{"id":48205,"date":"2024-09-12T09:36:09","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T13:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=48205"},"modified":"2024-09-18T08:29:28","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T12:29:28","slug":"teaching-with-cheese-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Curds in the Classroom: Cultivating the Next Generation’s Passion for Cheese"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Illustrated by Iris Busjahn<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boxes of cheese sat in front of my young students, and I knew all they wanted to do was start eating, but I wouldn\u2019t let them. First, we would write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like many mongers, my path to cheese was surprisingly winding. I\u2019d moved to New York to pursue an MFA in creative writing and needed a job. For three years, I worked part-time, juggling babysitting, adjunct teaching, and my own studies with days spent in my local Jackson Heights cheese shop, Stand Alone Cheese<\/a>, learning to cut to order and studying the names and origins of hundreds of cheeses that would soon become wedged in my memory. I helped customers find what they hadn\u2019t known they were looking for\u2014a significant part of the process of ordering cheese comes down to language and verbalizing desire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I started working at the shop full-time, I missed the classroom. I\u2019d led impromptu cheese tastings with friends and taught creative writing classes\u2014bringing the two together felt like a natural pairing. I\u2019d met so many children in the shop, some holding their noses saying, \u201cIt smells like cheese in here,\u201d waiting by the door, and some sent on errands to grab a baguette and order something gooey. Their attitudes got me thinking: What if we studied the language of cheese together in a fun, delicious way? I made posters and waited to see if anyone would sign up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the neighborhood restaurant that provided the space our tiny shop lacked, 12 heads bowed over their papers. We brainstormed words describing flavor and texture\u2014buttery, salty, funky; creamy, crumbly, sticky\u2014and discussed concepts such as what it means for a cheese to \u201ctaste grassy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d never eaten grass, but the cows had, and we discussed the animals and where they live. In a world and a city where we can find whatever we want whenever we want it, concepts of seasonality and availability can feel distant. Growing up, I didn\u2019t know about summer milk or winter milk. I didn\u2019t know that some cheeses mature for years before they\u2019re cut open, and that they are a result of terroir and sweat and patience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The kids were like journalists taking notes describing color and shape. They inhaled, noting the distinctive smells of each cheese. And finally\u2014finally!\u2014 they tasted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were hits and misses. Marieke Gouda Foenegreek<\/a> was easy to love with its semi-firm paste and sweet, maple flavor. \u201cPerfect for pancake lovers,\u201d wrote one child. The Wisconsin 14-year cheddar we tasted was older than all the kids in the room, and while I\u2019d thought its intensity might yield creative descriptions, the sharpness left their eyes watering. \u201cNot for the faint of heart,\u201d wrote another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was eager to share a favorite cheese from Valley Milkhouse<\/a>, the first producer I\u2019d ordered from directly in my new role as shop manager. Witchgrass is lactic, bloomy, and aged in vegetable ash, and when cut in half, it reveals layers of color and a texture resembling freshly whipped cream. While the ash gave some of the children pause, once tasted, the reaction was universal. One student wrote, \u201cLooks may be deciveing [sic]. It may look like mold but is soft and creamy. 10 out of 10.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former teacher turned cheesemonger shares her passion for cheese with children to create the next generation of curd nerds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":48213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[590],"tags":[],"coauthors":[34611],"class_list":["post-48205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ruminations"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCurds in the Classroom: Cultivating the Next Generation's Passion for Cheese - culture: the word on cheese<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Curds in the Classroom: Cultivating the Next Generation's Passion for Cheese\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former teacher turned cheesemonger shares her passion for cheese with children to create the next generation of curd nerds.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"culture: the word on cheese\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-12T13:36:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-18T12:29:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Fall2024_Ruminations_Kids-Eating-Cheese_PC-Iris-Busjahn.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katie Machen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katie Machen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/\",\"name\":\"Curds in the Classroom: Cultivating the Next Generation's Passion for Cheese - culture: the word on cheese\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Fall2024_Ruminations_Kids-Eating-Cheese_PC-Iris-Busjahn.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-12T13:36:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-18T12:29:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/c6f30d34c6f2063310fa149b98046249\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Fall2024_Ruminations_Kids-Eating-Cheese_PC-Iris-Busjahn.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Fall2024_Ruminations_Kids-Eating-Cheese_PC-Iris-Busjahn.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":1200},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/category\/stories\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Ruminations\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/category\/stories\/ruminations\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Curds in the Classroom: Cultivating the Next Generation’s Passion for Cheese\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/\",\"name\":\"culture: the word on cheese\",\"description\":\"Culture, America's magazine for cheese lovers, delivers stories about cheeses, cheesemakers, travel to gorgeous cheese regions, and practical tips on buying, presenting, and cooking with cheese.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/c6f30d34c6f2063310fa149b98046249\",\"name\":\"Josie Krogh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/fc133ec1b3f135a010a6805ffb359752\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/josie-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/josie-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Josie Krogh\"},\"description\":\"Josie Krogh is culture's Digital Strategy Lead. She earned her master's degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics from The University of Georgia. Josie developed a love of food while working at farmstands in the D.C. area as a young adult, and discovered her love of cheese while living and working on a dairy farm on Martha's Vineyard. Josie currently lives in Catskill, NY.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.josiekrogh.com\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/josiekrogh\/?hl=en\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/josiekrogh\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/author\/josie-krogh\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Curds in the Classroom: Cultivating the Next Generation's Passion for Cheese - culture: the word on cheese","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Curds in the Classroom: Cultivating the Next Generation's Passion for Cheese","og_description":"Former teacher turned cheesemonger shares her passion for cheese with children to create the next generation of curd nerds.","og_url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/","og_site_name":"culture: the word on cheese","article_published_time":"2024-09-12T13:36:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-09-18T12:29:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":1200,"url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Fall2024_Ruminations_Kids-Eating-Cheese_PC-Iris-Busjahn.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Katie Machen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Katie Machen","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/","url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/","name":"Curds in the Classroom: Cultivating the Next Generation's Passion for Cheese - culture: the word on cheese","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Fall2024_Ruminations_Kids-Eating-Cheese_PC-Iris-Busjahn.jpg","datePublished":"2024-09-12T13:36:09+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-18T12:29:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/c6f30d34c6f2063310fa149b98046249"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Fall2024_Ruminations_Kids-Eating-Cheese_PC-Iris-Busjahn.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Fall2024_Ruminations_Kids-Eating-Cheese_PC-Iris-Busjahn.jpg","width":1200,"height":1200},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/teaching-with-cheese-classroom\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/category\/stories\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Ruminations","item":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/category\/stories\/ruminations\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Curds in the Classroom: Cultivating the Next Generation’s Passion for Cheese"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#website","url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/","name":"culture: the word on cheese","description":"Culture, America's magazine for cheese lovers, delivers stories about cheeses, cheesemakers, travel to gorgeous cheese regions, and practical tips on buying, presenting, and cooking with cheese.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/c6f30d34c6f2063310fa149b98046249","name":"Josie Krogh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/fc133ec1b3f135a010a6805ffb359752","url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/josie-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/josie-150x150.jpg","caption":"Josie Krogh"},"description":"Josie Krogh is culture's Digital Strategy Lead. She earned her master's degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics from The University of Georgia. Josie developed a love of food while working at farmstands in the D.C. area as a young adult, and discovered her love of cheese while living and working on a dairy farm on Martha's Vineyard. Josie currently lives in Catskill, NY.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.josiekrogh.com\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/josiekrogh\/?hl=en","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/josiekrogh\/"],"url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/author\/josie-krogh\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48205"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=48205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}