The Cheese Directory
We’re compiling a list of our top 50 favorite cheeses, one cheese at a time. Want to submit a request or suggestion? DM us on Instagram @idratherbemeryl.
HARD AND SALTY
🧀Parmigiano-Reggiano
Like Champagne, Parmigiano-Reggiano (known commonly as “Parmesan”) suffers from a profusion of copycats that masquerade under the same name. The good stuff is spelled with a capital “P,” and it comes from Emilia-Romagna (in the province of Parma), Italy—never in a green can.
🐄: 100% raw cow
📍: Emilia-Romagna, Italy
⏳: Aged 18–30 months
💵: $16–$35 / lb (depending on age)
🍷: Pair with Lambrusco, also from Emilia Romagna, or Sherry, for a salt-forward pairing
🍝: Loves pastas and salads; also shines as a table cheese
🛒: Buy at any good grocery store or cheese counter, or from our friends at DeLaurenti.
Substitute: Grana Padano, Pecorino Romano
🧀Pecorino Romano
“Pecorino” is a hard sheep’s-milk cheese traditionally made in Lazio, Italy, outside Rome. Usually pale in color, with a natural rind, it’s easy to grate and has a sharp, salty flavor and a grainy texture.
🐑: 100% pasteurized sheep
📍: Lazio, Italy (traditional), or Sardinia
⏳: Aged 5+ months
💵: $14–$25 / lb (depending on age)
🍷: Pair with Italian reds made from Nebbiolo or Sangiovese
🍝: Loves pasta and pizza (especially cacio e pepe); pairs well with tree fruits and honey
🛒: Buy at any good grocery store or cheese counter, or from our friends at DeLaurenti.
Substitute: Grana Padano, Parmigiano-Reggiano
FIRM AND NUTTY
🧀Pleasant Ridge Reserve
An iconic American cheese produced only in the summer, when the cows at the Uplands Cheese Company, in Wisconsin, can graze on fresh pasture. Floral, caramelly, complex, and just a tiny bit prickly, it’s the most-awarded cheese in American history—for good reason.
🐄: Raw cow
📍: Dodgeville, WI
⏳: 12–18 months
💵: $35–$40 / lb
🍷: Pair with Finger Lakes Chardonnay or Riesling (we love Hermann J. Wiemar). Or this white wine from Oyster River Winegrowers.
🍝: Serve with orange-blossom honey, crisp pear and apple, or dried cranberries.
🛒: Buy at DeLaurenti, Whole Foods, Murray’s, or straight from the source.
Substitute: L'Amuse Gouda, Prima Donna
SOFT AND CLEAN
🧀Delice de Bourgogne
Originally produced by Fromagerie Lincet, in Burgundy, this creamy, tangy, triple-cream masterpiece is made with cow’s milk that’s infused with extra crème fraiche during production. The rind is soft and white; the interior is gooey and smooth; the flavor is clean and slightly acidic with a hint of mushroom and wet earth.
🐄: Pasteurized cow
📍: Burgundy, France
⏳: Aged 1–2 weeks
💵: $20 / lb
🍷: Pair with Pinot Noir or Chardonnay from Burgundy. If you’re looking for a less expensive pairing—a white or red from Beaujolais.
🍝: Serve with honeycomb, figs, stone fruit, and flaky salt
🛒: Ask for it by name at Eataly, Whole Foods, DeLaurenti, Wasik’s, or your fave cheese counter.
Substitute: Brillat Savarin, Fromage d'Affinois
SOFT AND STINKY
🧀Époisses de Bourgogne
One of France’s most iconic stinky, gooey cheeses, Époisses is made exclusively in its namesake village, in Burgundy, with locally sourced ingredients and traditional processes. It usually comes in a little round box, handy for keeping the ooze—and the stink—well contained. Eat it with a spoon or scoop up the goodness with a crusty fresh baguette, and ask yourself once again why you don’t live in France.
🐄: Pasteurized cow
📍: Burgundy, France
⏳: Aged 1–2 months
💵: $55 / lb (or, most commonly, $25 / 8-oz box)
🍷: Pair with high acid red wines—red Burgundy (Pinot Noir) or Trousseau from Jura.
🍝: Open the lid and dip a very good, freshly baked baguette straight in.
🛒: Ask for it by name at Murray’s, DeLaurenti, Wasik’s, or your local cheese counter.
Substitute: Chablis Affidelice, Bonne Bouche
BLUE CHEESE
🧀Bleu d’Auvergne
A buttery, soft, and grassy concoction that only the French could devise, this cow’s milk blue has been in production since the mid-19th century, in the Auvergne region of central France. It’s special enough to serve on a simple cheese plate, but hearty enough to stuff into dates.
🐄: Pasteurized cow
📍: Auvergne, France
⏳: Aged 2 months
💵: $15–$20 / lb
🍷: Pair with off-dry Riesling or Chenin Blanc. This is a more mild version of blue cheese, so a more mild sweet wine will match its intensity.
🍝: Great with those crunchy, dried-fruit crackers, stuffed inside dates, or melted on top of a steak.
🛒: Ask for it by name at your favorite cheese counter, or order from DeLaurenti, Murray’s, or Stinky’s.
Substitute: Roquefort, Gorgonzola
FRESH AND MELLOW
🧀Leonora
A soft, velvety goat’s milk cheese from northwest Spain, made from a single herd of goats, with a mellow, grassy, lemony flavor and a smooth, cakey texture.
🐐: Pasteurized goat
📍: León, Spain
⏳: Aged 1–2 months
💵: $20–$30 / lb
🍷: Pair with Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc.
🍝: Holiday grapes, honey, baguette
🛒: Buy at DeLaurenti, Murray’s, Formaggio, or your favorite local cheese counter.
Substitute: Humboldt Fog, Buche Maitre Seguin
Um, excuse me?
What does it mean when a cheese is made from “raw” milk?
Raw-milk cheese is cheese made from milk that has not been pasteurized (i.e. treated to eliminate pathogenic microorganisms and extend shelf-life). Generally speaking, raw milk is used to make small-batch, single-origin cheeses, and may demonstrate more terroir, but raw-milk cheeses are not necessarily better or higher-quality than pasteurized cheeses.
What does “triple cream” mean?
Triple cream/crème cheeses are required to have at least 75% butterfat (double-creams contain between 60-74% butterfat). Triple-cream cheeses are usually made by injecting extra cream into a double-cream cheese, to make it extra oozy and rich.
How much cheese should I buy for my cheese plate?
It depends on what kind of cheese plate you’re going for. Check out our cheese-plate guide here.
What is the best cheese counter in my city / the city I’m in?
Seattle: DeLaurenti ALL - DAY - LONG.
Boston: Formaggio, in the South End, and Wasik’s, in Wellesley.
New York: We don’t know yet! Help us find it!
Have a favorite cheese counter in your city? Tell us about it on Instagram @idratherbemeryl!
