We’ve already covered hard, flaky cheeses<\/a> (e.g. gouda and clothbound cheddar), semi-soft, fudgy cheeses<\/a> (most blues and block cheddars), and soft, gooey cheeses<\/a> (like \u00c9poisses<\/a> and Vacherin Mont d\u2019Or<\/a>). Next up in our guide is Firm, Toothsome Cheeses<\/strong>. Toothsome cheeses are hearty and firm\u2014a bite will leave behind a perfect imprint of your teeth. With a good cheese slicer or knife, you can cut toothsome cheeses into thin slices and they will not break, crumble, or flake apart. A long piece of toothsome cheese bent at a 90-degree angle will break, not stretch back into shape. Examples include Comt\u00e9<\/a>, Gruy\u00e8re<\/a>, and aged block cheddars.<\/p>\n Heart of Basque is produced, appropriately, at the center of the French region famous for aged sheep\u2019s milk cheeses like Ossau-Iraty<\/a> and Etorki<\/a>. This tomme-style<\/a> wheel has a lot in common with those classics (raw milk, pressed curds, a natural rind), but it\u2019s made with cow\u2019s milk\u2014a fact that sets the World Cheese Awards Super Gold\u2013winning Aged Heart apart from other local offerings, according to Onetik marketing manager Lucile Giquel. \u201cIt offers a taste typical of Basque and stronger than other cow\u2019s cheeses,\u201d she says. \u201cThis combination is really unique.\u201d<\/p>\n Young versions are buttery, becoming earthier during six months of aging. If you find Onetik cheese, look for little red freckles on the exterior\u2014it\u2019s a special mold that lives in the company\u2019s cellars and sometimes colonizes the rind. The dots recall the pattern on a trout\u2019s skin, which is why the Onetik staff calls these cheeses fromages truite\u0301s<\/i>, or \u201ctrouted cheeses.\u201d<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Roasted almonds, butter, floral, pungent Beehive Cheese Barely Buzzed<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n Ten years ago, brothers-in-law Tim Welsh and Pat Ford traded corporate gigs for cheesemaking in Northern Utah\u2019s rugged Wasatch Mountains and earned industry fame almost immediately. The family-run Beehive Cheese Company\u2019s most celebrated creation, Barely Buzzed<\/a>\u2014first released in 2006\u2014is a pasteurized Jersey cow\u2019s milk cheese rubbed with ground lavender buds and coffee beans roasted exclusively for the company by Welsh\u2019s brother, owner of Colorado Legacy Fine Coffee<\/a>.<\/p>\n The resulting wheel\u2014a mad-scientist experiment inspired by Ig Vella\u2019s cocoa- and pepper-rubbed Dry Jack<\/a>, Ford says\u2014boasts tannic, floral, and butterscotch notes that spread from rind to center during eight months of aging. The cheese\u2019s cheddarlike paste is smooth and creamy with unforgettable zip. No surprise, then, that this true American invention nabbed first place at the 2015 American Cheese Society Competition & Judging for the fifth<\/em> time.<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Butterscotch, toast, cream, tangy Produced in Ireland\u2019s austerely beautiful Burren National Park<\/a>, this gouda-style<\/a> round is no stranger to awards. With numerous accolades from past British and Irish Cheese Awards, Burren Gold\u2014which was first produced in 1985\u2014cemented its relevance to the contemporary palate by scoring the Eugene Burns Trophy for Best Irish Cheese at this year\u2019s British Cheese Awards.<\/p>\n Cheesemaker Diarmuid O\u2019Callaghan crafts Burren Gold with Holstein Friesian milk from Daveron\u2019s Farm\u2014three miles away\u2014in the on-site factory attached to the 1.5 million-year-old Aillwee Cave complexes. The decision to create gouda, he says, came from his predecessor Ben Johnson, who wanted a cheese that could be made in a day. Burren Gold is waxed by hand before aging between two months to two years (this year\u2019s winning cheese was aged 10 months). The secret to success? O\u2019Callaghan believes the wild grasses where the herd grazes imbue the cheese with its award-winning edge.<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Savory, tangy, herbaceous De Jerseyhoeve & Treur Dieken<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n Dieken<\/i> refers to the dikes that stretch along the coast of the Dutch island of Goeree-Overflakkee to protect inhabitants from flooding during high tide. Thanks to these levees, the 80 Jersey cows<\/a> munching on clover and wild herbs at De Jerseyhoeve farm keep their hooves dry. Their fresh milk is sent to local dairy De Mekkerstee\u2014a goat farm that also serves a social mission by employing mental health patients\u2014where it is transformed into this gouda-style<\/a> cheese. Wheels are aged six months at Treur\u2019s warehouse, where they find ample space among roughly 21 miles of wooden shelves, currently home to 2.4 million pounds of cheese.<\/p>\n According to Treur marketing and communications director Monique van der Meer, most gouda cheeses in the Netherlands are made with Holstein cow\u2019s milk, so the higher fat and protein content of Jersey milk used for Dieken results in a creamier-than-usual finished product. After six months of careful aging, small crystals develop in the paste and the cheese has what van der Meer calls an \u201cextra bite. \u2026 It sparkles on the tongue.\u201d It certainly dazzled tasters at the International Cheese Awards in July, where the cheese was named the Reserve Supreme Champion.<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Nuts, butter, cream Emmentaler<\/a> is already a famous AOP cheese, meaning that producers must abide by strict criteria. However, affineur Walo von Mu\u0308hlenen takes extra steps to ensure that his version stands out from the crowd. And not just during the aging process\u2014von Mu\u0308hlenen demands a high level of quality from the beginning. For example, he\u2019s worked with his producers, various small dairies in the Emme Valley, to develop special starter cultures for wheels that he matures later. Raw milk is always sourced from within six miles of the dairies and delivered immediately to ensure its essential qualities are preserved. Minimum aging for Emmentaler AOP is four months, but von Mu\u0308hlenen matures all wheels for export to the US a minimum of 14 months. This strengthens and deepens the flavors of the usually mild Swiss classic.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s close to a Gruy\u00e8re<\/a>,\u201d says von Mu\u0308hlenen, \u201cbut you still have the sweetness and nutty taste of a normal Emmentaler. It\u2019s a very complex and fine taste profile.\u201d<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Nuts, fruit, citrus, sweet LaClare Farms Evalon<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n Cheesemaking prodigy Katie Fuhrmann\u2014ne\u0301e Hedrich\u2014crafts this heavenly, four-month-aged beauty on her family\u2019s goat dairy. She developed the recipe with a consultant and several colleagues, and outside of a cottage cheese she whipped up in fifth-grade science class, it was her first attempt at cheesemaking.<\/p>\n The decorated raw-milk Evalon<\/a> is creamy with a dense paste. Named after patriarch Larry Hedrich\u2019s grandmother, it\u2019s also available with fenugreek or cumin, varieties that pair beautifully with charcuterie or pickled vegetables. (LaClare Farms is on a roll: Their Chandoka<\/a>, a goat\u2019s and cow\u2019s milk cheddar, just won Best of Show runner-up at the 2015 American Cheese Society Judging & Competition.)<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Fruit, nuts, earth Bleating Heart Cheese proprietor Seana Doughty had no plans to make cheese when she left her research administration job in 2008 to work as a monger. But once she got behind the counter, \u201cI knew I wanted to be a cheesemaker,\u201d Doughty says. \u201cIt was like when people fall in love\u2014you just know.\u201d<\/p>\n Fat Bottom Girl<\/a>, released in 2009, was Doughty’s first cheese. With a half-dozen awards, including back-to-back blue ribbons at the American Cheese Society Judging & Competition in 2014 and 2015, it\u2019s also her most-decorated wheel. The flavor of this raw sheep\u2019s milk cheese\u2014aged between three and four months\u2014varies with the season and the animals\u2019 diets, Doughty says, but it typically has a \u201cnice sheepy, nutty, buttery thing going on.\u201d<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Butter, delicate citrus, toasted almonds Central Coast Creamery Goat Cheddar<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n Many Californians descended from pioneers who flocked west for the Gold Rush or during the Dust Bowl\u2014so it\u2019s no wonder that an intrepid spirit drives the state\u2019s cheesemakers, says Central Coast Creamery\u2019s Reggie Jones: \u201cWe\u2019re all trying to do new things, try new techniques and culture combinations, and come out with exciting cheeses.\u201d For his goat cheddar<\/a>\u2014which picked up a first-place ribbon at this year\u2019s American Cheese Society Judging & Competition\u2014Jones thought outside the block. Unlike many other goat cheddars, typically available in 20- or 40-pound bricks, Jones\u2019s three-month-aged creation is made in presentable 10-pound rounds.<\/p>\n In addition, the cheese isn\u2019t \u201ccheddared,\u201d Jones says; instead, large squares of curd are placed in forms. It\u2019s also brined, then matured at 55\u00b0F, a temperature that\u2019s higher than usual for cheddar. Extra water is added during the make process to create a moister, smoother paste sans the graininess that can characterize che\u0300vre. \u201cIt\u2019s different than anything else out there,\u201d Jones says.<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Brown sugar, goaty tang, salty-sweet Canadian Cheese Grand Prix category winner Heidi<\/a> is a firm, washed-rind cheese made with milk from pasture-fed Guernsey<\/a> and Brown Swiss<\/a> cows\u2014prized for its high butterfat and elevated levels of beta carotene and A2 beta-casein protein.<\/p>\n Established and well-respected, Debra Amrein-Boyes of Farm House Natural Cheeses is a member of the prestigious Guilde des Fromagers Confre\u0301rie de Saint-Uguzon<\/a>, or the French Cheese Guild, an organization that recognizes and protects time-honored cheese traditions. Similar in taste to Gruy\u00e8re<\/a>, Heidi is an ode to the craftsmanship and precision behind Europe\u2019s Alpine cheeses\u2014a style<\/a> that\u2019s still relatively rare in the Canadian artisan cheese world. Created using milk produced only during summer months and aged eight months to one year, Heidi has a deep flaxen paste and a firm, slightly crumbly texture. It has pronounced nutty and grassy notes and a satisfyingly sweet finish.<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Hazelnuts, grass, earth, sweet This DO cheese embodies the ancient relationship between man and goat on the Canary Island of Fuerteventura. The first type of Spanish goat\u2019s cheese to obtain designation of origin status, Majorero (meaning \u201cfrom Fuerteventura\u201d) cheeses like Maxorata are made from the milk of the hardy Majorera goat, which forages on the island\u2019s arid landscapes.<\/p>\n Founded by local farmers, Grupo Ganaderos de Fuerteventura collects milk for its cured Maxorata cheese daily from 40 goat herders across the island. According to the group\u2019s general manager, Esteban Alberto Pe\u0301rez, Maxorata surprises from the get-go. \u201cNormally, goat\u2019s milk cheeses have notes indicative of the milk\u2019s origin,\u201d he says, \u201cbut that\u2019s not the case with Maxorata, which has a toasted aroma and creamy texture.\u201d Pe\u0301rez adds that the cheese\u2019s sweet, caramel notes stem from the pasteurization process, while six to eight months of aging further encourage its intense aromas.<\/p>\n Also key to this cheese\u2019s character is its rust-colored rind, which is coated with pimento\u0301n (Spanish paprika). This traditional preservation technique infuses the cheese with a slight yet complex bitterness. Take note: Pe\u0301rez advises eating Maxorata sans rind.<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Caramel, sweet, toasted Queso Idiaza\u0301bal<\/a> la Vasco Navarra<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n Idiaza\u0301bal DO<\/a> is made from the milk of small Latxa and Carranza sheep, ancient Spanish breeds that have been marking the seasons for millennia in the lush, mountainous areas of Basque Country and Navarra. In the summer, sheep are driven up traditional grazing routes to higher altitudes; from February to August, cheese is made down in the valleys. While milk production is very low (it takes seven sheep to produce just over two pounds of cheese), it is concentrated and rich, lending this raw-milk cheese a clean flavor and penetrating aroma, tempered by delicately smoky, nutty notes.<\/p>\n Collected daily from area shepherds, milk is heated slowly and curdled with traditional lamb rennet. The mixture is broken into rice-size curds and separated from its whey. The cheese is pressed, ladled into round forms, and brined in salt water for 24 hours. By law, Idiaza\u0301bal must be aged at least 60 days, but export manager Jorge Marcos Ozamiz says that Quesos La Vasco Navarra strives for an optimal curing time of four months. During maturation, the cheese is smoked briefly over beech wood. The golden-brown, inedible rind reveals a firm, pale-yellow interior that is slightly elastic and creamy in texture.<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Nuts, smoke, slightly sweet St\u00e4rn\u00e4ch\u00e4s<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n Cheeses aged by Walo von Mu\u0308hlenen take home awards galore. Perhaps there\u2019s something built into the Swiss affineur\u2019s genetic code: His family has been maturing cheeses for five generations. The legacy began in the Bern grocery store that Andreas von Mu\u0308hlenen opened in 1845, and it continues today in the network of caves around the country that the company oversees. Over the years, von Mu\u0308hlenen\u2019s focus has increasingly turned towards ensuring the quality of the milk and cheese crafted on small dairies such as the Appenzell creamery that produces Sta\u0308rna\u0308cha\u0308s. The firm, raw-milk wheels are made in Alpine fashion and hail from the same Eastern Switzerland region as Appenzeller<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sta\u0308rna\u0308cha\u0308s\u2014a Super Gold champ at the most recent World Cheese Awards\u2014is matured a minimum of five months, becoming spicier, or more wu\u0308rzig<\/i>, with age, eventually developing small crystals in the paste. Von Mu\u0308hlenen describes the taste as quite strong yet pleasantly smooth.<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Nuts, spicy, sweet
\nAged Heart of Basque<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> This exuberant and aromatic cheese stands up well to a sweet, young Muscat de Rivesaltes.<\/p>\n![\"Beehive](\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/BARELYBUZZED_lrg.jpg\")
<\/a>Barely Buzzed<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Espresso and lavender nuances in Barely Buzzed sing with roasted nuts, dark chocolate, strawberries, and cured meats. Caffeine fiends should seek an espresso chaser, specifically one from Colorado Legacy Fine Coffee.<\/p>\n
\nBurren Gold<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Burren Gold is delicious on water crackers with caramelized red onion chutney.<\/p>\n![\"De](\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/dieken_lrg.jpg\")
<\/a>Dieken<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Nibble this cheese with sips of port wine or Belgian-style lager.<\/p>\n
\nEmmentaler<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Sample this wheel with pinot gris, preferably from the Swiss region of Valais.<\/p>\n![\"LaClare](\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Evalon_lrg.jpg\")
<\/a>Evalon<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Evalon shines with fruit-forward, semi-dry sparkling wine or intensely flavored grapes.<\/p>\n
\nFat Bottom Girl<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Light red wine such as pinot noir or gamay will punch up the cheese\u2019s subtle fruitiness and temper its richness\u2014just a bit.<\/p>\n![\"Central](\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/CentralCoast_GoatCheddar_lrg.jpg\")
<\/a>Goat Cheddar<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Bright, grassy sauvignon blanc is a fine foil for this straightforwardly named cheese.<\/p>\n
\nHeidi<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> An impressive and wine-friendly table cheese, Heidi finds friends in nuts and dried fruit. Let guests help themselves to the slab and keep the dry riesling flowing.<\/p>\n
\nMaxorata Curado Piment\u00f3n<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Pe\u0301rez recommends nibbling this cheese with an aperitif of dry, aged Spanish sherry, dried figs, and nuts.<\/p>\n![\"Queso](\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IDIAZABAL_lrg.jpg\")
<\/a>Queso Idiaz\u00e1bal la Vasco Navarra<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Ozamiz suggests serving Idiaza\u0301bal with fresh crusty bread or grilled pork. In Basque Country, it\u2019s common to see the cheese on the menus of Michelin-starred restaurants, blended into ice cream, cheesecake, or rice, or served simply with honey, nuts, and fruit.<\/p>\n![\"St\u00e4rn\u00e4ch\u00e4s\"](\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Starnachas_lrg.jpg\")
<\/a>St\u00e4rn\u00e4ch\u00e4s<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Le Vigne Winery<\/a> in Paso Robles, Calif., carries Sta\u0308rna\u0308cha\u0308s in their retail store, where it\u2019s usually paired with a bright and balanced super-Tuscan blend.<\/p>\n