When Kasimir Bujak cuts into a wheel of Harbison and uses a spoon to scoop some of the soft cheese on to a cracker, he lets out a little sigh of appreciation.
"You can't get anything this good in Europe. It's an American original," says Bujak, a Certified Cheese Professional and cheesemonger at Whole Foods Market in Harbor East. "The rind is a spruce bark, which is a traditional Swiss and German thing, and the bark flavors the cheese itself."
Harbison, which is made at Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont, is one of Bujak's favorites — he loves its soft texture and complex, woodsy flavor — though it is just one of many cheeses he loves. At work at Whole Foods, Bujak spends his days educating customers on the finer points of cheeses from all over the world, and at all prices.
Over the past several decades, American interest in unprocessed cheese has grown at a fast clip, with average per-person consumption growing from 7 pounds a year in 1970 to more than 27 pounds in 2012. The $18 billion industry has expanded with new options and varieties.
Bujak likens the American cheese trajectory to that of wine, saying that while in the mid-20th century, European producers were far more sophisticated than American cheese makers, in recent years, U.S. cheese (and wine) makers have caught up and even surpassed their European counterparts.
As cheese options increase, so do customers' questions. That's where training plays a role. In 2012, the American Cheese Society introduced the Certified Cheese Professional (CCP), a designation awarded through a rigorous process, including a lengthy exam.
"It covers everything, starting with the source," says Bujak, who became a Certified Cheese Professional in 2013. "It's hard to describe how in-depth it was. It's three hours long and starts with the very basics — terroir [soil and climate] and different types of milk, the milk itself and the cheese-making process, all the way up to merchandising and retail, plus a lot of safety stuff for food handling and dairy."
Before he traveled to the cheese society conference, held that year held in Madison, Wis., Whole Foods sponsored his attendance at two training weeks, during which he visited Wisconsin dairies and creameries of all sizes and took classes at the University of Wisconsin dairy school.
There are currently about a dozen CCPs working in Maryland; many of them work at Whole Foods locations. Those who have completed the process appreciate that the certification helps the public understand that selling cheese is a job that requires serious, in-depth knowledge.
"It's a matter of helping to legitimize the profession of cheesemongering," says Adam Engle, a CCP working at The Wine Source in Hampden. Selling cheese isn't a simple proposition, he says.
"It's a lot of work, training and education. It takes knowledge and care and learning about how to handle the cheese." His goal, he says, is to get cheese from the hands of farmers and cheese makers to the public with minimal alteration, so the customer can experience the cheese as it was meant to be enjoyed.
Though cheesemongers agree that the introduction of the CCP is a good thing for the industry, not every cheese lover has to go to such lengths to learn about the subject. At Charleston in Harbor East, executive chef Cindy Wolf offers a thoughtful, interesting selection of cheeses — though she herself has learned about cheese, she says, through traditional methods: by eating, reading and asking questions.
"I've always loved cheese since I was a kid," she says. "I've been traveling to Europe for the past 20 years. I've had many visits to France, and every single time I've had a meal in France, I've had cheese during or after."
When buying cheese in a shop, Wolf prefers finding stores that allow customers to taste before purchase. She also suggests asking questions of the cheesemonger — she frequently poses queries to the team at Neal's Yard Dairy, the UK-based cheese purveyor that supplies cheese to Charleston — and, for more general knowledge or specific questions, Wolf recommends seeking information from books and cheese-focused websites.
Both Bujak and Engle welcome questions, saying that one of the best parts of selling cheese is sharing their knowledge with customers who are eager to learn. "One of the most rewarding things for me is when I can tell somebody is intimidated [by the cheese selection] and I can lead them over, have them taste and introduce them to some awesome artisanal stuff that is not crazy expensive," says Bujak.
The best way to get to know the world of cheese is simply through eating, experts agree. They suggest comparing cheeses made with different types of milk (e.g. sheep, cow or goat), from different regions, those made by different processes and those of different ages.
At Charleston, Wolf ages some cheeses in the walk-in refrigerator; she says that tasting the cheese during the aging process is an education in how flavors and textures evolve over time. "It's a living, breathing thing, constantly aging and changing," she says. Chevre, she says, is a particularly interesting example. "You start with the fresh taste, then watch the exterior start to harden and watch how the piece of skin changes as it begins to age."
In restaurants with carefully curated cheese carts, try new and unusual things, suggests Wolf. "Look for things you've never had before — be brave."
At the same time, it's not always necessary to push yourself too far outside your comfort zone, says Engle, and there's no room among real cheese lovers for snobbery. People should eat what they like.
"It's important for people to rely on their own taste buds," Engle says. "Stick with what you like but occasionally diverge. It's cool to try things, but it is OK to not like 'weird' cheese. There's nothing philistine about not liking stinky cheese!"
Tips for a top-notch cheese plate
Assembling a cheese plate to serve at home can be fun and doesn't have to be intimidating, say cheese experts, and there is no one right way to put a plate together. When in doubt, ask your local cheesemonger for advice —- they are happy to help. Here, cheese experts offer some advice about how to create a cheese plate guests will love:
Mix it up: For a varied, interesting plate, offer a combination of fresh and aged cheeses, a selection of cheeses from different countries and/or a variety of cheeses made with different animals' milk. "I suggest one of each milk," says chef Cindy Wolf "Something fresh, something aged — get an array."
Adopt a theme: Cheese plates might focus on cheeses that all hail from one country or even state. The team at Whole Foods Market in Harbor East once created a plate for a Super Bowl party featuring cheeses from the two states playing in the game.
Explore trends: Raw-milk cheeses and true vegetarian options, which rely on thistle, fig leaf or lab-produced rennet instead of animal by-products, are up-and-coming trends right now, says Adam Engle of The Wine Source. Focusing on a single trend will make an interesting and modern display.
Expand the plate: Not everything on a cheese plate has to be dairy. Marcona almonds and fig spreads are popular additions to cheese trays built at Whole Foods.
Think about color: "A lot of times, things taste amazing but all look pale yellow," says Kasimir Bujak of Whole Foods. "You need to garnish it with some olives or sometimes add a cheese [with color] like Humboldt Fog."
Start with wine: At Whole Foods, Bujak says customers sometimes show up with a bottle of wine, recently purchased from the nearby shop BIN 604, and ask for pairing suggestions. It's a challenge he always finds enjoyable.
Wine-and-cheese pairings
For many, love of cheese is inextricably linked with a love of wine. We asked restaurateur and wine and cheese expert Tony Foreman of the Foreman Wolf restaurant group for his advice about what to drink with cheese.
Think white: "Most cheeses want a white wine," says Foreman, "The [red wine] tannins are not amenable and the acids are not compatible, oftentimes."
Go big: A cheese pairing is "the excuse for the great big, rich California chardonnay, served at 48 to 52 degrees, or a big, rich white Burgundy with good acid," he says. But these wines won't work with every cheese, he warns. In particular, some hard cheeses or soft, mushroomy cheeses are more appropriate for denser, more austere whites such as a Corton-Charlemagne.
Place plays a role: Wines and cheeses made in the same region are often natural matches, says Foreman, noting that young manchegos often pair well with Spanish wines, and goat cheeses from southwest France fit with fruitier French wines.
Consider the whole meal: Don't end a light meal with a big, heavy cheese and bold red wine, says Foreman. "What you serve should be in concert with the rest of the meal. Everything should flow," he says. To understand which cheeses will work best overall, think in terms of flavor, texture and even salt content.
Embrace the half-glass: Though Foreman says it's possible to pair one wine effectively with several cheeses — especially if those cheeses are similar in terms of fat and salt content — he also recommends serving a more diverse group of cheeses with a few smaller glasses of wine (and some scintillating post-dinner conversation).
Glossary
The world of cheese comes with its own language — some familiar, some unusual. Here is a list of some of the most commonly used cheese-related terms:
Age: Before being ready for consumption, many cheeses must ripen or mature. During the aging process, the cheese will undergo chemical changes, altering the texture and taste of the food. Some cheeses age from the outside in, first showing their age as the outer skin hardens, while others age from the inside out.
Blue/bleu: Blue (or bleu) cheeses are cheeses that include cultures of the mold Penicillium, resulting in blue or gray spots or "veins" running throughout. They vary in texture from creamy to crumbly and are often salty, with intense flavor.
Fresh: Cheeses that are not aged, or aged only briefly, and are typically soft and mild.
Milk: Cheeses are typically made with the milk of one of a few animals. Cow, sheep and goat are the most common.
Raw: Raw-milk cheeses are those made with milk that has not been pasteurized. In Maryland, the sale of raw milk itself is not legal. To be sold in the United States, raw-milk cheeses must have been aged for at least 60 days. Laws in Europe are much less stringent.
Rennet: Rennet is a group of enzymes used in the production of cheese. Most cheeses use animal rennet, which is a product of the animal's stomach. But to make vegetarian cheese, some cheese makers re-create this process synthetically, or use a similar product that comes from the thistle plant.
Rind: The outside surface of the cheese, it is typically part of the cheese itself and though it may be hard, it is usually edible. (Wax and cloth coverings are not.) Types of rinds include the fuzzy white "bloomy" variety found on cheeses like brie; washed rinds, which have been washed with a brine or type of alcohol and which are usually associated with "stinky" cheeses; and natural rinds, which are the hard crusts that form naturally on the outside of cheeses like cheddar.
Terroir: This term, also commonly used in winemaking, refers to the natural environment in which the food is produced. In the case of cheese, it includes the plant life, soil and climate of the farm where the animals live.