If you are intimidated by the thought of walking into a cheese shop, you're not alone. Many cheese lovers are nervous to chat with their local cheesemonger, for fear of being judged or asking the wrong questions. Cheese counters can house tens, and sometimes hundreds of cheeses, many of which are not household names and may be unfamiliar to the average consumer!

But fear not - here at Formaticum, we believe that cheese is for everyone, and we are on a mission to make cheese more approachable for all. We want to help empower you to communicate more effectively with your monger and talk about your tastes and preferences. Remember - knowing all of the cheeses in the case is the monger's job, not the customer, and our main goal is to easily guide you through the options and help you select the perfect cheese for your needs. 

It should also be noted that a good cheesemonger would never make a customer feel inferior or judged in their space and if you encounter a grumpy monger, we encourage you to shop somewhere else. 

If you don't know where to start or how to open a conversation with your cheesemonger, here are 5 questions we recommend asking to break the ice:

1. Which cheeses are in season right now?
   Like produce, cheese is a seasonal product! Your cheesemonger will have their finger on the pulse of the industry and know what is in season and tasting particularly delicious that day. For example, goat cheese is "in season" in the spring, when the goats are grazing on a variety of fresh grasses, flowers, and herbs, which translate to their milk in an unmistakable complexity. It also aligns with "kidding season," when the baby goats are born, so the milk is exceptionally rich and perfect for cheesemaking. Alternatively, some cheeses like Vacherin Mont d'Or and Rush Creek Reserve, are made only with winter milk, which is higher in fat and produces and more luxurious cheese. 
2. How much cheese should I get?
   Determining the right amount of cheese for any recipe or occasion can be complicated. Your monger will be able to tell you how much of each cheese would be appropriate for your cheese board based on the number of guests, number of cheeses, other dishes being served, and style of cheese! Plus, they're usually quick with weight conversations for grated, shredded, or melted cheeses. 
3. What does this cheese pair well with?
   Part of a cheesemonger's job is to taste, taste, taste! Not only are we tasting the cheeses frequently, but we are always trying out new combination of flavors with the pairing options available in the shop. Your monger might have a suggestion for a truly unique and mind-blowing jam, fruit, or cracker pairing that you would never have considered. Hot tip: ask for a sample and they might oblige! 
4. What is your favorite cheese right now and why?
   This is a cheesemonger's favorite question - it broadens your horizons and allows you to view the case through our eyes. A cheese that you may have not even noticed might become your new favorite! Cheesemongers work very closely with sometimes hundreds or thousands of cheeses over the course of their careers, so it only benefits you to use them as a resource. If you learn one thing from this blog post, let it be this - trust your monger! 
5. How should I store my cheese to make it last longer?
   This is one of the most common questions that cheesemongers are asked, and rightfully so - a delicious piece of cheese should be stored properly so that it tastes good until the last bite. If you are at a cut to order shop, your monger will likely be wrapping your cheese in professional cheese paper, which you should keep it wrapped in when you put it in the refrigerator. If you are buying a precut piece of cheese, we recommend always having a Formaticum Cheese Storage Bag or Reusable Cheese Storage Sheet on hand, so that you can remove the plastic wrap when you get home and rewrap the cheese in a bag or sheet. Formaticum products are specifically designed to create a cave-like environment that preserves your cheese's flavor and texture for longer than plastic wrap or wax/butcher paper. Store your cheese like a cheesemonger - use professional quality products, and ensure that every bite tastes just like the cheesemaker intended. 

Do you have unanswered cheese questions that you would like to ask the Formaticum team? Email us at hello@formaticum.com and we will answer any and all cheese-related questions! 

It's no secret that our best-selling Cheese Storage Bags are the best way to store your leftover cheese. But here in the Formaticum Test Kitchen, we are always looking for new ways to utilize these miracle products and expand their usefulness in the kitchen. As our Marketing Manager likes to say, the bag doesn't know what's inside it - it just does its job. So here are 5 of our favorite non-cheese ways to use your Formaticum cheese storage products:

1. Sandwiches - Tired of wrapping your sandwiches in plastic wrap, only for it to be soggy by lunchtime? Add a touch of whimsy and efficiency to your lunch by using a Cheese Storage Bag for your sandwich - the bread, cheese, and even the meat will thank you. 
2. Fresh Herbs - Formaticum cheese storage solutions can significantly extend the life of your fresh herbs in the fridge so you don't end up throwing out browned or moldy herbs a week after you wanted to make a pot of soup. We recommend wrapping a damp paper towel around the base of the herbs and placing them into a Cheese Storage Bags or a sheet of Zero Cheese Storage Paper. 
3. Mushrooms - Mushrooms are basically sponges, which means regulating the moisture in their environment is key when storing them! That sounds like a job for our Cheese Storage Bags. 
4. 
   Ripening Fruit - let our bags do the hard work for you. Place tomatoes, avocado, stone fruit, and beyond into a bag and leave on the counter for a few days. Check daily until it reaches your ideal ripeness, and enjoy! 
5. Storing Cut Vegetables - did that recipe only call for half an onion? Did you only use a portion of a lemon or lime for your cocktail? Instead of wasting a plastic bag or using plastic wrap, toss remnants into a Reusable Cheese Storage Bag and into the fridge for when you need it next. Hand-wash the bag in warm, soapy water and let it air dry, and it's ready for your next culinary adventure! 

Honorable mention: Marketing Manager Emilia's mother notably uses the Reusable Cheese Storage Bags for pounding out chicken cutlets before frying them, citing that the bags are durable enough to withstand the force of the kitchen mallet! 

Do you use your Cheese Storage Bags in a new and unique way? Let us know! Email hello@formaticum.com with your notes and photos, and we may just share them on social media with other cheese lovers. 

Earlier in September, the Formaticum team set off on a journey through the Haute-Savoie and Savoie departments of France in search of renowned cheese and delectable meals. One of our stops was the Coopérative Laitière de Moûtiers, a creamery known for their selection of traditional cheeses and products from the Savoie. But one cheese reigns supreme here - Beaufort AOP (pronounced bow-four). This behemoth wheel's size and signature concave rind makes it instantly recognizable among the other specialties of the surrounding areas, such as Abondance, Reblochon, Emmental de Savoie, and Tomme de Savoie. Beaufort is a classic mountain cheese, with summer profiles tasting funky and floral, and winter wheels leaning more towards savory onion notes. 

Of course we were excited to taste the cheese, but we also wanted to get a closer look at the production of this iconic French fromage. We arrived around 9am, as the massive copper vats were beginning to fill with fresh milk from the local Tarine and Abondance breeds of cow, who feed only on hay and grass from the area of designation. Like many mountain cheeses from this area, Beaufort is a raw milk cheese, allowing the terroir of the Savoie to really shine. The milk for Beaufort is also not skimmed. We watched as the rennet was added to coagulate the milk, and as the curds were cut into tiny rice grain-sized pieces and cooked to encourage whey expulsion, which helps create that harder, drier texture in the cheese. While we couldn't stay to watch the whole process, we did get a quick look at the cheesecloth-lined molds used for pressing, including the traditional "belt" used to create the signature concave rind. 

Before we left, we snuck a peek into the aging caves below the creamery, housing hundreds of wheels of Beaufort, slowly aging to perfection among both newly renovated and original rooms. While the minimum age for Beaufort AOP is 5 months, most of these wheels will be aged to 12 months or older to fully develop its peak flavor. The endless rows of rosy orange rinds was quite a sight to behold, and the smell was unforgettable. 

We each purchased a kilo of seasonal Beaufort d'étè and some other regional delicacies, and got back on the road on our journey through the Alps to Northern Italy. 

In the US, Beaufort is a fairly rare cheese to see on a counter, due to its size and price point. However, many shops will bring some in for the holidays, as it is perfect for decadent celebratory spreads, as well as cozy recipes like fondue, mac and cheese, and potato gratin or dauphinoise. But Beaufort can be a finicky cheese, and must be cared for and stored properly in order to preserve its delicate flavor. While the shop's packaging kept the cheese safe in transit, I did transfer the cheese to a Formaticum Cheese Storage Bag as soon as I returned home to the US, where I made the discovery that a Classic Cheese Storage Bag is actually the perfect size for 1 kilo of Beaufort! They also make the perfect gift for the cheese lover in your life, and are available to order through our website or Amazon storefront. 

Did you know that there are cheesemonger competitions? It's true! Your friendly neighborhood cheesemonger or shop owner might just be a nationally (or globally!) celebrated cheese champion. 

Formaticum is proud to announce that earlier this year, Formaticum's Sales & Marketing Manager Emilia D'Albero took 1st place in the Cheesemonger Invitational: Masters competition, earning the title of the country's best cheesemonger for 2025. D'Albero, alongside runner-up Courtney Johnson from Seattle, will represent the United States at the Mondial du Fromage in France this September, essentially the World Cheese Olympics. D'Albero (ACS CCP) and Johnson (ACS CCP, CCSE, PhD) make up the very first all-female Team USA, and Johnson is only the second American to qualify to compete in the Mondial du Fromage twice, having competed in 2023 as well. 

The Mondial du Fromage is biannual competition that takes place in Tours, France, and this year's competition features cheesemongers from 15 countries, all working towards the coveted title of World's Best Cheesemonger. For Americans, the opportunity to compete on the world stage is earned through 2 victories: first, a monger must place in the top 3 at the annual Cheesemonger Invitational. Then, they must earn one of the top 2 spots in the biannual Cheesemonger Invitational: Masters competition, where the top 3 mongers from past CMI events are invited to compete against other CMI winners in hopes of hearing their name called to join Team USA. Both of these events are open to the public and all cheese lovers are encouraged to attend!

The Masters competition mirrors the format of the Mondial du Fromage - 9 individual challenges, designed to test cheesemongers across all aspects of their work, including a written test on general cheese knowledge, a 5 minute oral presentation of a cheese of their choice, a blind tasting of 4 PDO cheeses cut in 1cm square (rindless!) pieces, and a perfect .5lb cut challenge involving mystery cheese and absolutely no access to a scale. The day culminates in the notorious Group 3 Challenges - a 4 hour marathon of cheesemongering, where contestants must put together a restaurant quality cheese plate using cheeses revealed only at the start of the test, assemble perfectly paired bites, present a cold dish that transforms an assigned cheese, build an intricate cheese sculpture, and design and assemble a 1 square meter themed cheese display using over 100lb of provided mystery cheeses. The esteemed panel of judges is comprised of top cheese industry professionals from all over the world, providing a variety of viewpoints formed over their combined decades of experience. 

In September, Emilia and Formaticum founder Mark Goldman will travel to France alongside Courtney and team coach and CMI founder Adam Moskowitz of Maker to Monger. They will be joined by Maker to Monger's sensory education expert Alex Armstrong and CMI 2021 champion Tommy Amorim of Di Bruno Bros. for support and additional coaching. Having trained for this competition for nearly a year, their goal is simple - for both Emilia and Courtney to be on the podium this year, hopefully with one of them holding the gold medal, as an American monger has never won the Mondial du Fromage…yet. 

What does training for the Mondial du Fromage entail? Since November 2024, D'Albero and Johnson have been in constant contact, discussing their ideas, organizing small details like supplies and tools, sharing study resources, and providing each other with emotional support. Both mongers have dedicated a minimum of 2 hours a day to preparing, whether that means recipe testing, studying flashcards, weekly blind tastings, or seemingly endless practice cutting cheese in creative and artistic ways to wow the judges. They have received many generous donations of cheese and other accoutrements from some of the USA's finest cheesemakers and artisans, and they are so thankful to the cheese industry as a whole for the incredible outpouring of support in the past few months. Both competitors have quite literally put their blood, sweat, and tears into this training and are looking forward to giving their absolute best effort and showing the world what American cheesemongers can do!

And if you're wondering what's in a champion's toolkit, don't worry - we'll give you an inside look. D'Albero trusts Formaticum Professional Cheese Knives with Plastic Handles to get those perfect cuts, and even boasts a custom-branded set of Formaticum Parmigiano Reggiano knives. You will never catch her without her 5" Wire Cutter either - simply the best tool for the cleanest, quickest cuts on delicate or soft cheeses. Back in Seattle at her cut-to-order cheese shop Street Cheese, Johnson has her own Professional 4-Knife Set, and also wraps her customers' cheese in Formaticum Reusable Wrap and Classic Sheets. Of course, the unimaginable amount of cheese in Team USA's fridges are wrapped in Formaticum paper, keeping fresh for cutting and tasting practice. 

Follow Team USA's journey to Mondial on Instagram (Emilia's profile and Courtney's profile) and keep an eye on the Formaticum account as well, since we'll be chronicling all our adventures in France, including exclusive cheesemaker tours, cheese shop visits, and more! 

And of course, all Formaticum cheese storage products are available to order on formaticum.com so that you can store cheese like a champion.