- I would imagine that there are
countless amounts of cheese out in the world,
thousands, if not tens of thousands.
So, as a cheesemonger, it's really hard
to answer that question of what is your favorite cheese?
Hi, I am Leah, and I'm a cheesemonger.
I own Milkfarm, which is an artisan cheese shop
in Los Angeles, California.
A cheesemonger is a person who dedicates
their life and their career to selling cheese to the public.
We know everything about cheese.
We can tell you all the stories
about who the cheese makers are, how the cheeses are made.
Our job is to educate the basic clientele
on what cheese is and how to enjoy it properly.
To become a cheesemonger,
you just really, really have to love cheese.
And once you get in, it's all about learning
and eating a lot along the way.
I feel like everybody needs to try
to go to a cheese shop.
It's such a different experience,
'cause you have a cheesemonger working one-on-one with you
with all of your needs and all of your specifications.
It's very intimidating for some people,
but that's the whole point of our job
is to be there to guide you through the case.
If you were to come in and just say something
as simple as "I love really creamy,
"soft, spreadable cheeses," that opens a conversation for us
to be able to talk about, easily, 30,
40 cheeses right then and there.
And maybe you would only know maybe one in the case.
We do recommend looking around and seeing what we have,
and kind of assessing the case.
But what I don't recommend is to look in the case,
to look for cheeses that you already know.
What is better would be for you
to open the lines of communication with a cheesemonger
and just say "Hey, I really enjoy this type of cheese.
"What do you have that's similar?"
A cheesemonger can walk you through a dozen other cheeses,
and open your dictionary and encyclopedia
on cheese knowledge for yourself.
So, what cheeses should you get at the grocery store
versus our place, and vice versa?
You know, if you just wanted, like,
a standard, run-of-the-mill cheddar,
if you're just snacking with it,
or maybe cooking with something like that,
I would say grocery store cheese is perfectly fine.
But as far as cheeses that are very special to you,
like from small producers, farmstead producers,
or cheeses that are highly seasonal,
those would be cheeses that you would
have to reach out to a cheesemonger for,
and we're able to get it 'cause we're a specialty store .
If you're buying cheese from
a cheesemonger at a cheese counter,
most of the times it's cut to order,
meaning we have the full wheel.
We ask you how much do you want?
You want this amount?
And we cut exactly what you want,
wrap it up, and you take it home.
It's always recommended that you only get
what you're gonna enjoy from today
up until, max, about two weeks.
If you buy a small quantity of cheese,
it gives you the opportunity
to try a particular type of cheese.
Lots of different stages, wheel to wheel to wheel,
'cause it'll all be slightly different.
We do a lot of pairings at Milkfarm.
It's kind of what we really, really love to do,
and I think the rule of thumb
is choose what you really love and then start from there.
I like to say that when you are finding a pairing,
both items need to be enhanced.
One can't overtake the other.
A good pairing should be able to transport you.
To make a good cheese board, we are mixing and matching.
The whole point is to actually
to get a huge range of cheeses.
Pay particular attention to different types of milk,
cow, goat, sheep, buffalo, or blends,
and then we focus on texture, soft, medium, and hard,
and then on top of that we focus on color,
whether it be from the wax of the rind
to the actual paste of the cheese.
And then all of those things together,
we end up cutting it into different shapes
so that you don't have a Super Bowl tray of cubed cheeses.
I really think an underrated cheese is string cheese.
String cheese is super accessible to everyone.
It's inexpensive, it has calcium, it's portable,
it has its own little wrapper like a banana,
and kids love it too 'cause it's so mild.
If I'm talking about an underrated cheese
that we have at the shop, Parmigiano-Reggiano is my cheese
that is an underrated cheese,
because a lot of people have the misconception
that Parmigiano-Reggiano is just Parmesan,
which is a lot of times the green shaky stuff,
or the little tiny free packets
that they give you with a to-go order pizza.
But the reality is it's a cheese
that's been made for centuries,
and there's a lot more uses to it
than just grating on top of pasta.
That is my go-to cheese
for using the rinds for soups and stocks,
or just sprinkling on top of different foods,
or if I'm just having a glass of red wine
and I just wanna eat a chunk of cheese,
that's kind of my go-to cheese.
Processed cheese, is it really cheese?
Processed cheese to me is not really cheese.
'Cause if you think about how cheese is made,
you really only need about three ingredients,
milk, an enzyme or an acid,
which many times is rennet, and salt.
And in processed cheese there are about 15 ingredients
which include gelling agents
and food coloring and preservatives.
So, I wouldn't consider processed cheese cheese.
My most favorite common misconception
is that if you have a lactose intolerance
you can't enjoy cheese.
That is actually false.
You can enjoy cheeses as long as they're aged
for a prolonged period of time.
Some of the aged cheeses that you can have
that are really well-known
that if you have lactose intolerance you can still eat
would probably be something like Manchego,
Gruyère, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and really aged cheddars.
As a cheesemonger I don't like to say
that I have a favorite cheese, contrary to what I just said.
I do have three cheeses that I always have at home.
String cheese as we had discussed,
cheddar, because I quite often cube it up
and eat it with a plethora of different food items,
and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Whatever type of cheese is delicious to you
and brings you happiness is what you should be eating.
Ultimately, different cheeses
mean different things to different people.
Maybe you have an idea what your favorite cheese is,
but it's our job to introduce you to the world of cheese,
and maybe we can turn you on to something new.
(bright melody)
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