Understanding Cheese’s Seasonality

Many consumers don’t realize that cheeses have seasons. This is not to say that cheeses should be savored only at their presumed seasonal peaks—if well made and well handled, many cheeses may be consumed year-round. However, becoming more attuned to the seasonal nature of some cheeses will help you pick products at their most desirable.

Seasonality comes into play for multiple reasons, most of them tied to animal husbandry. The breeding cycle, especially with sheep and goats, determines the cheesemaker’s schedule. Both animals have reproductive cycles that are aligned with the amount of daylight available and go into heat when days get shorter. A cow dairy can have a milk supply year-round by staggering the breeding, yet some produce cheese only seasonally when they believe the milk is best.

The composition of the milk—the amount of fat and casein (milk protein) and the ratio of these key cheese components—can vary dramatically throughout the season, especially if the animals all give birth around the same time (dairy animals’ milk is richest in the weeks after it gives birth, with richness climbing again at the end of the lactation cycle). In between, the milk solids—the cheesemaker’s word for the fat and casein—may dip, which impacts cheese yield and quality. Industrial dairies standardize the fat-casein ratio throughout the year to get consistent results; artisan cheesemakers adjust their recipes. Weather also affects cheese quality, not only in the cellar, but also in the distribution system.

A Cheese Calendar

Seasonal peaks differ for many cheeses based on geography, breed or style, but here are some general guidelines for cheeses produced in the Northern Hemisphere.

SPRING: Ricotta; fresh unripened goat cheese; young mold-ripened cheeses.  

SUMMER: Mozzarella and burrata; year-old mountain cheeses such as Comté, made with summer milk; plus crottins, Banon and other moderately aged goat cheeses.

AUTUMN: Washed-rind cheeses such as Brescianella; Cheddars.

WINTER: Six-month-old Appenzeller, Abondance and other alpine cheeses; Gouda; four- to six-month-old Pecorino, Manchego or Ossau-Iraty; blue cheese such as Stilton, Gorgonzola and Roquefort.

—Janet Fletcher and Vanessa Facenda

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