Cheese Grotto For Cheese Storage | The Nibble Webzine Of Food Adventures

GIFT OF THE DAY: Cheese Grotto

December 6, 2016 at 12:45 pm · Filed under Cheese-Yogurt-Dairy, Giftable, Kitchenware-Tabletop

If someone on your gift list is very serious about cheese (such a person is a turophile, Greek for cheese lover), consider the Cheese Grotto.

Think of it as a cheese humidor, to protect precious cheeses instead of cigars.

Everything old is new again. Cheese Grotto is based on a very old design, used to keep ripe cheeses in peak condition for generations. There’s nothing like it in the modern marketplace.

Designed by a cheesemonger, Cheese Grotto creates a perfect environment for wedges and uncut wheels to thrive. It keeps cheeses at their optimal stages of ripeness.

In other words, it keeps precious (costly!) cheeses in a state of stasis, maintaining their ideal ripeness for a longer period.

We’re not talking about supermarket swiss, mind you, or cheeses that you plan to consume the same day; but of artisan cheeses that sell for $25.00 a pound and up: cheeses you want to savor, a bit a day.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH PLASTIC WRAP?

Most cheese counters wrap your cheese in plastic wrap. That’s just to transport it home.

Cheese needs to breath (i.e., air flow), which means plastic wrap isn’t good for them.

Cheese needs humidity, the biggest challenge with home cheese storage.

After you get home, cheese experts recommend re-wrapping the cheese in special cheese wrapping paper.

While cheese wrapping paper is an improvement over conventional kitchen wraps—and is certainly less expensive than the Cheese Grotto—it isn’t nearly as effective (which is why cheesemonger Jessica Sennett created Cheese Grotto in the first place).

Cheese Grotto solves the air flow and humidity problems with a humidor environment fostered by a clay brick that is briefly soaked in water. It releases moisture into the confined space of the Grotto.

For short-term consumption, you can leave the cheese at room temperature, keeping Cheese Grotto on the counter top.

For longer-term storage, it fits easily into the fridge (it’s 12 inches deep, 8.5 inches tall and 7 inches wide).

Cheese Grotto has two adjustable shelves and holds 3-6 cheeses, depending on the size of the wheels or wedges.

WHERE DO YOU GET ONE?

The Cheese Grotto, handmade to order in Virginia, is $350. That includes optional engraved initials and shipping.

The materials are made from wood and other components that are natural and environmentally friendly.

Order yours at CheeseGrotto.com.

Cheese Grotto

[1] and [2] For the true cheese connoisseur, the Cheese Grotto (photos courtesy JRennet). [3] What the professionals have (a cheese cave at Murray’s Cheese).