The 12 Cheeses You Can Save Big On At Whole Foods For The Holidays
It's the holiday season, so bring on the cheese! A favorite for entertaining, good cheese is vital, whether for a luxe and lavish charcuterie board to enchant guests at a festive open house or a single piece of artisan cheese to enjoy as an after-dinner treat, paired with a port or postprandial cocktail. Assembling the right assortment of cheeses can be an expensive endeavor, though, especially during a time of year when there rarely seems to be quite enough funds for all the celebrating we enjoy.
That's why Whole Foods' 12 Days of Cheese promotion may just make this the most wonderful time of the year. Beginning on December 13, 2022, and running through December 24, Whole Foods is offering a delectable hand-picked selection of a dozen cheeses, all discounted by 30%. A press release points out that Whole Foods' Certified Cheese Professionals — together with their global experts — have assembled a holiday list that deserves to be checked at least twice.
Which cheeses made the cut?
Loosen your belt buckle; it's quite a list. First up is Neal's Yard Dairy Keen's Cheddar, described by Whole Foods as a "historic, clothbound, raw-milk cheddar ... from the picturesque Moorhayes Farm in Somerset, England." It's dense but still creamy, so it's perfect for cheese boards. The second cheese is Jasper Hill Farm's Whitney from scenic Greensboro, Vermont. Whole Foods says, "this alpine-style raw cow's milk cheese is bursting with notes of toasted nuts, cured ham, and sweet cream."
The third option for the 12 Days of Cheese also hails from Vermont, where, according to Vermont Creamery, "one in every six residents is a cow." Its St. Albans is an aged cheese made of cow's milk, and it's a soft, creamy delight, packed in its own ceramic crock, suitable for baking. Selection number four is Cypress Grove's Humboldt Fog, a California-made goat's milk cheese with a distinctive edible ash ribbon through the center.
The fifth cheese comes from the U.S. West Coast as well, from Oregon's Rogue Creamery. Their Organic Oregon Blue is a cave-aged, moderately strong blue cheese, first made in 1954. The sixth choice comes from Sweet Grass Dairy in Thomasville, Georgia. It's Thomasville Tomme, an aged, raw cow's milk cheese made in a French farmhouse style. It's semi-soft, complex, and a bit earthy. The seventh cheese rounds out the U.S. cheese selections, and it's from California's Cowgirl Creamery. The elegant triple-cream Organic Mt. Tam is delightfully rich and flavorful.
There's a world tour ahead
Whole Foods looked far and wide to round out the 12 Days of Cheese offerings, and the eighth cheese comes from Switzerland. Kaltbach's Cave-Aged Le Gruyère AOP is a nutty, tangy aged cow's milk option. Choice number nine is Mitica Sottocenere al Tartufo, which comes from northern Italy, not far from Venice. It's a semi-soft cheese made of cow's milk and flavored with earthy black truffles. The rind is also flavored with warm flavors like cinnamon and licorice.
Hervé Mons serves up the tenth selection, a Gabietou, made of both sheep and cow's milk, with a delicate texture meant to melt in your mouth. The eleventh cheese is exclusive to Whole Foods, Kaasaggio Robusto Gouda, which is an approachable aged Gouda displaying all the nutty goodness you'd expect. And the final cheese is Istara Petit Basque, made of sheep's milk and full of buttery Manchego-like qualities.
For the duration of Whole Foods' 12 Days of Cheese event, all the featured cheeses will be sold at 30% off the regular price, and Prime members can get an additional 10% off. Whole Foods points out that quantities of each cheese may be limited in each store, so don't delay ... these cheeses are already perfectly aged!