An Expert's Guide to Buying Great Cheese at the Grocery Store

2 weeks ago 8

CNET

In an ideal world, we would all be stocking our cheese boards with only those hunks acquired from a farmers' market or specialty cheese stores. In the real world, most of us are picking up cheese while doing our regular grocery shopping where the requisite mongers or cheesemakers who might guide us are entirely absent from the proceedings.

This is not a reason to despair, as there is high-quality cheese to be found at the supermarket if you know how to seek it out. "It's really hard sometimes just to know what exactly a particular cheese is, especially if it's a generic, plastic-wrapped piece of something you're not familiar with," says Hannah Howard, author and cheese educator. "It could be incredibly delicious. It could be incredibly disappointing."

Read more: How to Find Great Cheese for Cheap

Many excellent cheeses from around the world have the necessary scalability and distribution required to allow them to share shelf space with the shreds and slices that we buy for cooking and sandwich-assembling convenience, however. To start, head away from the basic dairy aisle in your supermarket and over to what I like to call "cheese island," where the "fancy" stuff is kept. (You know what I'm talking about.) Many excellent grocery stores such as Whole Foods and Kroger have worthy cheese counters, but even conventional grocers without a designated cheese department are guaranteed to have some really good stuff lurking in the selection.

Howard recommends 10 grocery store cheeses that you can always count on: they are as easy to find as they are appropriate to serve to company.

Le Gruyere AOP

I'd stake a claim on Le Gruyere AOP being the cheese with the most history, pedigree and care to be routinely available no matter where you shop. Even Trader Joe's has it. A classic cheese from Switzerland -- not to be confused with the generic category that we call "Swiss cheese" -- "there is an incredible amount of care, love and attention to detail that goes into every single step of the process for making the cheese, from treating the cows well, to getting the very freshest milk, to the cheesemaking heritage, which has been passed down for over 1000 years," says Howard. "With Le Gruyere AOP, you can feel completely confident that the flavor, the texture, the caliber and everything that went into making that cheese is of the very highest quality."

Le Gruyere AOP is also among the most flavorful cheeses available in a grocery store, with its washed rind and raw milk pedigree. (Raw milk cheese is permitted in the U.S. so long as it ages for at least 60 days, so no worries, as Le Gruyere AOP ages for six months or more.) It is also a terrific melter, perfect for all manner of cooked cheese preparations like fondue, grilled cheese, or mac and cheese.

It bears mentioning that the term "Gruyere" here is not enough, as the U.S. government has deemed the term a "generic" one, although those that rightfully favor the real thing would say that there's nothing generic about Alpine pastured cows and a millennium of precedent. So take care in observing the label: "You want to see that AOP," says Howard, which indicates it's actually from Switzerland, "and the 'le' is also a good sign."

Parmigiano Reggiano

Often deemed the "king of cheese" by those in the know, Parmigiano Reggiano is another selection that is broadly available, but that must be sought by its official name. The term "parmesan" was developed to get around name-protected restrictions, and anything labeled as such is a far cry from the real thing.

"'Parmesan' in the supermarket could be anything at all," says Howard, "whereas, you know that Parmigiano Reggiano is crafted in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. It's a very different cheese than Le Gruyere AOP, but like it, there is a dedicated consortium that is committed to honoring every single step of the process so that nothing gets stamped with that label that isn't incredibly high quality," she says.

You can typically find the real thing next to the parmesan shreds and powders. Even if it's shrink-wrapped and cut into uniform pieces, so long as it's called Parmigiano Reggiano you're getting the good stuff. Full of crunchy crystals and flavor that brings forward pineapple notes, it isn't just for cooking or shaving on top of pasta -- put some chunks of Parmigiano Reggiano on your grazing cheese board and people will invariably ask "wait, what is this?"

Fromager D'Affinois Le Fromager

fromager d-affinois cheese in a round display

The best brie available in your supermarket doesn't have the word "brie" anywhere on the packaging. That's because brie isn't a category of cheese, only one player in what is known to cheese people as the "bloomy rind" game, and conventional, supermarket brie bears little resemblance in either flavor or texture to the real, French thing. So be wary of anything that is actually labeled "brie," and steer yourself toward those that look like brie, but aren't.

Enter Fromager D'Affinois Le Fromager. (Don't worry about the pronunciation. You can just tell everyone it's brie.) An ultrafiltration process and custom cultures ensure a cheese that is both extra creamy and much fuller in flavor than industrial bries. Fromager d'Affinois cheeses are pasteurized according to U.S. regulations (real French brie is not, by the way), but "you still get a lot of nuance and depth of flavor that you would from raw milk cheeses," says Howard.

Plus it's a "double cream" cheese, meaning that extra cream is added to the base milk for richness. "With all that butterfat content, it's going to be luxurious," says Howard, and will actually ooze as it comes to room temperature, which a lot of industrial bries won't. "If you put it out at a party, it's going to disappear quickly, and it's going to be a hit."

St. Agur Blue

In this country, we are usually introduced to blue cheese in its saddest forms: conventional crumbles or bottled salad dressing, so it's no wonder that many of us believe we don't like it. Every blue cheese is different -- there's a blue for you, I swear it -- real blue cheese is dense, creamy, sweet and just a little spicy or pungent from its blue veining.

Still not convinced? Try St. Agur, a blue cheese from France that enjoys wide distribution due to its large-scale production, but still exhibits artisanal qualities and is about as likable as blue cheese gets. "If you're a blue cheese skeptic, I think this is a cheese that could convert you," says Howard.

Like Fromager D'Affinois above, St. Agur is also a double cream cheese, with the additional cream adding to the cheese's richness and semi-sweet flavor. Even if you're not snacking on it but are simply looking for a salad crumble, it's better to go with the real thing and do the (minor) work yourself. "Grating a lot of harder cheese might take some time, but crumbling a creamy blue cheese is super easy," says Howard.

Chevre

A log of fresh goat cheese is always a good find from your supermarket. I didn't name a brand here; because of its fresh and inexpensive nature, you may be able to find a good, relatively local brand in your supermarket wherever you are shopping. Vermont Creamery is a great choice on the East Coast, and Laura Chenel -- the first lady of goat cheese in the U.S. -- is excellent on the West. Trader Joe's carries one of my absolute favorites, a goat cheese log with an herb blend known as fine herbs. (Looks like "fine," but is French, and therefore "feen.")

"Chevre is always very pretty on a cheese plate or a salad with its snow-white color from the goat's milk, and it has this beautiful, tangy quality that sets it apart and just lends some personality and zing to whatever it touches," says Howard. "And it is very versatile in the kitchen. It's a great way to kind of spruce up a flatbread or a pasta with minimal effort."

It also happens to be a great value, and can often be found in the neighborhood of just three dollars, for those who lament the price of cheese when it comes to buying the quality stuff.

Cabot Clothbound Cheddar

Cheddar is the second-most consumed cheese in the U.S. -- mozzarella is the first, owing to our love of pizza -- but few of us know it in its true, original nature. Cheddar wasn't born yellow in shrink-wrapped packages. If you're not yet hip to "clothbound" or "bandaged-wrapped" cheddars, prepare for a mind-blowing experience of flavor and texture.

"It's exactly how it sounds," says Howard. "It is literally bound in a cloth and wrapped up," which preserves its moisture, especially when rubbed with oil or lard during the aging process. "It is a kind of alchemy of maturation, where the flavors develop in a specific way," she says, "and it's a tradition from English cheddar that also is about 1000 years old, and it creates this beautiful crumbly texture, and approachable but complex flavor as the cheese ages." Think hazelnuts and horseradish.

Cabot is one of the first families of U.S. cheesemaking, and its Clothbound Cheddar is a sharp and savory marvel. Before "girl dinner" there was "ploughman's lunch," where a robust cheddar of this kind was served with a hunk of bread, some mustard and ale to wash it down with. Can we please make this a hashtag?

Manchego

You already know you love Manchego, but do you know why? "When I worked at a wine and cheese bar, we would always joke that everybody asked for Manchego," says Howard. "I think it's a lot of people's gateway into fancy cheese, and it's really delicious."

The good news is that Manchego isn't an industrial cheese hiding in fancy cheese's clothing. It happens to be an expertly crafted, carefully protected cheese that is Spain's number one export, so we happen to have a lot of it available. You'll recognize it from its basket-weave-looking rind. While baskets are no longer used in the aging of Manchego, it's a nod to its historical pedigree.

"I think what's so appealing about it is that it's made with sheep milk from La Mancha sheep in central Spain, and sheep's milk has more fat and more protein than cow's milk, so it's extra rich and extra full of delicious flavor," says Howard. "It's both approachable, but a little bit unexpected and outside of what you might eat every day."

Pro tip: if the Manchego on your cheese board starts to sweat, this is a good thing, not a red flag. Due to the high fat content of sheep's milk cheese, it's just the fat globules liquefying as the cheese comes to room temp, and it indicates that the cheese is at a good temperature for serving to enjoy its maximum flavor.

Humboldt Fog

Cypress Grove is one of America's first artisanal cheesemakers, beginning in 1983. It was purchased by Emmi in 2010, one of the larger cheese distributors in the U.S., but that just means more of us get to enjoy it, but its cheeses are still crafted with care and creativity.

Humboldt Fog is a stunner and one that you can even find in your typical supermarket. More than just a fresh goat's milk cheese, it's got a delicate bloomy rind and a sexy stripe of ash to show off.

"Humboldt Fog is one of the first original American artisan cheeses, inspired by the fog that comes in in the morning in Humboldt County, California where it was created," says Howard. "Some people think the ash stripe that bisects it is blue, but it is vegetable ash, so it doesn't affect the taste of the cheese, but it does create a very beautiful presentation for a cheese board." (This was also one of three American cheeses that were served to the President of France at a State dinner in Washington D.C. French/American relations remain secure so that's saying something.)

Even those who don't love goat cheese can't resist its look. "A lot of people are hesitant about goat cheese," says Howard, "and I find this a goat cheese that can win over even goat cheese skeptics."

Midnight Moon

Midnight Moon was my personal conversion cheese, where the lightbulb went off that some cheeses were better than the conventional ones I had grown up consuming. (Those are still good, and I still love them.) Another selection from Cypress Grove, imagine my ongoing joy that I don't even have to go to the fancy supermarket in my neighborhood in order to acquire some Midnight Moon, which is sitting in the case not far from my childhood cheeses.

"When I worked behind a cheese counter, if we didn't know what to give someone, Midnight Moon was always the sure bet," says Howard. "People loved it, cheese newbies and cheese connoisseurs alike," she says. "It has the sweetness that comes from the Gouda process and cultures, and then it's aged for six months or longer, so it has those delicious crunchy tyrosine crystals, and then it's a goat milk cheese, which is really unexpected."

Sartori Bellavitano

Wisconsin is America's dairy state, so it fits that a Wisconsin cheese is one of the best supermarket cheeses you can find. Sartori Bellavitano is a cheese that behaves like equal parts of parm and gouda, bringing a salty sweetness to the occasion. It also comes in a number of flavors and styles to suit myriad tastes.

"If you want to be playful on a cheese board and introduce a beautifully colored rind, or just something that stands out they have a bunch of flavors," says Howard, including selections that are wine-soaked, studded with herbs or peppercorns, or rubbed with espresso. "It's kind of eye catching and a good conversation starter, but it's also a high bar of quality for a industrial produced cheese, and is consistent and delicious."

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