Los Olivos Grocery Cheeses

The Los Olivos Grocery is proud to offer what we consider to be a dazzling array of cheeses from around the world. . . . cheese as it was meant to be.

Handcrafted cheeses created from milk can be compared to fine wines made from grape juice. . . each offers subtleties and many dimensions of taste.

These cheeses come from farms and small dairies where commitment to the art of crafting fine cheese has survived the 20th century’s rush toward industrialization and standardization. 

Many of our cheeses come from traditional cheese producing countries such as France, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland, but like new world wine, our American artisan cheeses are comparable choices.

Take your time with each visit to the Los Olivos Grocery and ponder the hundreds of cheeses that we offer. Read the signs about each cheese and you will hunger to try them all.

The Cheese Course

Putting together a cheese course, or cheese board as it is often called, is limited only by your imagination. The grouping can be thematic, it can be systematic, or it can be eclectic.

Here are a few suggestions for putting together a cheese board that will make for a fun, flavorful, and festive course.

• Choose cheeses with a variety of textures. This might mean soft, fresh goat cheese and a soft-ripened cheese such as Gorgonzola, a semi-hard mountain-style cheese, such as Cave Aged Gouda , and a hard and flavorful cheese like Vella Aged Jack or Parmigiano Reggiano.

• Assemble your cheese board by choosing cheeses made from the three main types of milk: goat, sheep and cow.

•  Choose your cheese board based on the wine you are serving. If you are serving a young, lightly acidic wine, then choose young, highly acidic cheeses. If you are serving a big, bold red wine; serve creamy and/or salty cheeses since both will complement the wine.

•  Don’t mix several strong cheeses. Smoked cheeses, for example, will overtake almost every other flavor, so should probably not be served as part of the cheese board.

•  Serve no more than six cheeses, probably less. Fewer are better because it is easier on the flavors of a few cheeses.

•  Bring all cheeses to room temperature before serving. 

•  Serve simple fruits, vegetables and breads with the cheese. You can even try matching a fruit or vegetable with a particular cheese. For example, dried dates and aged, salty cheeses form an addictive combination.

And most important – Have Fun!