If running a shop, I believe it's often not 'the best' that's important, but covering as many customers with your selections. Perhaps only a handful of stores worldwide could simply just buy what they believe is best e.g. Neal's Yard in UK can probably do this, but I'm not sure others in the UK can.
What I think this list is very good at, is picking famous cheeses, which at their best are worthy of high praise, but some suffer from having a lot of poor versions of them e.g. Cheddar, Edam where the majority is produced on an industrial scale and the industrial standards. I'd suggest great cheddar probably represents c. 1% of the market, and not sure if Edam even hits that number!
It should be a very useful list, and one where you can try your customers and see what they enjoy. Perhaps (and logisitics might make this a practical way to order in) have a monthly focus, including setting up a cheese tasting group amongst keen customers). E.g. One month Italy, the next Scandanavia, then Spain and Portugal, then (soft) French, followed by (hard) French, then Greece, Albania, Cyprus etc, then the UK, Central eastern Europe, then Germany and Switzerland. Perhaps also making pre-prepared selections to sell 'on theme' to those interested, but not in the tasting group.
Whatever is popular, can be re-ordered and stocked, getting your customers to guide you to what they'll buy.
Other cheese that have excited me personally:
- Vignotte, an intensely creamy pale French cheese, which can be good for people who want a strong but not at all challenging taste
- Smoked Mozzarella / Smoked Burrata. Both cheeses when soft-smoked (i.e. not Scamorza, which I find oddly dull) are brilliant with fancy salads, but also great on Pizza, or with cured meats.
- Appenzaler from Switzerland, a hard cheese with a touch of bitterness, that might put a few people off, but I like it
- Dolcelatte from Italy worth considering alongside Gorgonzola
- 'Malga' cheese from the mountains of Trentino Italy, which at it's best is creamy, grassy, even faintly herby
- Montagnolo from Germany, a very subtle and creamy blue cheese, similar to Cambozola
- Gubbeen, a reasonably hard cheese from Ireland that can take some moderate ageing very well indeed.
- Surprising Manchego from Spain didn't make the list, as it's possibly the most recognisable Spanish cheese over here. Worth exploring the Basque cheeses as well.
- ... but I really do love tasting cheeses I've not tasted before.
Local cheeses to me, which I really like and buy regularly
- Baron Bigod (from Bungay, Suffolk, UK), made next door to a friend of mine, it's a brie style, but made with full fat, unpasteurised milk from their own cows (the milk is great too - just like milk used to be)
- Mrs Temple (Norfolk, UK). A great range, with a wonderful goats milk softy cheese (White Lady) and Alpine which is a little similar to comte and Gruyere, but not trying to be either.
I'm sure others will have suggestions. There are so many great cheeses, including some genuinely small production / unique cheeses, that I only ever taste a tiny fraction.
Regards
Ian
