Dear fellow food-lover,

Welcome to The Cheese Plate , a monthly email from Oldways with curated information about different types of traditional cheeses, with ideal pairings. Let The Cheese Plate be a guide to put wonderful traditional cheeses on your plate.

Visit our Cheese Store Directory to find where to buy traditional cheeses and to support cheesemakers and retailers during these challenging times. For tips on buying cheese, download our e-book, The Cheese-Lover’s Guide to Cooking with Traditional Cheeses .
The Art of Affinage
Affinage, or cheese-aging, is a laborious craft that is of great importance in the development of flavor and texture in traditional cheeses. This month, we are featuring three raw milk cheeses that develop their rich, full flavors, luscious textures, and distinctive rinds as they are aged in caves.
Capasone
Presented by Seacrest Foods
Made with raw milk from cows in the Puglia region of southern Italy , Capasone is a pasta filata style ("pulled curd") cheese that might remind you of an aged provolone. Shaped like a truncated cone, it is a wonderful traditional cheese made with care and skill as it ages in caves for nine months. During its time in the caves, Capasone develops its signature spicy, fruity, and complex flavor.

Grill a thick slice in a cast iron pan and watch as the texture transforms from stretchy into a deliciously gooey delight. It is excellent on a piece of bread or with fresh watermelon chunks. For a sweet and savory lunch, we like to serve it with a melon salad and prosciutto slices.
Everton Premium Reserve
By Jacobs and Brichford Cheese
Everton Premium Reserve is made with raw milk from pasture-fed Jersey, Normade, and Tarentaise cows. The high quality raw milk provides a foundation of flavor that is artfully brought to life during the 18 months that the cheese is aging in caves. The masterful result of the aging process is a firm cheese with robust umami and sweet flavors.

Its sweet and sharp notes make Everton Premium Reserve perfect to eat by itself as a snack. Add pickles or fresh raw vegetables for a satisfying light lunch.
Le Castillon
Presented by MonS
Made with raw sheeps' milk and aged for 60 days, Le Castillon is smooth and creamy. If eating cheese rinds is new to you, the Le Castillon rind is a great place to start. Like the cheese itself, the rind is s oft and delicious — the product of being attentively tended by hand every week as it ages.

When the weather gets warm, pour yourself a dessert wine and enjoy the nutty flavor of Le Castillon on a cheese board. Serve it with a fragrant, local honey for a memorable summer treat.
Featured Pairing: Radishes
Did you know that in France small fresh radishes are sometimes eaten with butter? The crunchy, fresh flavor blends well with the creamy, milky goodness of butter. Cheese and radishes compliment each other in a similar way. Radishes come in many shapes and flavors. Experiment to discover the combinations you enjoy most. You might like your cheese with thin slices of a raw, peppery radish or maybe you lean towards a mild pickled radish. Try out a few gorgeous radishes on your next cheese plate, and see which goes best with your favorite cheeses.
Choose It or Lose It: Support the Artisan Cheese Industry
Victory Cheese  is an all out effort to save and sustain our artisan cheese industry. Join the movement to ensure a future for dairy farms and families and preserve the cheeses you love. 

Tag  #VictoryCheese  on social media to raise awareness, and visit  VictoryCheese.com  to learn more about what you can do to help.
The Cheese Plate is made possible through the generous support of Emmi Roth , Gruyère AOP , and Parmigiano Reggiano .