cheese and reliable favorites,

Kiri

PS. A new magazine called For the Culture just came out with their first issue. They focus on Black women and food and wine, and I can’t wait to dive in! https://www.fortheculturefoodmag.com

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