Yesterday we brought you the unexpected discovery of a James Patterson quotation on a block of mimolette cheese at Chelsea's Westside Market. Intrigued, we ventured to the store in search of the mind behind the rind. And there we discovered Peter "The Doctor" Daniels, a seven-year cheese man of the Westside Market and a 25-year veteran of the food industry, who started putting quotations on the cheese just to fill a labeling void. "There's extra space where a description is supposed to go but I found that people weren't reading them," he explains. "I thought I would put something else that people could be inspired by." more ›

In case you haven't been keeping up with the international cheese awards scene, allow us to share some big news: there's a new World Champion cheese, you guys! Her name is Ossau-Iraty, she hails from southwestern France, she's made of raw sheep milk, and she can be yours (for a pretty penny) right here in New York. more ›

File under: Really? A new report from the Center for Retail Research claims that cheese is the world's most frequently stolen food, and as such, it has been labeled a "high risk food." Are terrorists loading up on cheese to destroy the planet? more ›

Who knew: Cheese is worse for the environment than pork, poultry and even farmed salmon. The only foodstuffs that have a worse environmental footprint per four ounces consumed are beef and lamb. Okay, so some people were already well aware of this, but as big fans of fromage the news still caught us by surprise. But if it is so bad for the environment, what is a conscientious cheese consumer to do? Well, eat less to start. more ›

The dairy nightmare is finally over, as cheese vendors at the city's Greenmarkets are finally being allowed to cut their cheese to order at the markets, which they had been temporarily barred from doing. more ›

Last week, we gave readers a heads up about artist Miriam Simun's upcoming exhibit, a show focused around human breast milk cheese. Tonight is the opening reception for Simun's "Human Cheese Shop" at the Michael Mut Gallery, and in preparation for the event, which is free and open to the public, we spoke with the artist about the breastmilk Craigslist and commodification of the human body. Intrigued? The show is up through the weekend, but tonight is the night to come and taste the three cheeses Simun has prepared from a human-animal milk blend, which will be paired with food "inspired by the cultural and microbial terrior" of each woman. Simun shed some light on the process of putting the whole thing together. more ›

Remember when breast milk cheese became a thing for a few minutes last year? Well, it's back. Food-Tech interviews Miriam Simun, who they say "created human cheese as a way to engage people in conversation about biotechnology, food systems, and the human body." Her project began at NYU (it's unclear if this was after it was already being served up at NYC's Klee Brasserie), but she has plans to continue her research, so, grab some crackers! more ›

With heroin flowing into the city at an alarming rate, Federal officials are warning the NYPD to be on the lookout for the drug. The Health Department says the number of city high schoolers who have tried heroin rose from 1.3% in 2007 to 2.6% in 2009, and now users have discovered it's even easier to snort when mixed with crushed up Tylenol PM—a highly-addictive combination called "cheese." Apparently the ridiculous name isn't enough to keep teens away. more ›

It's the summer of the recall! First eggs and alfalfa sprouts, and now cheese. A Williamsburg cheese manufacturer—who says, “If you’ve eaten Mexican food here, you’ve eaten our cheese"—recalled two products after bacteria was found in them, according to the Brooklyn Paper. The bacteria was discovered by the Rhode Island Health Department, who believed it could grow into “Listeria monocytogene," which can be serious, or even fatal for the very young and old. more ›

Have you guys heard that some lady's husband is making cheese out of her breast milk? This story will not end until everyone stamps their opinion on the forbidden fromage—the latest to cough up 2 cents: the Post's Andrea Peyser. more ›

The Mother's Milk cheese story has aged another day! Lori Mason, chef Daniel Angerer's wife and the woman whose milk has created the controversial cheese, takes center stage with a NY Post cover today. She tells the paper her product is 100% organic and free range, as opposed to what one may pick up at their local grocer; she declares she's "healthier than your average cow and I'm not pumped full of steroids!" However, the Department of Health is still strongly advising against the couple serving up her cheese to strangers. more ›

Over the weekend we mentioned that chef Daniel Angerer, owner of Klee Brasserie, was offering up what he calls Mother's Milk Cheese. In other word's, he's been making cheese plates from his wife's lactating breasts. He posted the recipe on his website and also said, "whoever wants to try it is welcome to try it as long as supply lasts." However, it now seems he's shying away from that offer after the Health Department gave him a ring. more ›

PETA, who has urged Ben & Jerry's to use human breast milk in the past, is all for chef Daniel Angerer, owner of the New York City restaurant Klee Brasserie, adding "Mommy's Milk" cheese to his menu. The item is made possible by his lactating wife, and he's offered up a host of images and the recipe on his own website—it includes 4 cups mother’s milk, yogurt, rennet and sea salt. The chef admits that he "was concerned... I wondered if it was ethical," but has decided to make it available after some thought and recipe testing; he recently told Grub Street, "It tastes just like really sweet cow’s milk." As for PETA, they say don't knock it til you try it... but would you? more ›

Chances are that if you've ever visited revered Italian shops like Di Palo's or Joe's Dairy, you've seen bite-sized balls of fresh mozzarella resting in milky water like sunken ships, or on the counter wrapped in fist-sized lumps. New York is curd city when it comes to the stretchy cheese, and while demonstrations of mozzarella making are not too hard to come by, it seems as though everyone has a fresh mozzarella preference. Given that more than a few producers start with the same, pre-packaged mozzarella curd (as opposed to milk), it seems as though it's all about the post-bath stretch that results in slight differences of texture and taste. To that end, the all-cheese, all-the-time magazine Culture has a story in its most recent issue devoted to the behind-the-scenes at five of the city's most-respected mozzarella producers, including Lou Di Palo, who'll offer you free samples—you don't even have to ask. Photographer Michael Harlan Turkell's piece for Culture is not available online, but he's put a scan and a few outtakes online right here. more ›

Some cheeses from an East Williamsburg distributor (go nuts, neighborhood nomenclature scolds!) are being recalled by the F.D.A. because they may be contaminated with listeria bacteria, which can cause Listeriosis, a bacterial infection that can cause mild flu-like symptoms and diarrhea in healthy individuals. But according to the F.D.A., meningitis and blood poisoning can occur in "immune-compromised individuals." Pregnant women are also considered a high-risk group, because Listeriosis can also result in stillbirths. The F.D.A. ordered the recall on 14-ounce plastic trays of "Peregrina Cheese Brand Queso Fresco Fresh Cheese" after routine samples by the Dept. of Agriculture turned up contaminants. Officials recommend returning it to the place of purchase. So far, no one has reported getting sick from it. more ›

Turns out the cheese in McDonald’s cheeseburgers is actually made with real dairy! The Wall Street Journal reports that the rising cost of cheese has put the franchise’s famed Dollar Menu in jeopardy. Some restaurants are now pushing a double cheeseburger with just one slice of cheese instead of the usual two. At other locations the price has been jacked up to an obscene $1.10. Now McDonald’s executives are considering yanking cheese from it altogether and calling it a double hamburger. But then there’s the price of beef to consider, which is also rising! It’s only a matter of time before the double mime burger – wheat-free bun, some lettuce and a little imagination – is rolled out. more ›

Sunday June 22nd marks the return of Stink-Fest on Smith Street, a mini-celebration of all cheese pungent and dank. With that comes one of the better competitive eating events in recent memory, the Stinky Cheese Eating contest. The call for new competitors is out at this very moment, so get ready: Last year, Oliver “cheese baron” Butler – director of acclaimed theater company The Debate Society – dominated the contest by downing 6 oz. of Cantal in one minute flat. more ›

Troy Landwehr, a champion cheese carver (who knew there was such a thing?), took four days to create this lovely Lady Liberty out of what started out as a 1,200 pound hunk of aged cheddar. more ›

When one hears there are caves at Murray’s Cheese, images of damp, subterranean chasms loaded with mounds of exotic fromage spring readily to mind. As a recent tour revealed, the cheeses aren’t stored and aged in actual caverns, but rather climate-controlled walk-in refrigerators designed by France’s leading affineur, Hervé Mons. more ›

Mary Izett, a self-admitted beer geek and former president of the Malted Barley Appreciation Society of New York City discussed how the chemical reactions in roasting malt and cacao are related to those that occur when roasting meat. Give yourself five food geek points if you knew she was talking about the Maillard reaction. more ›