Sure, you know there’s more to cheese than Kraft slices and Velveeta logs. But walking through the gourmet cheese section of your supermarket can be daunting. There’s everything from fresh to aged, sweet to stinky, spoonable to hackable. Throw in all the milk options—cow, goat, even sheep—and you might be ready to squirt your crackers with some Cheez Whiz and call it a day.
We’re taking out the guesswork with our list of the top 10 cheeses every man should try. After polling a panel of top cheese experts from across the country—including specialty cheese shop owners, chefs, and even a food scientist—we whittled down the picks to those which popped up most often on their lists. Then, we placed the expert-vetted cheeses in front of the most discerning critic of all: the average guy.Men’s Health taste-tested more than 20 of the world’s best cheeses to discover the 10 best cheeses, expert-recommended, man-approved.
This cheese stinks—in the best possible way. It’s a ripe cheese that’s bathed with brine twice-weekly to encourage the growth of its pungent bacteria and reddish orange rind. The makers named it “Hooligan” because it’s a tricky cheese to make, says Anne Saxelby of Saxelby Cheesemongers in New York City, but the hard work pays off. Our testers praised its creamy texture, nutty flavor, and potency that evolves as you eat it. Cheese newbies, beware. “Not for the faint of heart, cheese-wise,” one tester warns. “Sophisticated.” What to pair it with? You can’t go wrong serving the Hooligan with a good Belgian dubbel or tripel, says Hunter Fike, general manager of Di Bruno Bros. Italian Market in Philadelphia. ($35 for half a wheel, murrayscheese.com)
Simplify your party appetizers: just cut off the top of this savory cheese’s rind, arm your guests with spoons and hunks of crusty bread, and let them dig in. Made with raw milk, this rich, woodsy cheese has a custard-like consistency that melts in your mouth. Our testers loved its earthy, meaty flavor (“Truffles?” one asked) and its slightly smokey taste. “So much depth I’m swimming in flavor,” a tester said. Only downfall? It’s seasonal. “Rush Creek Reserve is one of America’s best,” says Matt Jennings, chef and owner of Farmstead & La Laiterie, in Providence, Rhode Island, “but it’s only available in late fall through the winter.” So put this on your cheese bucket list for the upcoming months—that’ll give you time to find a good, acidic wine like a Riesling to pair it with. ($25 per 20 oz., uplandscheese.com; available November through February)
Parmigiano-Reggiano Italy, specifically in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena
If it comes in a shaker with a green lid and looks like chalk dust, it’s not Parmigiano-Reggiano. In fact, anything labeled “Parmesan” is not Parmigiano-Reggiano but a foreign knockoff. Get this: The name “Parmigiano-Reggiano” is protected by Italian law and can be used only by the region in Italy where they make the real deal. The hard cheese can be aged anywhere from 12 months up to a full 36. We sampled a two-year Parm (or la villa) and a three-year (stravecchio) and found that the three-year tasted more intense than the one aged only two. That may be because as cheese ages, bacteria in the cheese that originate from places like the milk and the processing plant are breaking down fats and proteins in the cheese, says food scientist Robert Ward. Ultimately, the two-year Parm won us over with its subtler but still powerful flavor. Try it for dessert. (Starting from about $20 a pound; cowgirlcreamery.com,murrayscheese.com, dibruno.com)
Ossau-Iraty vieille France
This cheese “will please people who know nothing about cheese and those who have distinguished palates and have tasted a lot of cheeses,” says Elizabeth Chubbuck, associate director of wholesale at Murray’s. The French cheese, which one taster described as “pleasantly pungent,” has a balance of sweetness, nuttiness, and saltiness. The classic combo is Ossau-Iraty and Bordeux, but the higher fat content in the raw sheep’s milk gives this cheese a smooth mouthfeel that goes well with any of the more complex, full-bodied, aged red wines, says Chubbuck. She also recommends trying it with a nice ham, such as a two-year-aged prosciutto, Iberico, or Serrano. ($34 a pound, murrayscheese.com)
For a few of our tasters, this cheese was life changing: “This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever eaten!” said one. “One of the best cheeses of the entire taste test,” raved another. Wrapped in a strip of spruce bark from Jasper Hill’s Vermont farm and washed in a lambic-style beer brewed from wild yeasts, this cheese imparts a pleasant earthy flavor that can vary batch-to-batch from smoky to fruity to mustard-like to meaty. It’s delicious with pale ale and some fresh or baked apples or pears, says Peggy Smith, co-founder of Cowgirl Creamery. We like to pair it with nothing but a spoon. (Available January through June; about $30 a pound, or $40 a wheel; cowgirlcreamery.com, murrayscheese.com,formaggiokitchen.com, and some Whole Foods)
Comte France
Say what you will about the French—they know their cheese. Comte, which is similar to Gruyere, is the most popular cheese in France, and it was pretty popular among our tasters as well. “Wonderful mouthfeel and incredibly wonderful taste!” said one. And unlike some of the cheeses on our list, this one isn’t hard to find: “You can buy Comte in a lot of stores, and I don’t think I’ve ever had one that wasn’t really good,” says Smith, who enjoys pairing the sweet, salty, tangy cheese with dry sherry, cherries, or bittersweet chocolate. (From about $20 to $40 a pound; cowgirlcreamery.com, formaggiokitchen.com)
This is not your average Cheddar. Cabot sources the milk from a single herd of Holstein cows on a family farm in Vermont. The cheese is then wrapped in muslin and cellar aged for 10 to 14 months. The result is a firm, English-style Cheddar with a bold yet balanced flavor, buttery and nutty, with a caramelized sweetness and a characteristic crunch of lactic acid crystals, says Jeff Roberts, principal consultant at the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese. Beyond simply showcasing it on a cheese board, this Cheddar makes an amazing grilled cheese, mac & cheese, or an accompaniment to apple pie. Try it with a sparkling hard cider, robust zinfandel, or a dark beer. ($23 for 8 oz., murrayscheese.com)
Forget everything you thought you knew about goat cheese. The cheese geniuses at the Nettle Meadow Farm are performing alchemy with this mold-ripened variety. Prepared on a small family farm located in the southern Adirondacks, this bloomed-rind triple-cream cheese is made from a combination of 75% goat’s milk and 25% Jersey cow cream. The blend makes the cheese rich, creamy, and flavorful. says John Fischer, associate professor with the Culinary Institute of America. Roberts suggests complementing the luscious, buttery aromas with fruit preserves and honey. Enjoy with sparkling wine, champagne or Sauvignon Blanc, says Fischer. ($17 for 7 oz., artisanalcheese.com)
This blue cheese is made from raw Brown Swiss and Holstein cow’s milk. The cheese rounds are then hand-wrapped in pear-brandy-soaked grape leaves, and aged for a minimum of nine to 12 months. Cutting through the grape leaves reveals a kaleidoscope of blues and greens and the texture of the cheese is simultaneously creamy with a rock-candy crunch that dissolves on your tongue, leaving you with hints of pear and hazelnuts. Our test panel drooled; “Creamy and tart,” and “this is what cheese is supposed to taste like.” Chester Hastings, chef and author of The Cheesemonger’s Kitchen, loves this cheese crumbled over bitter greens drizzled with honey, or atop a grilled steak fresh. Pair it with a red dessert wine or a Chenin Blanc. ($32 for 10 oz., roguecreamery.com)
It’s our second winner from Uplands and, according to Fischer, this is arguably one of the greatest cheeses currently being produced in the United States. Pleasant Ridge Reserve is made seasonally, from May through October, when the cows have access to fresh pasture. The grass-fed cows’ raw milk produces a complex, rich flavor. Notes from our testers: “nutty and potent” and “a hint of fruit and very smooth!” It’s usually eaten as a table cheese, but, like Gruyere, you can use it in fondue or omelets. It also pairs well with most wines, from Chardonnay to pinot noir ($29 for 8 oz.., murrayscheese.com).
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