Do you like food you can't pronounce? Are you tired of biscotti? Behold juustoleipä, or leipäjuusto, a slab of Finnish "bread cheese" commonly cut into strips or cubes. Phyllis of Me Hungry! bought the Carr Valley Cheese brand at her local Wegmans and had some fun experimenting with it. When dipped in coffee, the bread cheese was "surprisingly good...took on a sweet profile...and it hardly melted at all." To clarify: this cheese does not actually contain bread. The curds, usually from cow's or reindeer's milk, are grilled or baked, which yields a brown, bread-like color.... More

I was pleasantly surprised to hear one of my favorite radio shows, NPR's Science Friday, tackle the science of cheesemaking on its most recent show. The program featured Liz Thorpe, vice president of Murray's and author of The Cheese Chronicles, a new book about making and selling cheese in America.... More

The advertising world really does not flex the powers of maniacal cheese-faced men with curry-shooting laser gun fingers enough. Not nearly enough! I can't vouch for the tastiness of that orange goo but having Cheese Face Man himself pop through the window and blast your cup, now that is tableside service. This ad inspired a remix with Cheese Face Man deejaying (and busting his cheese curry gun moves on stage, obviously!) mashed up with cameos by Onion Bulb Face Man, Tomato Face Man, and what appears to be White Circular Blob Face Woman. The videos, after the jump.... More

Rogue River Blue, the beautiful grape-leaf wrapped blue cheese from Oregon's Rogue River Creamery, took top honors at this year's American Cheese Society competition, held last week in Austin, Texas. Rogue is actually one of the older creameries in the country, in operation since 1935. It also took home awards for its flavored cheddars, Chocolate Stout, and Lavender, as well as its Smokey Blue.... More

West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers The marketing geniuses behind CheddarVision.tv, the webcam that broadcasts a 24/7 feed of an aging wheel of English Farmhouse Cheddar, have outdone themselves with a publicity stunt that rivals some of the greatest achievements of mankind. Last week, the West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers launched a weather balloon in space, to which was hitched a slice of 18-month old West Country Cheddar. Their plan? To "mark the 40th anniversary of the first man on the moon and the first space flight undertaken by a piece of cheese." The device had an onboard GPS which was supposed to help them track the flight path of the cheese, as well as a camera to take pictures while in... More

Vermont's hills are alive with the sound of "Oma!" Brothers Sebastian and Dan Von Trapp (yes, they are related to those Von Trapps) have just released Oma, an amazing new cheese from the Mad River Valley in Vermont. A washed-rind raw cow's milk cheese, Oma's silky texture (soft and supple, but not runny) is perhaps its most unique feature. But its taste delivers too. The cheese is earthy, barnyardy, and buttery, and the raw milk makes for a complexity of flavor absent in most American cheeses of its ilk. "Oma" is German for "grandmother," and the cheese is named after Sebastian and Dan's Oma, Erica Von Trapp, who started the family farm 50 years ago. The farm has a... More

Photograph from WordRidden on Flickr Your first reaction to this headline might have been, "What do you mean, is blue cheese gluten-free? Isn't all cheese gluten-free?" Well, the short answer is yes. But blue cheese is a potential corner-case that needs some investigation. The reason is that there are steps in the production process of blue cheese where the potential for cross-contamination of gluten is definitely a possibility. Most people know that the blue in blue cheese is actually mold—penicillium mold to be exact, which during aging breaks down the fats and the proteins in the cheese to change its texture to a silky smooth, and to add depth and piquancy to its flavor. Originally the mold would have... More

"The more acidic the cheese, the less lactose is in there, and the more tolerable it should be for most people." Photo from Murray's CheeseIn the intervening weeks since the last post about my apparent lactose intolerance, not only have I been able to tolerate small amounts of dairy consumed infrequently, I have also spent a lot of time caring for a new baby in our family. All this to explain that a) I haven't yet seen a doctor about my sudden inability to enjoy vast amounts of gelato and Ukranian food, and b) I haven't had much free time in which to experiment with my new-found lactose intolerance. I have generally not shied away from dairy, however, even if... More

It's the fear I never had until now: to return to my hotel room and find everything—walls, ceiling, furniture, floor—covered in melted cheese. In 1999, Canadian artist Cosimo Cavallaro covered Room 114 at the Washington Jefferson Hotel in New York City in 1,000 pounds of cheese from the Swiss Cheese Foundation. I wouldn't have wanted to visit that room on a hot day. Watch the video after the jump.... More

"On a couple of occasions I've been bold enough to try a bowl of cereal with one-percent milk." I have been humbled, surprised, and, frankly, a bit overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and advice in response to my post last week about my lactose intolerance discovery. You have shared many ideas, from the practical to the fanciful. Probably the best advice I received was to make an appointment with my doctor to get tested. Lots of folks said that gallbladder problems, dairy allergies, and celiac disease can all produce symptoms similar to lactose intolerance. I have heeded this advice and will be seeing my doctor soon. I have a feeling he'll send me straight to a gastroenterologist, so I... More