8 questions about cheese and cheesemaking, answered by a famous cheese taster and judge

The saying may be “we all scream for ice cream,” but I think we should all be screaming for .

For as long as I can remember, has been my absolute, undisputed favorite . Sometimes, when I confess this to others, they appear confused, and I’ve often wondered why.

For starters,  has such a range of flavors, textures and consistencies. A bite of brie is very different than a bite of gorgonzola, which is wildly different than cave-aged Gruyère or fresh, salty mozzarella.

I love eating cheese straight out of the fridge, when it’s at room temperature, when it’s melty and ooey gooey or when it’s melted and uber-crispy. From edam and Fontina to Manchego and taleggio, the world of cheese has so much to offer. I love cheese.

Cheese has such a range of flavors, textures and consistencies.

If cheese isn’t your favorite , maybe the reason is because it feels intimidating to shop for or work with at home. Sometimes, it’s hard to know where to start when putting together a cheese platter for a group of friends. Picking up some shredded mozzarella for a lasagna isn’t a huge effort, but identifying the best complexities and varieties of quality cheeses for a cheese board is a little more of an undertaking.

To demystify all things cheese, Salon spoke via email with Craig Gile, the northwest regional sales manager at Cabot Creamery Co-operative. Gile is a former Cabot cheese grader who tasted up to 200 cheese samples a day. He now judges cheese competitions and presents “sensory presentations” on pick the best cheeses to retailers.

The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

What got you started in the “cheese world?”

Having grown up on a small dairy farm in northern Vermont, I have always had a passion for dairy products. I started working at Cabot soon after I finished my undergrad. After spending years as a cheese grader (taster), I started getting involved in the wider cheese world when I began…

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