The home for cheese makers and cheese lovers who are desperate for wonderful stinky, smelly, bloomy, moldy cheese.
Cheese Desert: [cheez dez-ert] cheese deserts. noun
1. An area largely void of fromageries, traditional cheese shops, and local exotic cheese makers.
2. Largely devoid of distinguished artisan cheeses.
3. Any region where the Safeway or Kroger store may represent the best available cheese selection.
2. Largely devoid of distinguished artisan cheeses.
3. Any region where the Safeway or Kroger store may represent the best available cheese selection.
Our History
Located far away from the stinky reaches of French fromage, and far beyond the cultivated tastes of ageless cultures sits the friendly city of Indianapolis, Indiana. Nestled beautifully between Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Louisville, Indianapolis seems poised to represent a broad palette of cuisine and culture as it riffs its culinary theme from so many rich influences. Dubbed “The Crossroads of America”, this historical city should provide a wonderful sampling of glorious cheese! But, after thoroughly searching high and low for true upper echelon, stinky, and robust fromage, it appears that nearly every unique recipe and methodology fell off the cheese wagon long before reaching this palate-neutral cheese desert.
January 2010 ~ On our first day in Indianapolis, we did a quick Google search to find where the
cheese was hiding. Excited, we hopped in the car and explored our two first finds. To our dismay, what we found was vacuum-sealed, poorly aged imports along with an endless variety of Monterey Jack, Mild and Sharp Cheddar, Havarti, Mozzarella, young Gouda, and heaps of Parmesan. It was obvious at that point that our search would need to be more exhaustive if we were to find “real cheese”.
Fast-forward two years….
January 2012 ~ Desperate and alone in a desert full of fearful palates, chain restaurants, and milk-toast taste buds, we have collectively struck out. We are indeed stranded on a desert island. This cheese desert, a place where Stepford palates live in utter ignorant bliss of culinary possibilities, has trapped us tightly inside its borders.
And then it happened…..
May 2012 ~ Enough was enough. If we couldn’t find the cheese, we would make it ourselves. As “foodies”, the process would be a natural fit. We had the discerning palates, and had tasted an enormous variety of cheese across multiple decades and multiple continents. With blind faith and a few hundred dollars in supplies we began our journey into cheese making. After all, someone had to bring pungent mold, washed rind, and gooey goodness to our desert. Someone needed to introduce smelly feet as a culinary SOS to the rest of the region. It might as well be us!
This is our journey into the world of cheese tasting, cheese making, cheese buying, and cheesy fun.
Located far away from the stinky reaches of French fromage, and far beyond the cultivated tastes of ageless cultures sits the friendly city of Indianapolis, Indiana. Nestled beautifully between Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Louisville, Indianapolis seems poised to represent a broad palette of cuisine and culture as it riffs its culinary theme from so many rich influences. Dubbed “The Crossroads of America”, this historical city should provide a wonderful sampling of glorious cheese! But, after thoroughly searching high and low for true upper echelon, stinky, and robust fromage, it appears that nearly every unique recipe and methodology fell off the cheese wagon long before reaching this palate-neutral cheese desert.
January 2010 ~ On our first day in Indianapolis, we did a quick Google search to find where the
cheese was hiding. Excited, we hopped in the car and explored our two first finds. To our dismay, what we found was vacuum-sealed, poorly aged imports along with an endless variety of Monterey Jack, Mild and Sharp Cheddar, Havarti, Mozzarella, young Gouda, and heaps of Parmesan. It was obvious at that point that our search would need to be more exhaustive if we were to find “real cheese”.
Fast-forward two years….
January 2012 ~ Desperate and alone in a desert full of fearful palates, chain restaurants, and milk-toast taste buds, we have collectively struck out. We are indeed stranded on a desert island. This cheese desert, a place where Stepford palates live in utter ignorant bliss of culinary possibilities, has trapped us tightly inside its borders.
And then it happened…..
May 2012 ~ Enough was enough. If we couldn’t find the cheese, we would make it ourselves. As “foodies”, the process would be a natural fit. We had the discerning palates, and had tasted an enormous variety of cheese across multiple decades and multiple continents. With blind faith and a few hundred dollars in supplies we began our journey into cheese making. After all, someone had to bring pungent mold, washed rind, and gooey goodness to our desert. Someone needed to introduce smelly feet as a culinary SOS to the rest of the region. It might as well be us!
This is our journey into the world of cheese tasting, cheese making, cheese buying, and cheesy fun.
Brought to you from deep within the Cheese Desert: Population 2 – Kelly Wensing & Tommy Reddicks
