Jane Lindholm of Vermont Public Radio interviews author and University of Vermont professor Paul Kindstedt about his book Cheese and Culture: A History of Cheese and Its Place in Western Civilization.

"Cheese and Culture: A History of Cheese and its Place in Western Civilization" explores how environmental factors, early trade practices and changes in climate shaped shaped the practice and science of making cheese over 9,000 years, and how understanding cheese may illuminate gaps in our knowledge of human history. Paul Kindstedt joins us to explore the role of cheese in ancient to modern society, and why the current U.S. renaissance in artisan cheese is part of a historical continuum of cheese in western culture.

Listen to the interview here.

David Gavrich, president of the San Francisco Bay Railroad, got tired of spraying tracks with toxic herbicides to keep weeds and grasses in check, so he put an ad on Craigslist: "Seeking goat herder who can also do some welding." He got over 200 responses on the first day! The railroad now has a herd of goats that have replaced the herbicides and gas guzzling lawn mowers.

But that’s not all they’re good for: In addition to their work for the city, the goats sometimes venture out to residential neighborhoods to eat away blackberry bushes and poison oak. Gavrich calls the service “Rent-a-Goat.”

Watch the full video here.

Wisconsin's cheese production is higher than that of previous years, with notable spikes in Cheddar, Italian and Mozzarella.

Nationally, 858 million pounds of cheese was produced--up 6.2 percent from the same month in 2011, but 5.8 percent below the previous month's production totals.

Wisconsin's production of American cheese increased as the state produced 64.7 million pounds, about 4.2 percent more than last year, but 6.1 percent below last month's production.

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Photo by infowidget

Listeria monocytogenes may have contaminated Moonstruck Organic Cheese's Tomme d'Or in British Columbia. A recall was issued on the cheese by the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control after routine sampling detected Listeria.

Listeria, if present, will grow to high numbers even if the cheese has been stored in the refrigerator. Food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes may not look or smell spoiled.

Consumption of food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease.

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Photo by Salim Virji

No longer does the grilled cheese evoke images of squished white bread or plasticky orange "cheese product." Artesian grilled cheese shops have sprung up across New York, stuffing their sandwiches with shortrib, truffles and raw cheeses. The breads are thick, and crunchy from better-than-butter spreads: cultured butter, made from fermented cream, and duckfat.

Sure, you could make this at home, provided you could find the proper ingredients, had access to a panini press (a kettle or flatiron won’t do) and tuned the heat precisely, so the cheese didn’t go past gooey into glop.

Why not just pay $5.75 for the version executed with military precision, if not always speed, by MILK TRUCK, various locations, (917) 520-7415, milktruckgrilledcheese.com? It was the best I tried in a recent tour of artisanal grilled-cheese shops, a culinary subgenre that has boomed in the last year.

Feta is paired with Kashkaval, a somewhat firm sheep's milk cheese, in this snackable appetizer.

Turkish borek can be made into beautiful shapes, turning pastry into delicate roses. Here we take a shortcut to a less involved but still somewhat floral-inspired approach, using puff pastry to create beautiful crisp cheese borek. These make addictive party snacks. Feel free to make up more than you need and freeze, unbaked, for your next party. They can be transferred directly from the freezer to the oven and will bake with just a few minutes' extra oven time.

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Photography by Deena Prichep for NPR

Fondue is no longer subject to a single pot. The EZ-Melter, made in Uruguay, is reminiscent of a muffin tin, ready for cubes of cheese to melt inside its individual cups.

Pop a square of good melting cheese — provolone is the choice in South America — into each hollow; put the dish in the oven, on a gas burner or even on a grill; and in minutes you have little blobs of molten cheese ready for toothpicks. You can doll up the cheese by wrapping each piece in a strip of prosciutto, bacon or salami, or use the plate to sear seafood — say, scallops topped with pesto or tomato. The plate is also perfect for escargots.

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Photography by Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

To celebrate National Grilled Cheese month, whip up this sweet and savory sandwich made with dried fig jam and melty Manchego.

Though we love our homemade fig jam, the best part of the sandwich was actually the huge holes in the bread that let bits of fig jam and shredded Manchego drip down onto the pan when we were grilling. They became an extra bit of sweet, caramelized toasted cheese texture on the final sandwich.

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Photo by Sarah J. Gim

Bi-Rite Market in San Francisco posted this delicious recipe for Stilton breakfast sandwiches just in time for Grilled Cheese Month, and we think it looks like a winner. Give a try and let us know what you think. Deeelishus:

Right now, we’re celebrating cheeses from the British Isles, so I want to share a recipe for Stilton, which is made by the Colston Bassett Dairy specifically for Neal’s Yard Dairy. Two modifications make it different from the rest of their production: an animal rennet rather than a vegetarian rennet is used, and the cheese is pierced later than their others, allowing the “white” cheese to develop more flavor before the blue mold is introduced to air. I’ve played around with this recipe at home and think you’ll find it easy and delicious for a special spring breakfast!

Npr has the story on the Milk Not Jails program, created by Lauren Melodia in upstate New York. This non-profit's goal is to simultaneously employ ex-convicts and help out local dairy farmers, the combination of which will ideally boost the local economy overall:

Milk Not Jails' first complaint is that Dean Foods, a powerful food company that controls the majority of milk distribution in the region, has left many small farmers with few options but to sell to them. Sen. Bernie Sanders from Vermont has called Dean a "milk monopoly."

So Milk Not Jails is offering farmers another option: Sell their milk directly to buying clubs in New York City.

So where do the prisons and ex-cons come in? Milk Not Jails plans to recruit ex-cons who can't get a break to drive approved dairy products down to consumers in New York City.