As a cheesemonger, I often find myself in a constant state of vocabulary deja vu. Often, customers come into our store with a big steaming CHEESE brand on their brain, but they haven’t gotten past that first primal thought for buttery, decadent goodness.

“Hi. **Awkward laugh** I was looking for some cheese. **Awkward laugh** I’m a little overwhelmed. Could you pick something out for me?”

This is where my cheesemonger thesaurus comes into play and the interaction becomes some weird combination of Dr. Seuss and 20 questions

Raw cheese?
Pasteurized cheese?
Hard cheese?
Soft cheese?
Stinky cheese?
Mild cheese?

Keep on readin’…

So I’m not entirely sure how it started.  Or where.  Or when.  Maybe Rachael Ray shrieked about it on her show one day.

No. I will not use shredded cheese or tomatillos on anything.

Or was it on a previous cover of Food & Wine Magazine?  Maybe?  Last summer?  All I know is that right now, everyone’s favorite designer cheese is the Italian classic: Burrata.  It’s sort of like this season’s French Bulldog of the cheeseworld (and when did everyone get one of those smash faced, snub tailed snorters?  Damn, they’re cute but why did everyone have to go out and get out?)  Hoardes of people come waltzing into the shop, acting like Scarlett O’Hara, waving and blowing kisses to an adoring mass of fans and stop square in front of the case and demand the product.

Keep on readin’…

Hey everybody!  I know it’s been a while since the Bedford Cheese Shop blog has been up and running.  Two whole weeks.  But don’t worry!  All of you fans out there who have turned into shriveled little prune like turds due to a lack of cheese information, Cheesepinions, and snark are now gong to be relieved.

This week, as promised, I thought I’d write something about a cheese term that I just noticed popping up all over the place - Thermalized Milk.

I have a feeling that this process has been around for a while, but I’m just noticing it as our store tries to sneak younger cheeses into the shop.  But what exactly is this process?  Is it actually cool?  Or is it yet another stupid restriction that the FDA imposes on cheese importation that prevents us from getting delicious dairy goodies into the country?  I set about one afternoon to do some research and figure out if thermalized milk is too kewl for school or is a total beta (fish).

Keep on readin’…