6 Best Grocery Chain Cheese Departments
America’s cheese business is booming. According to Statista, 6.35 million metric tons of cheese were produced in the United States in 2022, making it the highest recorded number since 2013. Unsurprisingly, Wisconsin—nicknamed America’s Dairyland—leads the states in total cheese production with California close behind.
Many of the nation’s top grocery chains are putting increased emphasis on their cheese offerings, too, with companies like Whole Foods hiring a global cheese expert and Kroger purchasing the famous New York City cheese shop Murray’s Cheese.
That’s why we rounded up six grocery chains with top-tier cheese departments—so that your weekly charcuterie board is always on point.
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Wegmans sources artisanal cheeses from around the world and even has its own 12,300-square-foot cheese aging-facility with seven “ripening rooms” to properly nurture the selections before they hit store shelves, according to the grocer’s website. The effort is getting results: Wegmans’ unique washed-rind cheese, Sake 2 Me, made with Japanese rice wine, won a bronze medal at the World Cheese Competition in 2019. “Best cheese I ever had,” one Redditor raved of the grocer’s selection, describing it as “reasonably priced” and “a great assortment.”
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Whole Foods has 300 certified cheese professionals in stores, not even counting the hired cheesemongers. According to the grocery store’s website, customers are allowed to sample the cheese, cut any size needed, and can custom order a cheese platter. The site Cheese Professor ranked the Cypress Grove Midnight Moon and Roth Buttermilk Blue are some of the chain’s best offerings.
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Aldi cheeses have somewhat of a…
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