An important question that may have haunted you at some point. Fiona Beckett argues that a mature brie is more difficult to pair with wine. It's also a real shape-shifter in its old age (we're talking runny!) Let us know what you think:

The Chilean pinot noir I'd picked to go with it seemed a bit lightweight, it was so decadently creamy. On the other hand it hadn't got that sort of ammoniac character that Brie can acquire as it ages which can give it an unpleasantly bitter edge. All you need is a hunk of crisp, freshly baked baguette to slather it on. And maybe a few grapes. The perfect lunch . . .

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Photo by Pier-Luc Bergeron

"Cheese Kit Diptych" is installation art by Han Bennink, from a couple of years ago that we just discovered. In the installation, he utilized two drum sets, one of which was equipped with real Dutch cheese wheels in lieu of the instruments. Check it out!

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Dairy farming is a dwindling business for Maine residents, with larger farms taking over the demand. The loss of farms ultimately means a loss in rural landscape, something many Americans, including George Smith, consider evocative of the state:

At one time, 75 percent of the 25,000 acres in my town of Mount Vernon was cleared land. Today, we're down to 700 cleared acres -- much of which is maintained by our last dairy farmer, Dick Hall.

Dick's mother Mildred once told me, "You have to be stupid to be a farmer," and Dick added, "or crazy."

I thought their comments were amusing at the time. Now they are coming true.

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Photo by Randen Pederson

As many of us cheese-lovers know, goat cheese has the ability to kick up flavor in any dish. Check out these new dinner recipes for a fresh take on many staples.

Luckily, goat cheese is an affordable cheese so feel free to indulge in its richness. It's mild enough to meld with most flavors, yet zesty enough to contribute to the recipe. Click through our slideshow below to see how you can incorporate this cheese into your dinner dishes. From Roasted Asparagus and Goat Cheese Tarts to Goat Cheese Phyllo Stack with Crushed Olives, goat cheese makes it all taste better.

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Photo by Rebecca Siegel

Recent studies confirm that drinking warm milk or eating other dairy products before bed (including cheese) can help us sleep better. Apparently cows milked after midnight have higher levels of melatonin in their milk which helps regulate sleep as well.

Warm milk has always been a bedtime tradition, and now research has shown why it helps. In addition to tryptophan, milk, yogurt and cheese are all rich calcium, which may help reduce stress. Combined, tryptophan and calcium may enhance one’s ability to fall asleep by producing melatonin, a key role in regulating day-to-night cycles in the human body.

You may get nightmares though.

Read the full story here.

Photo by Glutnix

An update on the village of Stilton's campaign to get back the right to call their cheese Stilton:

On Monday the village of Stilton applied to Defra for an extension of the protected designation of origin (PDO) for the cheese to cover their parish.
The village launched their campaign at the start of National Stilton Week 2012, and will boost their efforts by adding the phrase 'Original Home of Stilton Cheese' to a sign outside their village.

Read the full story here.

How does string cheese pull apart in such appealing uniform ribbons? Is it gross processing or toxic chemicals? Nope. Turns out it's all about the milk proteins:

String cheese is just mozzarella cheese that has been heated to 140 degrees. At this temperature the cheese becomes very stretchy and the milk proteins move around and line up together in a row.

Read the full story here.

Max McCalman, uses zinfandel for all it's worth when it comes to cheese pairings:

Zinfandel became the default red wine partner for those mixed groupings of cheeses. As I looked over my catalog of cheese and wine pairings, I found successful matches with a full range of cheese types: fresh cheeses, aged cheeses, goat, sheep, wash-rinds, bloomy rinds, Goudas, and blues. Several pairings were outstanding and only a very few disappointed.

Read the blog post here.

Didn't think pizza could get any more delicious? Plan a trip to Forcella Pizzeria in Brooklyn or PizzArte in Midtown Manhattan to sample the art of montanara pizza. The dough is lightly fried in hot oil, then topped and baked as usual. We can't wait to try!

The use of frying is subtle, and for that kind of refinement, America needed the Italians, who have been quietly frying pizza dough in Naples for years before anyone noticed.

Read the full story here.

Photo by The Pizza Review

Raw milk from Foundation Farm in Wilsonville, Oregon, was officially connected with E. coli infections in four local children and intestinal issues in thirteen other people. The Oregon Department of Public Health conducted the testing at the farm and confirmed the connection, warning Foundation Farm shareholders to discard any remaining milk.

"He told his customers about it as soon as he knew there was a problem," Pokarney said. Foundation Farm, which distributes raw milk to 48 families, operates as a herdshare, a type of enterprise that allows people to buy shares in the herd or even an individual animal. Under that sort of arrangement, they are not considered customers. Pokarney said herdshares are legal in Oregon because there are no laws prohibiting them.

Read the full story here.