This post is sponsored by Cracker Barrel Cheese. My passion for cheese. The “official” story behind the blog is that a small cheese shop opened in my old neighborhood, and Jill and I set out to sample every cheese in the case. We attended classes as often as they were offered and our love affair with fermented milk grew along with the shop — which, like us, has now spread to two locations. Jill moved away to Minnesota, and our sharing of cheese became virtual.
In truth, though, it was a childhood memory that inspired my passion for gathering together over cheese. My grandparents used to visit us in Oregon for a month or so in the summers, driving their Airstream across country to temporarily take up residence in our gravel driveway. My grandmother had been an only child, so the annual re-immersion into the noisy life of a family with three lively children took its toll. She would retire to the Airstream each afternoon for a siesta. (Avid travelers in their retirement, this was a habit she was happy to acquire after spending time in Mexico.) At 5 o’clock, they would emerge for their next daily ritual: wine and cheese before dinner. I was eager to join them and hear tales of the exotic places they’d been in the past year, and perhaps nibble on a few crackers as well. The cheese was nothing fancy, but it was the ritual of gathering over the cheese board for a few moments of calm that stuck with me.
While I’m always happy to pour a glass of wine or crack open a new beer with my cheese board, cheese itself is a family-friendly alternative to happy hour. Sharing new cheeses with my own family has become our Sunday tradition, a few moments of relatively quiet gathering over something we all love. The cheeses we share don’t always have to be fancy, either. A little creativity goes a long way in dressing up whatever you have on hand. It’s nice to know there are brands like Cracker Barrel that are crafted with the same passion and tradition and can be found in the supermarket.
As I’ve immersed myself in the dairy world, it’s the stories behind the cheese that keep me inspired. There’s nothing better than sharing a new cheese with friends and family, and telling them of the time I stood in the cave with the cheesemaker seeing how it’s aged. To that end, I’m off to Wisconsin to sample a bit more of the dairy state’s cheese culture in advance of this summer’s cheese con. Stay tuned for highlights.
This post is part of a series sponsored by Cracker Barrel Cheese. I am being compensated as part of their Influencer program, but all words and opinions are entirely my own. Read our full disclosure policy here.
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