Tips On Shopping For Cheese Locally And Online

When shopping for cheese most people head to their local supermarkets or even worse to the nearest convenience store. The supermarkets will usually have unattended cheese departments carrying all the obvious tried and true cheeses like plain Swiss, Mozzarella, several Cheddars, tasteless and lifeless factory-made Brie and a few goat cheeses. A few large gourmet stores, like Whole Foods, have large cheese departments with some interesting and unusual cheeses that they will cut fresh and usually an assortment of precut cheeses. While precut cheeses may add to the ease of shopping who really knows how long ago, they were cut. When buying any cheese, you should always have it cut fresh for you while you wait.

So, where should I go to find gourmet cheese? Well my answer is to invest a bit of time and locate your local cheese shops. Small shops often offer gourmet products that are fresh and exciting and can provide a personal level of service that supermarkets cannot or will not. Try to find several shops if you can because each owner or manager may specialize in the cheeses from a particular country or countries or he (she) may concentrate on finding exciting artisanal and farmstead cheeses. The benefits of this well invested time will manifest in many wonderful ways and will most likely open up new avenues of discovery for you. It will also be a way to interact with a local merchant who will have a vested interest in helping you find what you are looking for. Shopping locally is also good for the environment and your town's economy.

Once you have located your local gourmet cheese shop snoop around in it and notice everything you can. The shop itself should be clean and well ordered. Does it also carry an assortment of condiments, crackers and other cheese related products? The point here is that ideally you want to be able to find what you need or want in one location. Does it smell like a cheese shop? This may sound like a silly question but there should be an earthy, cheese aroma in the air to stimulate your taste buds! Are the weighing scales easy to see and are they clean, do the refrigerated cases look clean and orderly, do the cheeses in the cases look fresh? If your local shop passes these quick looks you have possibly found a new treasure chest of flavor. If the shop owner or the sales staff is not too busy engage them by asking a few of the questions you may have. Do they seem to be knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the store and it's products? A honest retailer will admit to not knowing the answer to a question and will offer to research it for you. If the staff seems bored or annoyed by your questions this is a bad sign and you may have a bad experience there. Also, when looking for cheese do not be afraid to ask for a small sample to taste. A verbal description is always subjective and your purchase may not turn out to be what you like or expected. Ideally, the salesperson should offer a sample before you ask for it, any good cheese shop will be happy to offer samples of their cheeses for you to taste. If these simple things seem to be a problem or if the store has a no sample policy find another store to shop in because you will most likely be disappointed with your purchases.

Shopping for gourmet cheese should not be a harrowing or daunting process. Ask questions, seek information and help from your retailer. Over time he or she will come to know your likes and dislikes and will be able to introduce you new cheeses that will fall into your comfort zone. Who knows you may begin to live on the edge and experiment with goat cheeses like goat Gouda and goat Brie and sheep milk cheeses like Idiazabal and Ossay-Iraty. Planning a dinner party with a cheese course or wine and cheese tasting party will be less work intensive and more rewarding if you build up a good relationship with your local shop.

I would like to mention a few things about buying cheese online if this is your preferred method of shopping, although as stated above I prefer the human interaction. Obviously you will not be able to sample or see the cheeses before you pay for them, so initially it will be trial and error. A good online retailer will give accurate information about his products and prices. Please remember price does not always indicate quality. There should be a quick response to any questions regarding the quality or appearance of the cheese that has been purchased. You, the customer are putting your faith and trust in the online retailer and for that you should be treated with respect and fairness. Any good business person should realize that an unsatisfied customer is a one time customer and will tell everyone about their bad online experience. There are many online cheese retailers that offer quality products and shopping online can be a rewarding and exciting adventure. 

When you find an online or local retailer that you like and trust stay with them and buy with confidence.