The Winter Cheese Cycle: From Festive Feast to Quiet Chores

Photos by Michael Piazza

Late fall and winter celebrations begin with Thanksgiving in November and wrap up with Valentine’s Day in February, but the entire season is filled with opportunities to gather with friends over comforting spreads. For cheesemakers, the season starts with a flurry of activity as they fulfill a massive influx of holiday orders, before transitioning into the quiet of winter, finding time for more deliberate chores.

In the fields, herds switch from outdoor grazing to eating hay harvested throughout the fall. Milk production naturally slows, becoming richer and fattier. Since hay has less beta carotene than fresh grass, the milk’s color is also paler. Some animals even “dry off”—or stop producing milk—to rest before the late-winter mating season.

While cheesemaking may slow down, there’s still plenty to do in the caves, as makers busily tend to long-aging cheeses that will be ready for the next holiday season. The post-holiday winter months also mark a significant slowdown in sales for artisan cheesemakers. While makers have adapted to these predictable ebbs and flows, it is during these quiet winter months that I especially look for ways to incorporate their products into everyday gatherings. (Recipes below.)

THANKSGIVING
For most families, the harvest spread is all about tradition and nostalgia. A mini baked brie is the perfect complement to turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. I prefer mine without the puff pastry blanket so I can simply tuck it into an already warm oven next to the stuffing.
HANUKKAH
Syrniki are a traditional cheese pancake, often served to celebrate the bravery of Judith and typically made with Tvorog (a crumbly, dry farmer’s cheese), but you can also use drained ricotta. Try this with Black-Eyed Susan Sheep Dairy’s Sheep Ricotta for extra decadence.
CHRISTMAS MORNING CHEESE TRAY
Once gifts are opened, Christmas mornings are often spent casually basking in the glow of the tree while sipping hot tea or cocoa. This is the perfect time for a casual cheese tray before the big Christmas Dinner.
GAME DAYS
With so much football all winter long, it’s great to have a few go-to cheese dishes in rotation. While my favorite Rhode Island cheese shop, Wedge, makes an incredible pimento cheese, this year I’m excited to make Obatzda, a traditional Bavarian beer-cheese dip. The key is a very ripe wheel of bloomy, Camembert-style cheese, such as Blue Ledge Farm’s Camembrie.
APRÈS-SKI
While raclette and fondue are typically served slope-side for hungry alpine skiers, I say skip the elaborate equipment and opt for a simpler dish, like a baked Harbison from Jasper Hill in Vermont.
NEW BEGINNINGS (JANUARY)
Cheese is often shunned in January when we are all focused on resolutions to get healthy. Luckily, a 2023 review in Advances in Nutrition suggests that the daily consumption of a few ounces of cheese, a fermented product, may reduce some cardiovascular risks. Why not support one of our favorite local cheesemakers, Cricket Creek Farm in Williamstown, MA, by grating some of their Maggie’s Round on top of your winter salads and soups?
VALENTINE’S DAY
Sure, chocolates and roses get top billing on February 14th, but a gift box filled with local artisan cheeses is sure to make your Valentine swoon. The original heart-shaped bloomy rind cheese, Neufchâtel, hails from Normandy, France. A more local option is the heart-shaped brie-style cheese called Cupid’s Choice by Old Chatham Creamery in New York. It is my firm contention that cheese is for lovers, which makes it perfect for every cozy winter celebration.