16 Tips You Need When Buying Cheese At The Grocery Store

Craig Gile has been doing the cheese thing at Cabot Creamery Cooperative since 2003. Between 2006 and 2014, the cheese expert worked as a cheese grader, carrying around a T-shaped cheese trier in a holster to take small samples from Cabot's Creamery's selection to monitor the aging process of the cheese and optimum flavors. Gile has since moved on; he currently works as Northwest Regional Sales Manager for the company and judges top cheese competitions from Minneapolis to New Zealand. As he once explained to The New York Times, "I'm a serious cheese fanatic." 

Suffice it to say, this is not a man for whom cheese is a nine-to-five gig — even when he's not on the job, Gile does a lot of thinking about cheese, and not just cheddar (although he does love Cabot's Seriously Sharp varieties). At home, he admitted to Tasting Table Gile has an entire fridge dedicated to the dairy product. Who better to turn to for cheese shopping tips? From goudas to cheddars to smelly but delicious raclettes, Gile gave us his top cheese suggestions, along with hacks, red flags, and green lights for picking out a great cheese on your next trip to the deli or dairy aisle.  

Cheesemongers won't bite, so seek them out! Even your run-of-the-mill grocery store like Whole Foods may have hired a monger to curate its cheese selection. Cheesemongers are professionals, per Craig Gile, who are trained not solely to choose great cheese but also to spread their love of coagulated milk protein to the world.

"You never run into a monger ... that's in a bad mood for the most part, right?" Gile told us. "They are like the definition of what you're looking for [in] customer service." Yes, they do want to help you with your existential cheese dilemmas, says Gile, truly. Ask them about their cheese recommendations for whatever dish you're about to prepare. Confirm good cheese smells and bad cheese smells. Enquire into rind health or proper cheese firmness. Request a thorough explanation about age declarations — your monger will (likely) be delighted.

Decades ago, you might have been right to gravitate toward Italian mozzarellas, French comtes, and Swiss Gruyères when seeking out high-quality cheese loot. Over the last 20 years, though, per Craig Gile, the United States' cheese market has become increasingly sophisticated. Today, "domestic versions" of regionally-specific cheeses can be as high in quality if not better than their international counterparts. Gile told us, "I think grabbing a couple of internationals is definitely great, but don't think because you're getting a domestic version, you're necessarily getting a lower-quality version."

Purchasing local, says Gile, also comes with three distinct advantages. Because when purchasing an international variety, you'll foot the bill for its shipment costs, you may get a better deal on local cheese. Since it's likely to travel shorter distances, buying locally-made cheese is also more environmentally friendly. Finally, because international cheeses are likely to come from larger operations, you can more easily support smaller makers and farmer-owned operations if you think local.

Cheese body is indicative of quality, says Craig Gile. When in doubt, (gently!) feel your cheese before committing, especially when in the dairy section of the supermarket where you're likely to find lower-priced budget cheeses. This expert cheese hack is, of course, only helpful once you know what good cheese should feel like. To establish a cheese firmness "bar," once you've found a brand you like, remember to squeeze your cheese before devouring it.

As per Gile, if cheese is softer and squishier than you think it should be, it may be younger than optimal, or there may be more water than necessary in the product. That's not good for taste. "Typically, if you're getting a softer body on a cheese that should be firm, it's a good chance you're going to get certain flavored defects with that," Gile warned. "It might not develop as much sharpness. You know, it might develop some bitter notes to it."

If poking and prodding your cheese tells you about its quality, what will smelling it do? When in doubt, that's a good question for your local cheesemonger, says Craig Gile. Some unsavory smells are good omens in the cheese world, especially when smear-ripened cheeses (think Raclette or Limburger) are involved. The bacteria growing on smear-ripened cheese during the making process — for which that class of cheese is named — emits a smell strikingly similar to "hidden foot odor." That's a good sign, says Gile!

Uncomfortable smells coming from harder, relatively low-moisture cheeses aren't great signs, on the other hand. If your cheddar smells fruity, that's not an indicator of bolder, more interesting flavors. On the contrary, those smells should never reach the checkout counter. "When I say fruity, it's kind of almost like an old pineapple smell to it," Gile extrapolated. "If you're getting ... a really yeasty kind of fruit smell, sometimes that's not always a good thing."

How much cheese is too much to buy and store in your fridge? If the sell-buy date has you up at night, loosen up a little. When it comes to older, lower-moisture cheeses like cheddar, house them unopened in a fridge at a standard 35 degrees Fahrenheit, and they'll last. Your clock starts ticking once you've opened them. Craig Gile told Tasting Table, "A lot of cheeses, as long as they're packaged, they're probably not going to change a lot in refrigerated temperatures." Over time, while the body of these cheeses might get crumbly, their flavors won't change.

When considering younger, higher moisture, softer cheeses (we're talking about anything from Camemberts to Gorgonzolas), sell-by dates matter. Over time these cheeses are "more apt to change," Gile stipulated — whether unopened or not. If left unconsumed for too long, their bodies become "stickier" and "gummier," and their flavor profiles become more bitter. 

If softer cheeses have you stumped, look no further. First and foremost, Craig Gile of Cabot Creamery urges you to consider a brie or camembert. "They're big and approachable," the cheese judge advocated. "I mean, in the rest of the world, they tend to sell pretty well. For whatever reason, not so much in the U.S." Let's change that, shall we? These soft cheeses, says Gile, are great for breakfast spreads. For serving ideas, refer to Tasting Table's guide for serving and eating brie, and plate them with apples, pears, grapes, and dates.

Bries and camemberts, of course, aren't for everyone, but a distaste for those varieties doesn't mean you should stay away from soft cheese completely. Gile recommends a chevre for a soft dipping cheese that are great for entertaining. Finally, opt for a meltable Swiss raclette if you can stomach a distinctive foot odor. "I tend to push for those ... pretty highly," Gile told us.

If there is a single cheese that gets a worse rap than it deserves, Craig Gile tells us, it's blue cheese. Next time you're browsing the dairy aisle, wondering where your cheese adventures will take you next, don't steer clear of it. Just because you haven't been in the past doesn't mean you won't be part of its fan club in the future.

"I think if you've only tried blues a couple of times now, this is where again ... it becomes really important to talk to the cheesemonger," Gile suggested. "There's introductory blues out there that you can mess around with." Ask your cheesemonger for "approachable blues," and give them another chance, Gile urged. A good, soft blue is great for crackers and bread and will quickly become the star of your summer grilling season. Next time a steak is on the menu, why not take the leap and make a blue cheese sauce to accompany it?

The world of cheese blocks and slices is vast, varied, and unendingly flavorful. This you know if you've tasted a brie, bit into a chevre, adventured out with a raclette, enjoyed a sharp cheddar, or delighted in an aged gouda. You may be an expert in feeling your cheese, examining its rind, and identifying (un)promising odors. Perhaps you're practiced at mixing and matching cheeses. You might even be well-versed in age declarations, have found your reliable cheese brand, and befriended the cheesemongers at all your habitual supermarket haunts. You haven't fully explored the cheese universe, however, until you've tried a spread, says Craig Gile.

Cheese spreads are relative newcomers in your supermarket aisle, but don't underestimate them. Gile suggests using them as condiments, on sandwiches, or as complements to grilled burgers and steaks. "Cheese spreads tend to be made with fairly high-quality cheese," Gile assures us. Do your stomach a favor, and don't rule them out.