What Does the Term “Artisanal Cheese” Mean?

If you have been visiting your favorite cheese shop or have been following news in the world of cheese you may have been hearing about artisanal cheeses. Many food lovers who are searching for flavorful ingredients prefer artisanal cheeses to the mass produced versions that are available in many supermarkets. But what is an artisanal cheese and why are they so much more flavorful than mass produced cheeses?

An artisanal cheese is produced in small batches using more traditional cheese making methods. Cheddar cheeses, for example, will have the curds hand cut, stacked and pressed according to the traditional technique of “cheddaring” which gives this cheese its name. Because they are produced in small batches, the conditions which affect the taste, color and texture of a cheese can be controlled more precisely and the cheeses can be aged and ripened so that they display certain characteristics.

Artisanal cheese makers may either use milk from their own animals or may purchase the milk used to make their cheese from small herds of goats, cows and sheep instead of using large volumes of milk from commercial producers. This also allows them to control the flavor of their cheese more than if possible with mass produced cheeses. Because they tend to ripen their cheeses before selling them the flavor of artisanal cheeses can often be much stronger than the products that are available in supermarkets. Some cheese making recipes may be handed down through several generations and may vary from region to region.

Some examples of artisanal cheeses from around the world include:

• Oka cheese from Quebec, a cow’s milk cheese with an orange rind, a nutty flavor and a semi-soft texture
• Epoisses de Bourgogne, a pungent cheese made from raw cow’s milk, a washed rind and a red-orange color
• Scamorza, a cow’s milk cheese from Italy that is very similar to Mozzarella cheese
• Cabrales, a Spanish cheese made from goat, sheep or cow’s milk that has a semi-soft texture and a strong, acidic flavor and blue-green veins throughout the cheese
• Lanark Blue, a Scottish blue cheese made from sheep’s milk. It has a strong flavor and a semi-hard texture

Although Artisanal cheese making became less common for years and smaller cheese companies were purchased by larger corporations there has been a renewed interest in traditional cheese making techniques and the number of companies which are now producing cheeses according to traditional methods have begun to increase once again. People are beginning to look for products that are more flavorful and of higher quality than mass produced cheese and are seeking out people who make these cheeses much more frequently than ever before.

-Written by Lisa Longworth