We all have that friend — the turophile who raves about the nutty, creamy nuances of the latest Manchego or Bucheron. Maybe it’s you. Or it could be your work-wife. Your boss. Your bestie from college. Your brother. Whoever it is, that person is crazy about cheese, which we consider a sane passion. Be a good buddy and fulfill their cheesy dreams.
Make their holidays by satisfying their … wait for it, wait for it … grate passion for Parmesan. Brie their best friend ever. (OK, we’re done.) Just check out our favorite cheese items.
ARTISANAL CHEESES
First, the cheese.
Murray’s Happy Holidays | Buy Now
Murray’s Cheese
Cheese is made gift-able with this package, great for entertaining over the holidays or for the lucky recipient to keep in the family. Three delicious cheeses are chosen by Murray’s expert cheesemongers, paired with cranberry orange jam, prosciutto, and crackers. The items come in a Murray’s signature gift crate and include: heavenly cave-aged selles-sur-cher, nutty cave-aged gruyere, stilton, spicy cranberry-orange jam, silky prosciutto di parma, and crispy Rip Rap crackers. The gift is 1.25 pounds of cheese and 3 ounces of meat, estimated to serve 6 to 8 festive folks. Buy it here.
Rodolphe Le Meunier’s French Cheese Selection | Buy Now
World Market
Your Francophile friends should get a kick out of these French cheeses by master cheesemaker Rodolphe le Meunier. The classic camembert is sure to please, the richly flavored Dagobert is washed in brandy, and the Jeune Autize is made of goat’s milk with a vegetable-ash vein through its center and an auburn washed rind. Buy it here.
Wisconsin Cheddar Ascent Gift Crate |Buy Now
Wisconsin Cheese Mart
Your cheese enthusiast can take her/his time climbing up the ladder of aged Wisconsin cheddar, tasting the increasingly pungent flavor as the cheese matures. This gift set starts with a mild and creamy cheddar and Wisconsin’s original Colby cheddar. The flavors start emboldening, growing sharper and tangier as the taster progresses up the line. This gift crate is 2.5 pounds and includes five American-made cheeses: Wisconsin Colby, mild cheddar, sharp cheddar, white 1-year cheddar, 2-year cheddar, and a Wisconsin-made branded wooden crate. Buy it here.
Plymouth Cheese Bundle | Buy Now
Brooklyn Slate
This gift contains a half pound (each!) of three varieties: sharp hunter cheese, smoked cheese, and hot pepper cheese. The cheese is made by Plymouth Artisan Cheese, known for its raw cow’s milk cheese from one dairy herd in Plymouth Notch, Vermont. Buy it here.
Italian Cheese Plate | Buy Now
Dean and DeLuca
Give 1.18 (to be exact) pounds of Italian cheese to the cheese addict in your life, especially if she or he has a penchant for all things Italian. The gift includes: Perlagrigia Sotto Cenere-semi-soft with black truffle; Fontina Fontal-mild and creamy; Podda Classico-aged and pungent; and Raschera-semi-hard, moderately sharp made with raw goat’s, cow’s, and sheep’s milk. Buy it here.
DESSERT CHEESES
We think cheese is pretty sweet on its own, and so do the French, a culture that eats cheese after the meal instead of beforehand. But combine a wedge with some fig jam, put some goat cheese in a tart or whip up some ricotta or mascarpone in a cake or pastry, and you’ve really got us swooning.
Junior’s Traditional Collection Cheesecake, Delivered | Buy Now
Junior’s
New York-style cheesecake fans will be blown over when they find a Junior’s gift certificate that lets them choose their own favorite cheesecake, which will be delivered to their home anywhere in the United States. Junior’s cakes are made with cream cheese, heavy cream, eggs, and a touch of vanilla. With no water and no fillers, all cheesecakes are hand-blended in small batches and mixed for over 40 minutes. They use fresh fruit, homemade purees, imported chocolates, and fresh spices. Nothing canned. Ever. The cake is shipped frozen, chilled with gel packs. Buy it here.
Mini Cannoli Making Kit | Buy Now
Mackenzie Limited
Crisp, golden pastry shells cradle a velvety ricotta cheese filling in this classic Italian dessert that you can adjust to your liking (chocolate chips, coconut, figs, whatever). Assembly is simple, and it can involve the whole family to make the 24 cannoli. Buy it here.
CHEESE UTENSILS
Cut that stinky cheese the right way, nice and smoothly, with these tools. Cheese is important enough to require its own knife. Yet there are many cheese knives, each shaped according to the needs of different types of cheese: hard, semi-soft, soft, crumbly, and so forth. Some people like graters, or those wire knives. Spreaders are good for chevrés. So a set of different cheese utensils is your best bet for the cheese lover in your life.
Vin Kesso 5-Piece Cheese Knife Set | Buy Now
Amazon
The set contains a spreading knife, soft-cheese knife, hard-cheese knife, crumbly-cheese knife, and a serving fork. Each knife is about 5.5-inches long. They’re stainless steel in a satin finish and come in a handsome case. Buy it here.
Wüsthof Gourmet Wine and Cheese Set | Buy Now
Sur la Table
Made in Germany for the last 200 years, knives with the Wüsthof name demand respect. Now they offer a oenophile cheese gift set, with a cheese plane, cheese knife, corkscrew, and 8-inch-by-12-inch bamboo board. Wüsthof cuts its knives with lasers, using a single piece of high-carbon stainless steel. There’s a lifetime warranty, but you still should hand-wash their knives. Buy it here.
Personalized Vintage Cheese Knife | Buy Now
Etsy
This vintage, silver-plated cheese knife has a mother-of-pearl handle. Stamped with “Cheese Please,” a simple, sweet message of desire, we’re won over before we even take a taste. But you can get another message stamped on there if you want. Buy it here.
Cuisinart Electric Fondue Maker | Buy Now
Amazon
We consider this a utensil because, well, there are fondue forks in the set, and the maker helps you eat cheese in liquid form, which we like. You could also use the pot for chocolate (yasss), broth, or oil. The set includes the base, bowl, temperature probe, eight fondue forks, and a fork rack ring. The stainless-steel, 3-quart bowl has a nonstick interior. There’s a removable temperature control too, making this device adjustable for a range of recipes. Buy it here.
CHEESE BOARDS
When a regular board doesn’t cut it anymore for your cheese needs, you need to get a special surface. Most cheese boards are meant for not only slicing, but presenting your cheese to guests. Frame it right.
Cheese Board Starter Kit | Buy Now
Brooklyn Slate
For the blossoming cheese devotee, a starter kit is in order. This kit from Brooklyn Slate features the company’s signature slate cheese board, a hand-carved wooden cheese knife, a pack of soapstone pencils for writing the names of cheeses on the board, and a bottle of food-grade mineral oil for maintaining the board’s good looks. Slate cheese boards are all the rage because they’re easy to clean, don’t retain odors, are hardy, and rustic-chic. Buy it here.
Scandicrafts Green Marble Cheese Cutting Board | Buy Now
Amazon
The 10-inch-diameter, round board is good for cutting, and it’s eye-catching for serving your cheeses as well. Hand wash it. Buy it here.
Personalized Walnut Wood Cheese Board | Buy Now
Etsy
Take rustic to another level with this live-edge, disc-cut walnut wood board that’s great for cutting and serving cheese. Unlike slate, it’s a little harder to clean, but it’s so beautiful you might not care. And you can get a script initial and family name engraved on it. Buy it here.
CHEESE READS
Cheese-focused cookbooks, magazines, coffee table beauties, and almost academic texts can take the cheese enthusiast to the next level. Salivate over the photos and learn trivia to toss out at the next party over some Gouda.
The Oxford Companion to Cheese | Buy Now
For the hard-core cheese nerds, there’s this encyclopedic tome by the esteemed publisher that brought us their trusted dictionary. Called the first major reference work dedicated solely to cheese, this companion contains 855 entries on cheese science, culture, history, and production. Buy it here.
Culture Magazine | Buy Now
Give a subscription to the ultimate bimonthly periodical on cheese, with stories on the world’s cheese, cheesemakers, mongers, regions, recipes, and how-to help. Buy it here.
Artisan Cheese Making at Home | Buy Now
Here’s a comprehensive guide to cheese making at home, with step-by-step instructions for creating your dreamiest cheeses and other dairy items, like yogurt. Buy it here.
Grilled Cheese Kitchen: Bread + Cheese + Everything in Between | Buy Now
Anthropologie
This mouthwatering book features 39 grilled cheese recipes created by Heidi Gibson, winner of seven grilled cheese championships and the co-owner of the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen in San Francisco. There are 40 other recipes too, for accompaniments and side dishes, such as hearty soups, mac and cheeses, spicy pickles, and tangy spreads. And then you get tips and techniques, from buying the right stuff to grilling it to oozy, drippy perfection. Buy it here.
CHEESE PARAPHERNALIA
There is just so much. If you’re a fan of cheese, like a big one, then you have so many options to show your allegiance. Whether it’s with practical or pretty accompaniments or funky socks with mac-and-cheese splashed all over (it’s a thing), you are in luck.
Red Tote: Cheese Survival Kit : Buy Now
Shopspring
Create your very own cheese survival kit inside this well-made, sturdy and bright tote bag. Hand-pulled in Brooklyn on 100-percent cotton, the tote features an original illustration of the essentials to plate, pair, store, and savor cheese. Buy it here.
Porcelain Cheese Markers | Buy Now
Sur la Table
This set of four cheese markers allows you to label your selections so you don’t have to continually identify them for your guests. Plus, they look pretty. You can use the included pen to label each marker and then wipe them clean when the party’s over. Some customers like the short stems for more delicate cuts of cheese. Buy it here.
For a Gouda Time T-Shirt | Buy Now
Murray’s Cheese
Hey, what can we say? Cheese sells. Not everyone has to agree with it. But it’s been going on for thousands of years. To honor this institution, get your funny friend this T-shirt and call it a day — a … gouda day. Buy it here.
Sweet Dreams Are Made of Cheese Art | Buy Now
Etsy
They are indeed. Choose your standard size, buy a nice frame, and give someone this cool burlap print, which is a play on the beginning of that 1983 Eurythmics song. And as that blue dot says, you can even buy prints for two friends and keep one yourself, for free. Buy it here.
And let’s close with this piece of wisdom:
Meme Maker
Related Video: 17 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love
— Head Image: Dairy Goodness.
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