These days, Italian-style cheese is part of everyday life. From gooey mozz melted atop classic pizza, to strip steaks drizzled with gorgonzola cream sauce, to the flourish of umami-rich parm crowning bowls of pasta from New York City to Tokyo, these cheesy ingredients are the culinary backbone of recipes enjoyed far beyond Europe’s boot-shaped country. And while Italy’s cheesemaking traditions have also traveled beyond its borders—inspiring farmers, makers, and affineurs around the world—there’s still nothing quite like the real thing.

Many Italian cheeses are infinitely versatile in the kitchen, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less revered than their cheese board brethren. Savory shards of Parmigiano-Reggiano (Italy’s “King of Cheeses”), for example, might be enjoyed with a glass of sparkling wine, while that same wheel’s rind, simmered in a brothy pot of white beans and escarole, is just as much a revelation. This is partly due to the fact that many well-known types of Italian-made cheeses are held to the strictest standards. The European Union has granted more than 500 Italian cheeses PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) status, a legal designation that ensures recipients are produced in their established region, using the traditional methods and specific ingredients that make each unique. Here are some considerations that come into play:

Top-Quality Milk

Nearly every Italian region produces some sort of dairy—and along with it, some sort of cheese, from piquante Gorgonzola ripened in the northern Piedmont and Lombardy regions, to mild and milky Mozzarella di Bufala hand-stretched in southern Campania. Italian cheese is always crafted from top-quality milk, whether it’s made from the milk of sheep, cows, goats, buffalo, or a mix. Animal welfare and a grass-fed diet are often built into the exacting PDO standards as well: for example, Sardinia’s Pecorino Sardo is made primarily from the milk of sheep that graze freely on that island’s lush and shrubby hillside pastures. Many PDO designations also specify that cheeses may only be made from the milk of certain breeds—such as the firm, Alpine wheels of Piave, which must be made using an 80 percent minimum of milk from the local Bruna Italiana, Valdostana Pezzata Rossa, Frisona Italiana, or Grigio Alpina cows.

Regional Diversity

Much like wine, Italian cheese is an agricultural product reflective of its origin’s soil, terrain, flora, and climate. From the vegetation consumed by the dairy herd to the conditions under which a cheese is aged, each one takes on very particular regional characteristics. For instance, Fontina Val d’Aosta is made only from the unpasteurized milk of Valdostana cows pastured in northern Italy’s Aosta Valley. The resulting Alpine cheese is creamy and firm, and its ripening process—up to three months of rest in natural stone caverns—enhances the milk’s underlying nutty, buttery, grassy notes.

Skilled Artisans

After milk has been sourced, it’s up to talented Italian artisans to craft it into a cheese that is consistent from wheel to wheel, and is a unique expression of its particular place, producer, and tradition. Cheesemaking is not an easy task, and in Italy, it’s an artform that carefully balances science, culture, and craft. Each cheesemaker and affineur relies on methods honed over generations. And in some cases, the artisans themselves are a component of the authenticity of the cheese; Gorgonzola, for example, may only be made by 40 small family dairies and commercial producers. Grana Padano, one of Italy’s most popular exports, was created by the Cistercian monks of Chiaravalle Abbey in Lombardy—though it has long outgrown the monastery and is now more widely produced.

Centuries of Tradition

The history of cheese in Italy dates back thousands of years and is an important part of Europe’s food culture. Pecorino Romano was used to feed legions of Roman soldiers; the salty, low-moisture cheese was deemed a vital source of fat, salt, and protein, and is still prized for its long shelf life today. Production of Parmigiano-Reggiano has barely changed since the 12th century; it’s still made from a mixture of whole and skimmed milk in large copper cauldrons, and only in the regions of Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy. Lombardy’s soft, washed-rind Taleggio has been made much the same way since the Middle Ages, too, drawing its distinct pungency from ripening in the naturally cool caves of Val Taleggio.

Italy’s rich and storied history—along with its diverse climate, geography, and regional traditions—make it particularly fertile ground for cheese production. Ancient recipes and techniques have persisted for millenia, occasionally adapting and evolving with technology, but always with the utmost care and oversight. When no substitute will do, ask your local cheesemonger for Italian-made cheese, or look for “made in Italy,” on the label at the supermarket.

The post If the Cheese Is From Here, You Know It’s Going to Be Good appeared first on Saveur.

Spirits professional Jesse Ditson of the forthcoming bar Sugar Water prepared this bright and herbal refresher for SAVEUR’s print relaunch and anniversary party at the magazine shop Hi Desert Times in Twentynine Palms, California. Named for the flower in the daisy family, the Caléndula is a riff on the daisy cocktail, which is said to be a precursor to the margarita. 

For the best results, Ditson recommends recreating it with a high-quality, additive-free agave spirit like Tequila Ocho, which he describes as “the tip of the spear in single-estate, terroir-forward tequila.” Look for the brand’s unoaked Plata expression, which balances slow-roasted agave notes with a grassy, mineral, citrus-forward nose. “I hope that other brands will be inspired to blend less and taste more because of the examples in Ocho’s spirits.”

For the party, Ditson pre-batched his version with a from-scratch, centrifuge-clarified fresh lime soda, but for home bartenders he suggests using a mixture of fresh lime juice, rich Demerara syrup, and seltzer. To make the rich Demerara syrup, double the amount of white sugar called for in classic simple syrup and replace it with Demerara sugar.

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At Lysverket, Christopher Haatuft’s hip fine-dining restaurant in Bergen, Norway, the chef leans into his home country’s exceptional seafood, pairing the local fish and shellfish with global flavors for eclectic and elevated dishes like Øygarden scallops with umeboshi and Hardanger char with pastis and plum vinaigrette. In this summery recipe, Haatuft takes a “home-cook friendly” approach, dousing quick-grilled salmon skewers with a deeply flavorful sweet-and-savory sauce. “The key to grilling fish without it sticking,” he explains, “is for the fish to be seasoned and dried well before cooking on a very hot grill or sautée pan.” Be sure to oil the grill grates well before adding the salmon; if using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes or overnight to prevent burning.

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It’s fair to say we here at SAVEUR have an obsession with French butter. Whether laminated between sheets of pastry dough, enveloping a piquant French breakfast radish, or whisked into a sauce atop a pan-seared fish—nothing quite compares to its rich and luxurious flavor.

Quality counts, so we often opt for European butter from France, with its high relative fat content and a distinct depth of flavor enhanced by the culturing process. Butter, at its most basic, is an emulsion of water in fat; most of the domestically produced stuff cuts out at 80 percent fat. French butter, by comparison, contains a minimum of 82 percent, and can go up to 85. This change may seem subtle, but the difference in richness is noticeable. Combine that with the slightly tangy umami flavor that comes from culturing—a process in which the cream is fermented beforehand—and it’s no wonder the French are known to slice it atop their bread like cheese (an approach we fully endorse, by the way).

The French have also long put butter to work in the kitchen, not just as a spread, but also as a foundational ingredient  in many classic recipes. Béchamel—the iconic French mother sauce—starts with butter, as does hollandaise and velouté. But there are a few even simpler ways we love to cook with French butter. Read on for three chef-recommended techniques to bring this essential ingredient into your culinary toolkit. 

Quickly thicken your sauces and stews with beurre manié.

Beurre manié, literally “butter by hand” or “kneaded butter,” is a simple, last-minute helper for thickening sauces, soups, and stews. Similar to a roux, it’s a mixture of butter and flour, but rather than being melted and cooked directly over the heat, the two are kneaded together in equal portions to form a paste, which can then be whisked into simmering liquid to add a velvety texture and richness, without altering the overall flavor. (As usual for cooking, opt for unsalted French butter to ensure you don’t accidentally oversalt your dish.) Beurre manié is particularly handy for fixing sauces or soups that look a bit thin towards the end of cooking, or for turning pan juices into a silky smooth sauce.

Learn how to make beurre manié >

According to Dr. Rollie Wesen, executive director of the Jacques Pépin Foundation and culinary professor at Johnson & Wales University, “the cool thing about beurre manié is how flexible it is.” He adds: “At home, I’ll make half a pound of butter into beurre manié, and then shape it into little nuggets and put them in a bag in the freezer. Whenever I want just a tiny bit, maybe to thicken a pan sauce for chicken breast or a piece of fish, I don’t have to go through the whole process again. It can just go directly from the freezer into the pan.”

Elevate and brighten fish and vegetables with beurre blanc.

Beurre blanc, or “white butter,” is a classic French sauce known for its balance of richness and acidity; emulsified with white wine, shallots, and, sometimes, depending on the chef, vinegar, this buttery sauce pairs excellently with fish and vegetables.

Butter, Wesen points out, is an emulsification of water in oil. French-style butter is 82 to 85 percent fat, (with about 2 to 5 percent milk solids), and the rest is water, carefully suspended in a smooth, spreadable emulsion. For beurre blanc, Wesen says, “you reverse that. It’s an emulsification of oil in water.” When adding butter a pat at a time to a reduction of wine and aromatics, you’re looking for a very thick reduction, with very little moisture. “Your butter is bringing 10 to 15 percent water with it,” he says, “so starting with the tiniest amount of water possible in the pot will give your beurre blanc a thick and luxurious viscosity.”

At the Post House in Charleston, South Carolina, chef Robin Hollis replaces the white wine in her beurre blanc with champagne for a luxe upgrade: “We swap out the vinegar for lemon juice, too, for a mellower acidity,” she says, “and serve it over an egg yolk raviolo topped off with a big dollop of caviar.”

Learn how to make beurre blanc >

Lend a toasty note to sauces and sweets with beurre noisette.

Perhaps the most recognizable of the three, beurre noisette (brown butter, or literally “hazelnut butter,” likely named for the nutty aroma and color) is a technique that features and enhances the milk solids present in the butter, which are caramelized to a deep brown for an alluring toasty flavor that shines in sauces and baked goods.

Melted butter is cooked gently until its water content has entirely evaporated, leaving only fat and the residual milk proteins behind; the latter start to caramelize quickly. “You can’t brown anything until all the water is gone,” says Wesen. “As long as there’s water in there,” he adds, “the maximum temperature you can get to is 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Browning reactions don’t start until 280 degrees Fahrenheit.” As long as the butter is sizzling, water is still evaporating. “But as soon as the water is gone,” says Wesen, “the temperature of the fat goes up exponentially.” This is why it can be easy to accidentally burn beurre noisette if you’re not paying attention. Lower the heat and start stirring frequently with a wooden spoon as soon as the butter stops sizzling, then quickly transfer the beurre noisette to a heatproof bowl to stop the cooking as soon as it reaches the desired color. 

At Troubadour in Healdsburg, California, chef Sean McGaughey sometimes adds a little heavy cream to his brown butter sauces, amping up the amount of milk solids for even more of that golden-brown goodness.

Learn how to make beurre noisette >

Head to TasteEurope.com for more delicious recipes, tips, and tricks for using French butter.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or FranceAgriMer. Neither the European Union nor FranceAgriMer can be held responsible for them.

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For spirit-forward tequila cocktails, a premium, additive-free bottling is the gold standard. Tequila Ocho’s national brand ambassador, Canyon Shayer developed this refreshing, Spring/Summer drink in honor of SAVEUR’s 30th anniversary and return to print. The roasted agave notes in the brand’s silver expression pair nicely with refreshing cucumber and delicate aloe vera. If you’re unable to find Chareau, elderflower liqueur makes for an elegant alternative.

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Start with abundant land for grazing. Add European immigrants with ancestral cheesemaking knowledge. Season generously with science and innovation … And you have the recipe that launched Wisconsin as America’s Dairyland. In creameries ranging from small farmstead operations to large, state-of-the-art plants, Wisconsin cheesemakers are turning out more than 600 varieties of cheese, which together have won more awards than any other state or country in the world. Wisconsin is the only U.S. state that has a Master Cheesemaker certification program (essentially a Ph.D. in cheese). And, no surprise, it holds the Guinness World Record for the “world’s largest cheese board,” too.

For any cheese lover—from die-hard turophiles to those just beginning to explore the world of curd, the state is a dream destination. In the bucolic countryside south of Madison, you’ll find the oldest cheese shop in the state, a cult-favorite brewery, and a dairy-plant-turned boutique hotel, along with myriad outdoor and cultural activities. 

A Southern Sojourn

Getting to Madison is easy no matter where you live—Dane County Regional Airport receives direct flights from 16 U.S. cities. After a leisurely afternoon and dinner in freewheeling Schenk-Atwood or restaurant-rich Willy Street, pick up your rental car in the morning and set out on a cheese-inspired road trip through the heart of the State of Cheese.

Eat

Baumgartner’s Cheese Store & Tavern

1023 16th Ave., Monroe.
(608) 325-6157

Those who know Limburger either love or hate the odiferous cheese. Once made at dozens of Wisconsin plants, now it’s produced at just one, in Monroe, an hour south of Madison. Nothing beats tasting the cheese on its home turf, specifically at Baumgartner’s, a downtown stalwart famous for its no-frills Limburger sandwich: rye topped with a slab of the pliant, washed-rind cheese and raw red onion. Regulars also swear by the signature Limburger cheeseburger.

Sprouting Acres Pizza Farm

1746 WI-73, Cambridge.
(608) 469-2319

Time it right and you can join the families, couples, and friend groups on the lawn of this sprawling organic farm for Wisconsin cheese-topped, wood-fired pizza and live music by local bands. Held on the first and third Sundays of the month from May through October, these pizza nights are wildly popular; be sure to check the farm’s website for updates before you go.

Paoli Schoolhouse American Bistro

6857 Paoli Rd., Belleville.
(608) 848-6261

This little red 19th-century schoolhouse is now an elegant restaurant with a black-and-white, Belle Époque-meets-modern interior. On the menu, you’ll find classics like beef Wellington and a Gruyère-topped “bistro burger.” On warm weekends, book an idyllic brunch on the patio overlooking the Sugar River.

Fat Cat Coffee Works

606 Railroad St., New Glarus.
(608) 527-3346

Locally roasted coffee, an all-day breakfast and lunch menu, and a rotating array of baked goods make this New Glarus institution a must-stop for a pick-me-up between cheese tastings. Located in an old sawmill along the Sugar River State Trail, it often bustles with cyclists refueling after a morning ride.

Firefly Coffeehouse

114 N. Main St., Oregon.
(608) 835-6238

Firefly’s slogan is “Oregon’s Living Room” (that’s Oregon, Wisconsin), and years of Madison Magazine “Best Coffee Shop” wins back up the claim. Settle into a comfy armchair for a beverage and a snack, and ask co-owner Jeanne Carpenter, an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, to help you choose a selection or two from the artisan cheese case.

Glarner Stube

518 1st St., New Glarus.
(608) 527-2216

Behind the red door of this iconic New Glarus spot, “America’s Little Switzerland,” is a snug, wood-paneled restaurant that feels like it’s been beamed over from the Alps. Everything on the old-school menu gets high marks, but you’re there for the traditional fondue, served in an enameled cast iron pot.

Drink

New Glarus Brewery

2400 WI-69, New Glarus.
(608) 527-5850

The award-winning brewery founded by Deb and Daniel Carey in 1993 doesn’t sell its beers outside of Wisconsin—which is reason enough to make a special trip there. Before hitting the tasting room, take a self-guided tour of the hilltop brewery and its grounds, which are landscaped to resemble the ruins of a castle.

Hop Garden Tap Room

6889 Canal St., Belleville.
(608) 636-6229

The small-batch beers served here are made with hops grown on the owners’ nearby 20-acre farm. The farm also provides much of the produce for The Cook House, next door to the tap room, which offers a menu centered on smoked pork and brisket.

Bailey’s Run Vineyard and Whiskey Run Distilling Co.

N8523 Klitzke Rd., New Glarus.
608-496-1966

Bailey’s Run boasts a tasting room lineup of 30 wines, pizza, cheese and meat boards, stunning views of the surrounding countryside, and live music. Its newly opened sister distillery offers craft cocktails and a pub-style menu in a warehouse-like space warmed by leather couches you can sink into.

Minhas Craft Brewery and Minhas Micro Distillery

1208 14th Ave., Monroe.
(800) 233-7205

The second-oldest brewery in the U.S., Minhas occupies three city blocks in downtown Monroe. Don’t miss the impressive Herb and Helen Haydock World of Beer Memorabilia Museum, then head across the street to sample the signature Punjabi Club Rye Whisky—named in honor of the current owners’ family origins.

Shop

Alp and Dell Cheese Store

657 2nd St., Monroe.
(608) 328-3355

Home to Roth Cheese, this chalet-style shop is the place to pick up Roth-label cheeses as well as other standout examples from throughout the state, including Joe Widmer’s Brick and Andy Hatch’s Pleasant Ridge Reserve. If you get there early enough, you can even watch the cheesemaking process from Alp and Dell’s viewing hall.

Decatur Dairy Cheese Store

W1668 County Highway F, Brodhead.
(608) 897-8661

This shop has perfected the grilled cheese sandwich—with plenty of melty pull for that ’gram-worthy photo. Go for the top-pick 3 Mouseketeer (havarti, cheddar, and Monterey Jack) or one of seven other sandwiches, and pick up some award-winning cheese curds for the road.

Roelli Cheese Haus

15982 WI-11, Shullsburg.
(608) 965-3779

Chris Roelli is the brains behind some of the state’s most distinctive cheeses, including Red Rock, an American-style cheddar with blue veining, and Dunbarton Blue, an English-style cheddar also shot through with blue.

Paoli Road Mercantile

6904 Paoli Rd., Belleville.
(608) 845-2311

The longtime home of Paoli Cheese Cottage has been reborn as an eclectic shop selling artisan goods, including jewelry, pottery, art, jam, and chocolate by more than 70 local makers. In a nod to its history, it still stocks bags of fresh curds.

Landmark Creamery Provisions

6895 Paoli Rd., Belleville.
(608) 848-1162

Cheesemaker Anna Thomas Bates runs this Paoli shop, where you can order the sandwich that made her a repeat Wisconsin Grilled Cheese Championship winner, plus pantry items and home goods.

See

National Historic Cheesemaking Center Museum

2108 6th Ave., Monroe.
(608) 325-4636

For a glimpse into how cheese was made more than a century ago, visit this museum, where once a season local cheesemakers dust off the old copper vats to produce a 90-pound wheel of Swiss.

Music at The Mill

6890 Paoli Rd., Belleville.
(608) 235-2771

Home to boutiques, a seasonal farmers market, and a romantic B&B, the historic mill in the heart of Paoli hosts live outdoor music from April through October. Grab a beer at the Hop Garden and settle in on the lawn next to the Sugar River.

Sugar River State Trail

The mostly flat trail follows an abandoned railway bed through the woods for 24 miles, with parking and easy access to refreshments at Brodhead, Albany, Monticello, and New Glarus. Bike rentals and $5 trail passes (required for cyclists over 15) are available at the New Glarus trailhead. Walking is free.

New Glarus Cow Parade

Imported from Switzerland and painted with fanciful designs by local artists, the life-size “herd” of cow sculptures adds even more whimsy to New Glarus’ charming downtown. Can you find all 15 without checking the map?

Courthouse Square

With its six-story clock tower and grand turrets, the Green County Courthouse is a prime example of Romanesque Revival architecture and the centerpiece of historical Monroe. Take a self-guided tour to visit the judge’s bench; a robe and gavel invite a photo op.

Stay

Seven Acre Dairy

6858 Paoli Rd., Belleville.
(608) 416-4023

A former dairy plant that’s been smartly converted into an eight-room hotel, Seven Acre Dairy was an instant hit when it opened in 2023. Some of the modern, airy rooms and suites offer Sugar River views, and dinner at the onsite restaurant features house-churned butter and dry-aged dairy beef—what aficionados call “butter beef” due to its terrific marbling.

Wegmueller Farm

W4358 Montgomery Rd., Monroe

Up to 12 guests can share this comfortably appointed farmhouse to experience life on a family-owned dairy farm that’s still in operation. You’ll get the chance to interact with the animals—including hand-milking a cow—and both kids and adults can go for horseback rides.

Morning Dew Dairy Farm Country Stay

N. 3808 Duncan Hill Rd., Argyle.
(608) 206-6704

You can take in the sounds, scents, and sights of rural Wisconsin from your snug abode on an organic dairy farm at Morning Dew. If you’re so inclined, you can help with farm chores like collecting eggs from the chicken coop (or just watch if you’re feeling lazy); if you crave a bit more activity, Monroe is just 10 miles away.

Chalet Landhaus

801 WI-69, New Glarus.
(608) 527-5234

Beamed ceilings and other woodsy touches give the rooms at this New Glarus landmark a distinctly Alpine feel. Enjoy the indoor pool before tucking into a dinner of traditional Swiss specialties like Wiener schnitzel and cheese fondue, followed by a nightcap at Älpli Bar.

The Western Ramble

The route from Madison to Wisconsin’s hilly Driftless Area affords scenic vistas in any season. To make it a day trip, get an early start and head west on Route 14—also called the Frank Lloyd Wright Highway—and across the Wisconsin River to the village of Spring Green, the famous architect’s hometown.

Eat

Taliesin

5481 County Rd. C, Spring Green.
(608) 588-7900

Also known as Taliesin East, this 800-acre hillside complex preserves the legacy of architect and designer Frank Lloyd Wright. A visit to Wright’s home, studio, school, and surrounding landscape, which Wright viewed as his laboratory, offers a perspective into his theories and processes. Taliesin is also the home to River View Terrace, the only restaurant Wright ever designed. 

Reunion

134 W. Jefferson St, Spring Green.
(608) 588-0500

Housed in an historic bank building, one of Spring Green’s newest restaurants mixes artful cuisine with retro-cool decor and a friendly, cheerful vibe. The seasonal menu spotlights locally sourced cheeses, produce, and proteins. 

Shop

Wander Provisions 

128 Albany St., Spring Green.
(608) 588-7532

“Go outside. Take a snack.” is the tagline for this one-stop picnic supply shop, where the sandwiches are served with a side of sass. Treat yourself to an artisan cone from Frozen Local, the ice cream shop that shares the Wander space. 

See

The House on the Rock

5754 WI-23, Spring Green.
(608) 935-3639

The world’s largest carousel, a 200-foot-long sea creature, a room full of music machines, and hundreds of dollhouses—each uniquely decorated—are just a few of the collectibles you’ll find at Alex Jordan’s madcap “house,” which he opened as a tourist attraction in 1960.

American Players Theatre

5950 Golf Course Rd, Spring Green.
(608) 588-2361

One of the country’s most respected theater companies for classic productions, APT presents nine plays during its June to November season. For the full experience, arrive early enough for a picnic on the lovely grounds.

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Any host worth their salt will tell you that a good charcuterie board is so much more than a pile of meat and cheese: It’s a gathering place for peckish pre-dinner grazers; a stalwart source of calories for any Italian aperitivo hour. When thoughtfully assembled, it becomes a varied and colorful centerpiece that takes way less time to throw together than your average plate of canapés. As such, crafting an Italian-style charcuterie board is all about creating moments of harmony and contrast. Melt-in-your-mouth mortadella cascades into crumbly crackers; slick and fatty salumi sings alongside bright and bracing pickles and fruits; sharp, tongue-tingling cheeses are tempered by sweet jams and honeys. Here are four creative tips for assembling an eye-catching charcuterie board that’s as flavorful as it is beautiful.

1. Consider Shapes

It was reportedly the ancient Roman gourmand Apicius who first said that we “eat with our eyes.” While salumi as we know it likely didn’t exist then, he may as well have been referring to an artfully constructed charcuterie board, resplendent with piles of colorful fruits and nuts, meandering rivers of thinly sliced meats, and deftly arranged heaps of crumbly cheeses. When you begin constructing your charcuterie board, first consider the shape of the board, and how you might best fill the space. Using a mix of complementary and contrasting shapes, you can begin to create a dynamic display. Consider round ingredients—cheeses like miniature brie, fruits like dried apricots and grapes, ring-shaped Italian taralli crackers, and slices of Veroni’s salame Milano—to accentuate the shape of round boards, or contrast the shape of rectangular boards. At the same time, consider angular ingredients—square seed crackers, semi-firm cheeses sliced into wedges, mortadella cut into triangles or half-moons, and sliced fresh fruits like apples or persimmons—to further enhance the contrast. Larger pieces of sliced meat, like prosciutto or mortadella, can be folded neatly and arranged into compact rectilinear shapes, or folded into more organic shapes, like rosettes, to create more variety.   

2. Play with Colors

Beyond simple shapes, an ingredient’s color can also help create visual intrigue on a charcuterie board. When we think about color in this context, we’re thinking about hue (what we recognize as the distinct color of an object, like red or green), and value (how light or dark that color is). Most cured meats and salumi are a dark pinkish-red color, so break them up visually with components of complementary colors—like bright green grapes and apple slices—or contrasting values—like pale crackers and creamy, off-white cheeses. If you step back from your board and squint, you should still be able to see distinct components, differentiated by the varying hues and values. If separate elements start to blur together, consider breaking up the chunks with ingredients of higher contrast.

3. Explore Textures

Fortunately for charcuterie board enthusiasts, ingredients with differing shapes and colors also tend to have differing textures, which creates another element of sensory contrast—but this time, a contrast of taste. Think about textures on a scale from buttery soft to shatteringly crisp: Certain cured meats like Veroni mortadella and prosciutto, as well as many soft and spreadable cheeses, are full of fat, which gives them an unctuous texture that melts on the tongue. There’s a reason these ingredients pair so well with crumbly crackers, seed-studded breadsticks, and crunchy fruits and vegetables. Consider assembling a spectrum of textures for every component on your board: creamy goat’s milk cheese and firm aged gouda; crisp water crackers and pillowy focaccia; crunchy quartered radishes and chewy dried apricots.

4. Reflect on Flavors

The final piece of the charcuterie puzzle is flavor: Even similar or overlapping textures can create sensory excitement when the contrast in flavor is dialed up. Most cured meats taste, well, meaty—a rich, savory umami that is easily counterbalanced by acidity, bitterness, and sweetness. For pairing, highlight the varying flavors by opting for a range of different meats, like Veroni’s smoky speck, peppery salame Calabrese, or fennel-studded salame Toscano. Briny, acidic pickles, whole-grain mustards, and sweet-tart fruits like apples, strawberries, grapes, and persimmons cut easily through fatty meats and cheeses, while firmer cheeses like Parmigiano-Reggiano or aged gouda, which tend to have acidic crystals of tyrosine distributed throughout, pair well with softer, sweeter accompaniments, like honeys and jams.  

Ultimately, if you shop with variety in mind (and Veroni’s AperiTime selections can make it easy to gather an assortment of small portions), when the time comes to assemble you can use these suggestions as guiding principles to play around. Arranging the platter should be fun, and you can always change things as you go, responding to new shapes and textures and flavors as you place ingredients on the board. Snacking as you work is strongly encouraged.  

The post 4 Artful Tips for a Perfect Charcuterie Board, Every Time appeared first on Saveur.

Madeline Kuhn yanks open a metal door six times her size. A pungent, acidic, yeasty scent comes trailing outward, but her nose is used to it. “I spend a lot of time down here,” she says, as she takes stock of the shelves weighed down with hunks of cheese. Pale yellow wheels on spruce boards line the walls from floor to ceiling—Roth’s Grand Cru Surchoix, the 2016 World Cheese Champion.

“When I was new, I asked if my desk could be in the cellars. I insisted I was totally fine just hanging out here.” She chuckles, then gives a half sigh. “Yeah, that didn’t materialize.”

Still, Kuhn spends much of her day in these rooms. A 29-year-old research and development technician for Emmi Roth, one of Wisconsin’s most decorated cheesemakers for brands like Roth Cheese and others, Kuhn is a licensed cheesemaker herself. America’s Dairyland, fittingly, is the only state in the U.S. that requires a license to make and sell cheese. Though she grew up on a farm with dairy cows, she never tried cheesemaking prior to stepping through Roth’s doors: “I learned—and fast.” 

Nearly seven years later, Kuhn’s touch can be found all across the cellars, conveyor belts, copper vats, and steel shelves of Roth’s Monroe, Wisconsin facility. The company, with roots dating back to the 1860s, processes 400,000 pounds of milk every day—that’s 40,000 pounds of cheese, divvied up across a dozen-plus varieties. Though no two days in Kuhn’s life are quite the same, here’s how Wisconsin’s young cheesemaking superstar spends an average day—honing her craft, dreaming up new cheeses, and continuing Roth’s legacy.

She pipes at dawn.

It’s 3:30 a.m., and Kuhn’s already hard at work. That’s when the pipes are running the type of milk she needs for her latest experiment. All of Roth’s milk comes from nearby, mostly from small, family-owned farms, and all of it gets turned into cheese within 72 hours. If there’s a specific milk Kuhn wants, she’s got to act fast.

Kuhn spends the wee hours of the morning circling a small metal vat roughly the size of a baby’s crib. Whenever she’s cooking up a new recipe, she works in miniature. Miniature to her, that is—enormous to the rest of us. The trial pilot equipment she’s setting up holds 500 pounds of milk, and the vat will eventually birth two 19-pound wheels. (In contrast, the standard-sized vats around her hold 30,000 pounds, pre-cheese.) 

It’s a laborious process that takes hours just to prep: She cleans, sanitizes, hooks up pipes, prepares ingredients, gathers and weighs cultures and enzymes, monitors the milk’s temperature and pH, and keeps an eye on the cheese as it forms. It’s equal parts nurturing and scientific, both deeply mathematical and deeply creative. 

Once the cheese takes shape, things get a little bit easier to manage, she says, and that’s when she can step away to attend to things like meetings, paperwork, and checking on her other trials and experiments. The fruits of her labor are littered across the facility—cheeses in wheels and blocks with hot-magenta trial tags. To the untrained eye, the tags are enigmatic: ECW v 5. pH target 5.25. Brine in trial. “It’s…rather secretive. Most people don’t know what we’re working on,” she says. 

This cheese she’s dreaming up now will need to age for up to a year. She won’t go into too much detail, partly because she can’t. The cheese doesn’t have a name or story yet. 

“It’s what you might call a hybrid cheese,” she discloses. “We’re pulling out flavors and aromas across well-known cheeses and combining them into a different format. It’s one of my favorite realms to play in.” 

A world of pure imagination (and delayed gratification). 

Clad in a white jacket, goggles, hairnet, hardhat, and boots, Kuhn also runs facility-wide technical support, monitoring production at every stage. Beyond the cellars, there are pasteurization tanks and copper vats (which Roth pioneered in the U.S.), the brine room (“it’s sort of like a cheese spa!”), and aging and storage rooms, where tag after tag hang in the final lurches of judgment. Most of the cheeses never get tasted outside the facility.

“The nature of R&D is that less than 10 percent of what you work on goes anywhere,” she explains, rattling off a plethora of reasons—flavor, color, cost, timing, and stakeholder interest. To succeed in the job, she continues, a cheesemaker has to understand that everything is a learning experience, and that nothing is a failure. 

“R&D can get a little weird,” she adds with a laugh. She recalls a cheese so soft it crawled off the boards; the black-garlic experiment that turned out delicious, but gray. “It feels a bit like Willy Wonka sometimes.”

Like the candymaker, Kuhn works in intricate halls, where cave- and river-like systems flow, often quite literally, with cheese. She, too, is a scientist and a chemist—just one who works not in marshmallow rooms but in cellars of fontina. And instead of “invention being 2% butterscotch ripple,” it’s 2% buttermilk gorgonzola. 

Unlike Willy Wonka, though, Kuhn has no magic buttons and levers she can press or pull, and no instant gratification for her meticulous work. Roth Aged Gouda, which is Kuhn’s recipe, is just one example: That project took her three years. 

It’s a bit of a rollercoaster, she admits, and it’s easy to get attached to long-term projects. “But I don’t look at that as a bad thing,” she notes. “I prefer to have that kind of stake in my work—I should be the biggest advocate for everything I create.”

The biggest, perhaps, but certainly not the only. Roth’s cheeses have millions of fans, and if Kuhn keeps at it, she may find her creations cheered on by millions more.

The post A Day in the Life: Meet Wisconsin’s Newest Superstar Cheesemaker appeared first on Saveur.

At a Wisconsin-themed winter fondue party, our editor-in-chief Kat Craddock melted down two types of cheddar—an earthy, farmhouse-style version and a classic sharp—for a zippy, beer-spiked riff on the classic dish. 

Featured in “Lessons From a Fondue Fête with Two Wisconsin Cheesemakers.”

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Paula Heimerl and Orphee Paillotin’s Mount Raclette is a smear-ripened cheese, which means it’s been hand-washed in their cellar for several months to give it a uniquely deep flavor. To tease out the ultra-savory notes in the cheese and add an extra oomph to Alpine-style fondue, Paula recommends rubbing the inside of your pot with garlic before adding the rest of the ingredients. 

Featured in “Lessons From a Fondue Fête with Two Wisconsin Cheesemakers.”

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Wisconsin’s Crave Brothers Mascarpone lends this silky spiced chocolate fondue from Fatima Khawaja its rich and milky flavor and a luxurious texture that holds together well over a low warmer. Khawaja served this fondue with a bounty of sweet dippers; do the same, or keep it simple with just one or two sweet treats.

Featured in “Lessons From a Fondue Fête with Two Wisconsin Cheesemakers.”

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