🧀 GIVEAWAY🧀 We’re teaming up with @appenzeller_kaese to give THREE lucky winners a bundle of Appenzeller gear—plus a taste of Appenzeller White Label.
Appenzeller is famous for big flavor, but its White Label shows a softer side: made with raw milk and a touch of extra cream, it’s aged just over three months to achieve a rich, creamy texture with gentle savory notes and hints of fruit and herbs—mellow, snackable, and endlessly satisfying.
How to enter:
1️⃣ Like this post
2️⃣ Follow @culturecheese and @appenzeller_kaese
3️⃣ Tag a friend you’d share this prize with (each tag counts as an entry; no limit)
🌟 Bonus entry for sharing on your story and tagging us!
Each winner will receive:
1 pound Appenzeller White Label
1 Cooler backpack
3 Cheese markers
1 Umbrella
1 Tea towel
1 Wooden spoon
1 Small cutting/serving board
Giveaway ends 12/12. US only. This giveaway is not sponsored or endorsed by Instagram.
Andy Hatch is a legend in the American artisan cheese world.
As head cheesemaker and co-owner of @uplandscheese in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, he’s responsible for two of the most celebrated cheeses in the country: Pleasant Ridge Reserve and Rush Creek Reserve.
A passionate steward of place, process, and flavor, Hatch has built a farmstead model that’s both traditional and quietly radical—one where the land, animals, people, and product are all in symbiotic balance.
We spoke with Hatch about falling in love with cheesemaking on a Norwegian fjord, the unique spirit of Wisconsin terroir, and why the future of artisan cheese is more precarious—and more hopeful—than ever. Tap our link in bio for the full conversation.
📸 Kevin J. Miyazaki (@_plate)
✍️ @hannahmhoward
It’s 10 p.m. and you’re hankering for a wedge of Bethmale from the French Pyrenees. Until recently, you’d be out of luck—but not anymore.
Award-winning cheeses, charcuterie, and caviar are filling refrigerated vending machines in urban and rural areas in the US, making it easier for breweries, creameries, and cheese shops to assuage their customers’ desires for high-end snacking, any time of day or night.
A far cry from machines that drop M&M’s and Coca-Cola into your hands, these dispensaries are elevated. Some have screens displaying each product’s attributes and pairing suggestions, while others are retrofitted classics. Most are available 24/7, all are kept at an ideal temperature for freshness, and paying is simple with cash, credit, or a digital wallet.
No matter the design or location, the results are the same: Award-winning cheeses, charcuterie, and all the accoutrements, ready for the taking, at any hour. Tap the link in bio for a list of cheese vending machines you can visit, including one that`s @inagarten-approved. 🧀
✍️ Denise Shoukas
Dale Cooper—the chipper detective from David Lynch’s @twinpeaks—once said, “Every day, once a day, give yourself a present.” Lucky for cheese lovers, advent calendar season is upon us. That means it’s very easy to gift yourself daily, delicious surprises this holiday season. 🎁
A nibble of cheese a day is sure to increase cheer, so indulge in one (or a few) of our seven cheese advent calendars at the link in bio. 🧀 🎄
✍️ @alana_ped
It’s Small Business Saturday—aka the perfect excuse to hype up your local cheese shop. Tag your fav in the comments 👇
New Issue Alert ❄️ Our Entertaining Issue is here—and Withersbrook Blue is stealing the spotlight on the cover.
Inside, we’re cozying up with an Alpine après-ski plate curated by @lifelovecheese, chatting with @uplandscheese Andy Hatch, and getting creative in the kitchen with @jumi.cheese Raclette.
Subscribe to culture by Dec 1 to score 50% off and get this issue delivered straight to your door—perfect for holiday reading (and snacking). #linkinbio
Black Friday came early… and so did your first look at our next cover star 👀 Snag a year-long subscription for 50% off—just $9.95 for four issues delivered to your door. #linkinbio
Bonus points if you can ID this cheese in the comments 👇️
Show your loved ones you care by giving the gift of dairy this holiday season. From burrata candles to viral French butter to an entire block of blue cheese, you`re sure to find something in our gift guide for the cheese obsessed in your life.
Tap the link in bio for 26 thoughtfully curated picks. 🧀 🎁
✍️ @josiekrogh
This Thanksgiving, transform classic pumpkin pie with a smoked cheddar crust or upgrade warm apple crisp with dollops of creamy mascarpone. 🤤
Learn five ways you can combine cheese and Turkey Day dessert at the link in bio. 🦃 🧀
Yesterday was Beaujolais Nouveau Day: A French celebration of Beaujolais nouveau wine, which is bottled and sold just weeks after harvest. 🍇
Today, it`s Friday: an American celebration of happy hour. 🎉
Swipe for cheese pairing inspo and tap the link in bio to learn more about this cheery and "purposely unserious" wine, as writer @annemariepietersma calls it. 🍷🧀
Sagittarius: Always chasing new horizons, always hungry for adventure. ♐️🧀
According to @astrolocheese, this fire sign thrives on off-the-beaten-path flavor mashups—like @pointreyescheese TomaRashi (hello, Shichimi tōgarashi!) paired with GORP trail mix and a crisp West Coast IPA.
The ultimate explorer’s snack board: bold, global, and ready for wherever the journey leads. ✨
Anatomy of a cheese 🧀—let’s break it down:
Rind: The outside layer of a cheese, formed by specific microbes or starter cultures during aging.
Paste: The interior of the cheese—the main body you cut into and taste.
Creamline: The creamy, gooey layer just under the rind that softens and develops flavor as the cheese ages.
Learn more about the anatomy of @VermontCreamery aged cheeses at the link in bio.
Honey + @sequatcheese`s Shakerag = a perfect pairing we think @dollyparton would love 🩷
This sumptuous cheese from Tennessee melts in your mouth and has notes of candied bacon and toasted coconut. That`s thanks to a labor-intensive aging process, which involves wrapping the cheese in Chattanooga Whiskey-soaked fig leaves.
Learn more about this blue from our Winter 2024 issue at the link in bio. 🧀
✍️ @josiekrogh
📸 @ninagallant_
👗 @madstrap
Holiday gifting, but make it cheesy 🧀✨
We’ve partnered with @renardscheese, a family creamery rooted in the unique landscape of Wisconsin’s Door County peninsula—where lush pastures produce exceptional milk (aka exceptional cheese). Led by Master Cheesemaker Chris Renard, Renard`s crafts award-winning cheeses with deep respect for the land, the animals, and a zero-waste cheesemaking process.
And now? Three of you will get to taste it for yourself.
We’re giving away THREE Island Time Gift Boxes (valued at $140 each!) packed with Renard’s signature cheeses and local Door County favorites:
How to Enter:
1️⃣ Like this post
2️⃣ Follow @culturecheese + @renardscheese
3️⃣ Tag a friend in the comments (each tag = one entry, no limit)
Bonus entry: Share to your story and tag us so we can see!
🧀 What’s Inside:
• 1 lb Terrific Trio (White Cheddar, Parmesan & Gouda blend)
• 8 oz 2 Year Cheddar
• 8 oz Cloverleaf Reserve (Cheddar + Gruyère-style blend)
• 1 lb Old-Fashioned Hoop Cheddar
• 8 oz Pesto & Herb Cheese Spread
• 8 oz Cream Cheese & Chives Spread
• 6 oz East Shore Dipping Pretzels
• Carr’s Rosemary Crackers
• 5 oz Door County Cherry Mustard
• Old Wisconsin Summer Sausage
• Garlic Mushroom Olive Oil
• Milk Chocolate Covered Door County Cherries
• Door County Coffee ☕️
Giveaway closes at 11:59 PM on November 24. Winners will be contacted via DM from @culturecheese only. U.S. entrants only. Must be 18+ to enter. No purchase necessary. Not affiliated with Instagram. Good luck + happy holiday snacking!
It’s difficult to envision James Bond shaping rounds of goat cheese as part of his latest operation. However, that is exactly what Virginia Hall did.
While in deep cover during World War II, the “most dangerous of all Allied spies,” according to the Gestapo, went so far as to offer cheese samples to her jackbooted quarry.
Transformation was Hall’s ace up her sleeve, whether she was turning milk into cheese or morphing from the heiress of a wealthy banker into a callus-handed French dairymaid. What was most remarkable was how someone with a prosthetic limb could so persistently elude notice.
Read the rest of this story at our link in bio. 🕵️♀️
✍️ Chris Allsop (@ocez)
@gruyere_aop Vorderfultigen spezial over 18 months from Bergkäserei Vorderfultigen in Switzerland has been crowned the World Champion Cheese at the 2025 @guildoffinefood #WorldCheeseAwards in Bern, Switzerland. 🧀
This aged cow’s milk cheese stood out among more than 5,200 cheeses from 46 countries—a record-breaking year for entries.
“The host country scoops the biggest prize in cheese again,” says John Farrand, managing director of the Guild of Fine Food, which organizes the World Cheese Awards. “The reality is that this cheese has won through our multilayered and robust blind-tasting judging process and ended up achieving the highest score, impressing the Super Jury judges from 14 different nations.”
The winning Gruyère comes from a small creamery just outside Bern. It won by one point over France`s Crémeux des Aldudes aux fleurs, a soft cow`s milk cheese studded with flowers.
American cheesemonger Hanna Lee (@hcocobolo) was also recognized in Bern as the @cheese_academy Young Cheesemonger of the Year, an award celebrating rising stars in the cheese world. 👏
Tap the link in bio for this year`s list of 14 Super Gold cheeses, including an American offering from @murrayscheese. 🥇
What happens when you take a flagship cheese and roll it in hay? If you’re @jasperhillfarm, you win awards. 🏆
Calderwood starts as Alpine-inspired Alpha Tolman, then transforms when washed with brine and pressed with Jasper Hill`s own toasted hay. The result is a cheese that captures Vermont`s terroir in every bite.
Read more about this award-winning cheese at our link in bio and swipe for a closer look. 🌾
✍️ @beccahaleypark
📸 @adamdetour
👗 @kendraelizabethstylist
The most distinguished of cheese crystals, tyrosine, is not a component of stone but a foundation of life itself. 🧬
Tyrosine crystals are the crunchy starbursts found in the paste of many Alpine-style, Italian, and Dutch cheeses. They are made from the amino acid of the same name, which is an organic compound and therefore not a mineral.
At the link in bio, discover two factors vital to the formation of these crystals—and why you don`t always find them in aged, hard cheeses.
✍️ @theaffineur
🧀 Vintage Lot 18 by @artikaasgouda
2025 Hot Lister @vnesst of @agnes_cheesery and @agnes_pasadena put together this moody and elegant cheese board for us in 2023.
“Almost every table at Agnes orders the cheese plate,” she says. “The monger chooses the cheese, writes the description and goes to the table to explain every cheese and connect with the guests.”
Feeling inspired? Tap the link in bio to recreate this plate.
📸 @adamdetour
👗 @kendraelizabethstylist
Alexandra Holt (@pastry_slut_) is known for doing things her way. After burning out on toxic masculinity in the Michelin-starred and fine dining kitchens where she started her career, Holt opened her 24-seat restaurant, @roxanne_philly, in Philadelphia’s Italian Market in 2022. Except for a single server, she was the only person on staff, executing ambitious, unexpected, and acclaimed tasting menus entirely on her own.
Last year, Holt closed that location and reopened in a larger space, this time with a bar and a team of four servers. But she’s still the only cook in the kitchen; Roxanne 2.0 remains an undiluted, unfiltered expression of Holt’s personality and hospitality approach.
Naturally, a burger on Holt’s menu could never be just a burger—and like many of the chef’s most exciting dishes, it highlights her love of cheese. Link in bio to discover what makes this burger special, plus which @roellicheesehaus_ cheese is on top.
📸 @paul.s.bartholomew
✍️ @arockjonestown
