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I have a theory I’ve been keeping secret: if you have cheese in your fridge, you’re already one-third of the way to dinner.
Cheese plus two other items consistently equals a complete meal. Add noodles and peas (or your frozen green vegetable of choice) for a quick pasta dish. Pair bread with a can of soup to create a grilled cheese and a bowl of soup. A generous serving of cheese, apples, and crackers can qualify as a snack dinner in my book.
And perhaps most importantly, if you have good cheese in your fridge, you can entertain at a moment’s notice. I assure you that if you serve quality cheese to your guests, they’ll completely forget that you forgot to chill that bottle of wine.
Even though I know I always want to keep cheese on hand, I still feel paralyzed with indecision every time I look at the seemingly endless array of options in my supermarket’s cheese section. If I’m not purchasing a specific cheese required for a recipe, how do I know what to stock in my kitchen? To finally resolve my cheese dilemma and ensure I’m buying the dairy products that will enhance my meals the most, I decided to consult an expert.
Madelyn Varela (@cheezytalkwithmadelyn) is a full-time cheesemonger and former cheesemaker known for her accessible yet detailed insights into all things cheese, including recommendations for products to try, answers to questions like “Can you eat the rind on all cheeses?,” and how to pair cheese with even the most unexpected snacks, such as Valentine’s candy or potato chips. Although Varela has undoubtedly sampled many more cheeses than most people, and at the young age of 24 no less, she has distilled her cheese recommendations into three essential options that she always keeps in her fridge — and you should too.
Parmigiano Reggiano
As Varela points out, this hard, aged cow’s milk cheese from Italy “is probably one of the most recognizable cheeses in the world.” Many Italians refer to Parmigiano Reggiano as “the king of cheeses,” thanks to its nutty, umami-rich, salty, and sharp flavor, which has made it a core part of their cuisine.
True Parmigiano Reggiano is aged for at least 12 months — a key part of what creates its complexity of flavor — and must be produced in the Italian provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna to the left of the Reno river, or Mantua to the right of the Po river. Parmigiano Reggiano must adhere to strict quality and production standards, and you can identify the real rendition of this cheese by looking for the dotted letters on its rind, spelling out its name.
This hard cheese can melt, but not very easily, so it’s not something you’d want to use for a sandwich (although grating it on top of another more meltable cheese for added flavor would be fantastic). Nevertheless, Varela says, “A wedge of good Parmigiano Reggiano is by far the most versatile cheese I keep on hand. It adds a perfect kick of flavor to anything.
“I use it as a salad topping, in my morning omelet, chicken casserole, and pasta of course. I also love to eat it on its own with a drizzle of long-aged balsamic vinegar. The entire thing is edible too, so once you’re done with the cheese itself, you can throw the rind into some soup or sauce to help build flavor!”
Drunken Goat
Unlike Parmigiano Reggiano, the name of this cheese may be unfamiliar to many of us. Varela explains that “Drunken Goat is an aged goat cheese from Spain soaked in Spanish red wine. If you’re like me and have spontaneous girls’ nights at your place, this is always a fun one to keep on hand, just so you have something pretty but also super yummy to throw out.”
If you scroll through Varela’s Instagram or TikTok, you’ll see she stands by her word—Drunken Goat appears in several videos. The wine-soaked goat cheese is semi-firm with a “mild, milky, and somewhat herbaceous” flavor, as Varela describes in a video. Its stunning red exterior clearly hints at how it’s made, and the cheesemonger recommends pairing it with hard-aged chorizo and a fruity glass of Spanish red wine.
Gruyère
It’s time to meet the melty cheese you should always have on hand — and no, it’s not cheddar. Gruyère is a hard, Alpine cheese made from cow’s milk and aged for a minimum of six months. As a washed rind cheese, it may have a slightly stronger aroma than others. However, this unique production process results in a deeply nutty cheese, with subtle grassy flavors when young and more complex, earthy notes as it matures.
If you’ve ever had French onion soup or a croque monsieur, you’ve probably enjoyed some melted Gruyère on top. But its uses don’t end there. According to Varela, this cheese “is super flavorful and melts great. I use it a lot in cooking. It goes great in mac and cheese, quiches, mashed potatoes, grilled cheese, or really anything you would want some cheesy goodness in.”
As an added bonus, Gruyère is a low-moisture cheese, so it lasts much longer in your fridge and is often still good for up to a month after it’s been opened.
