The Perfect Cheese for Your Beach Day
Cheese at the beach
You might be skeptical about taking cheese to the beach, just as I was skeptical about Great Lakes beaches. “That’s a lakefront,” I told one Chicago native shortly after I moved from South Florida. “Beaches have palm trees and salt water.” It didn’t take long for me to learn to love the dunes of Michigan, and even to find a beautiful city beach where I now shake off the long winters each year, gazing at the blue waters of Lake Michigan.
Packing Your Cheese
As a moderate minimalist, I usually stock a soft-sided cooler that is small enough to grab with one hand or sling over a shoulder. But, if you are maxing out with a group you can haul a large fully-stocked cooler. So fine-tune these suggestions to meet your personal style. In my little haul, cold fruit is included, cold bottled water, and often one can of craft beer or a bottle of iced tea. And, yes, cheese. I know you are thinking about the sand—I get it. You might also worry about cheese getting too warm as you work your way into an 800-page novel, but trust me—those worries are easy to mitigate. Let’s talk about that, and then I will suggest some specific cheeses that I think are perfect for the lakefront or the seashore whether you want to pack a snack, or a feast.
Storage and Serving Tips for Beach Picnics
The aforementioned moderate sized cooler usually has some loose cubes or a freeze pack to counter the heat, so even soft bloomy rinds have accompanied me to the beach. I once had a small hard cooler with a flat top that could serve as a cutting board or a base for one. I recently began using a folding, locking cheese knife, and that might be all you need for your beach trip. If you would rather not bring a cooler, hard and semi hard cheeses are perfectly do-able. A cheddar might soften a bit, but a wedge of Grana, or Manchego is hardy enough to keep deep in a backpack (in the shade) for hours. That backpack should also contain a clean kitchen towel or a bandanna or two for wiping the knife, or carefully removing sand from your fingers.
If you typically avoid pre-cut cheese in favor of a full wedge cut from the wheel, here is where you might make an exception. Better grocery store cheese departments will offer good quality cheeses cubed and packaged in cups or clam-shell packages. String cheese sticks are great for kids (or adults), and they are sometimes made from organic milk.
Refreshments
Olives
Fruit tea
Wheat beer
Fruit
Tinned fish
Cookies
Crackers
Olives and other accouterments often have a briny note, which makes these components perfect for beach day. I get thirsty at the beach, and matching a super-refreshing beverage like a watermelon tea or a wheat beer to a cheese also enhances your beach snack. Chilled grapes or watermelon will refresh the palate as you soak in the sun. Throw in tinned-fish, and maybe a couple of lemon cookies and you will have no need to settle for a hot dog.
Let’s look now at some great cheeses and how they lend themselves to beach-going.
Greek Feta
PDO Greek Feta
The real thing PDO Greek Feta is made with sheep and or goat’s milk, and its briny, salty flavor might remind you of your first swim in the ocean, even if you eat it at the office desk in the dead of winter. Cube it up with watermelon and keep it chilled and you’ve got two parts of your beach snack in one container.
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Parmigiano Reggiano
One of the world’s greatest name-protected cheeses, Parmigiano-Reggiano is not just for grating. Chunky bits of this giant wheel deserve a place on a cheese board, and due to its durability, it’s also a perfect cheese for an outdoor adventure. Wrap a wedge, or toss some chunks into a small container, and, as mentioned, you don’t need to keep it cold.
Taleggio
Taleggio Vecchia Lavorazione by F. D. Richards is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Taleggio is probably Italy’s most famous soft washed-rind cow’s milk cheese. While a sniff of the rind might remind one of gym socks, I get a decidedly oceanic aroma trigger and that’s part of why I like Taleggio for the beach. The briny notes wafting from a fresh cut loaf take me back to shallow channels of the Florida Keys where in the summer, the sea water warms like the contents of a hot-tub, exuding a salty, slightly fishy aroma. Makes me think of boarding a boat and heading out to deep water for a dive or a snorkeling or fishing excursion. Now this is a large, soft, sticky-rind cheese, so you will need to handle it carefully, and keep it chilled until you are nearly ready to spread it on a fresh baguette.
Atlantis
Atlantis cheese photo credit Perrystead Dairy
If ever there was a cheese that was made for the beach, it would have to be Atlantis, a little specialty from Perrystead Dairy of Philadelphia. Made from local cow’s milk, Atlantis is washed with sanitized Atlantic sea water, and speckled with a variety of edible seaweed bits. The dairy’s website says it is aged 45-60 days and offers notes of herbs, asparagus, apples and nori, with a light salinity. This is an 8-ounce wheel, so it is perfect for a larger group.
Clothbound Cheddar
Neal's Yard Montgomery's Cheddar
Also known as bandage-wrapped cheeses, these lovelies are durable, as with other hard cheeses. While there are fantastic clothbound cheeses made in the United States, the old world Cheddars from Neal’s Yard Dairy still have their specific charms—deep earthiness and some sharp, nearly spicy horseradish notes. I also favor them for the beach, because as a child visiting the beaches of the Atlantic, I know that I would occasionally drawl “Mama. Is that ‘Angland’ over there?”
Manchego
1605 Manchego from Finca Sierra La Solana
One of the world’s most beloved sheep’s milk cheeses, Manchego comes from Spain’s geographic interior, but it begs to be enjoyed along any coast. Firm, and rugged, it’s tangy flavors and long finish play well with chilled fruits and crisp wines. Any true Manchego is good, but the raw-milk 1605 Manchego from Finca Sierra La Solana is the bees' knees.
Alpine with Saison
Emmi Le Gruyere
Frankly, this is one of the best cheese-beverage pairing you will ever find. And the etymology of the name of this Belgian beer (also referred to as farmhouse ale) is thought to be related to its summer-time drinkability. I’ll suggest Saison Dupont with Emmi Le Gruyere DOP, as both are universally available. But you could also go local and boutique with both the cheese and beer. Other beach beverages might include a nice rosé, or piquepoul (a.k.a. picpoul) wine, hefewiezen, Belgian white, or a hazy IPA. All of these pair well with a variety of cheeses.
Those of us who love great cheese know that it is varied enough to lend itself to a variety of meal occasions, social situations, and life scenarios, including everything from cocktail parties to car trips. The beach is one of those occasions. It offers a relaxing escape from the everyday, and if you don’t overthink it, cheese should be a part of the fun.