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Food + Drink: A Top Cheese Expert Picks His 5 Favorite Cheeses

5 Cheeses to Taste Before You Die


5 Cheeses to Taste Before You Die

Age is something that doesn't matter—unless you are a cheese.

American actress
Billie Burke
A

At parties, some people stick close to the bar. We, on the other hand, gravitate toward the cheese plate. We love to sample new varieties, hoping for that out-of-body experience that takes place when a perfectly creamy and just-pungent-enough mouthful makes us temporarily forget our last name. From veined, crumbly Roquefort to softly runny Camembert, a staggering assortment of cheeses tempts. If the number of varieties overwhelms you at a supermarket (as it sometimes does us, scroll down for a look at the top 5 that you absolutely must try next. We sat down with a fromager (cheese expert) and dug into a plate full of luscious discoveries to come up with this list of the Best. Cheeses. Ever.

Writer LAURIE PIKE

Photographer Amy NEUNSINGER

Producer Lisa THOMPSON

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Here’s a cheese that puts a bit of its terrain in its crust. Crumbly and somewhat granular, Brin d’Amour (pronounced “BRAN-dah-MORE”) is made on the French island of Corsica. Semisoft and easily spreadable, it is a top-shelf ewe’s-milk cheese for its earthy yet fragrant flavor. What’s unique about it is the juniper, coriander, rosemary, and other local herbs encrusted in its rind.

Just because a cheese is obscure doesn’t mean it’s one of those scary, stinky ones. An age-old variety, Bethmale (Bett-MAHL) gets is name from the French town in the Pyrénées mountains where it is made. Despite its relative obscurity, this mild, semisoft variety with a dense rind is more of a crowd-pleaser than an acquired taste. We found it mouth-watering!

Carried in just about every French supermarket, Pont l’Evêque (POHN-luh-VEK) is so dear to the Gauls that its production is regulated by the same
A.O.C. (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) agency that monitors wines. Think of it
as a Camembert or Brie kicked up a notch. Fromager Anthony Tyser calls the soft
and creamy cheese “funky but
not overbearing.”
Savory with a sweet “development,”
as Tyser puts it, Fourme d’Ambert
(FOORM-dom-BEHR) is a blue-veined cheese beloved by Roquefort fans.
During its production, it is injected with Vouvray, a white wine from the Loire
Valley. (A two-fer!) Tyser says the dense but spreadable result is best enhanced with honey.

Though it smells pungent, Langres (LAHN-gruh) could be thought of as a mild relative of Epoisses. It is made with a slight indentation on the top to hold a splash of champagne. (An ever better two-fer!) Tyser characterizes it as “elegant, different, and amazing.“ We characterize it as CAN’T TALK—EATING.

1. West Elm’s “Acacia Slab” board is made of a richly grained wood, and can be used as a cheese board or cutting board. $34. 2. The Cheesemonger’s Kitchen: Celebrating Cheese in 75 Recipes contains Chester Hastings’ take on pizzas, risottos, and pastas, among other dishes. $22.85. 3. Dean & Deluca’s Onion Mini Flatbread is tasty on its own, but doesn’t compete with a cheese put on top of it. $6. 4. Three artisan-made foods to enhance your cheese enjoyment make up the Wisconsin Cheese Accompaniments Set: Pear with Honey & Ginger Preserves, Figs & Black Tea Preserves, and Wisconsin Natural Acres Honey. $42.00.