A benchmark set of cheeses — by style and milk — that covers the course's tasting sessions, sourced first from Cowgirl Creamery (your local Bay Area creamery), with Murray's Cheese filling the styles Cowgirl doesn't make. Roughly 14 items, most $10–25 each.
0 of 14 bought
How this is sourced.
1 · Cowgirl Creamery first. Petaluma/Point Reyes, California — award-winning fresh, bloomy, and washed-rind cheeses, and about as local as it gets. Ships nationwide via Goldbelly. Where a row says "Cowgirl," that's the primary pick.
2 · Murray's Cheese second. Cowgirl doesn't make alpine, hard-aged grating, blue, or single-breed goat/sheep cheeses — Murray's (NYC, ships nationally) carries dozens of makers including Jasper Hill Farm, Point Reyes Farmstead, and Cypress Grove for those styles.
3 · Freshness & cut. Ask when a wedge was cut from the wheel; a fresher cut has noticeably better texture and aroma. Bring everything to room temperature 20–30 minutes before tasting (Session 2).
Alternative for alpine/washed-rind specifically: Jasper Hill Farm direct (jasperhillfarm.com), Vermont, ships via Goldbelly.
Fresh, bloomy & washed rind — the Cowgirl core
A fresh cheese
Minimal processing — milk speaking directly
Cowgirl Creamery — Fromage Blanc or Crème Fraîche. Organic West Marin milk, nothing hiding it. For a goat-milk fresh cheese specifically, add a chèvre via Murray's (Cowgirl doesn't make goat cheese).
Cowgirl Creamery — Mt Tam. A rich, buttery triple-crème that has repeatedly won awards against the French classics. Add a true French Brie or Camembert via Murray's if you want a direct AOC comparison.
Cowgirl Creamery — Red Hawk (their signature washed rind, gold-medal winner) or Pierce Point (Best of Class, 2026 World Championship Cheese Contest). Smell the rind, then taste the paste — Session 2's core lesson in one wedge.
Cowgirl doesn't make an alpine-style cheese.Murray's — Jasper Hill Farm Whitney (raw-milk, Comté-style, made in copper vats from the Jura) or an imported Comté / Gruyère.
Not a Cowgirl product.Murray's — Parmigiano-Reggiano, aged at least 24 months. Look and listen for the gritty crunch of tyrosine crystals (Session 12).
Murray's — Point Reyes Farmstead Original Blue (Marin County, cow's milk, creamy and mild-for-a-blue) — a great entry point. For the sheep-milk French reference, add Roquefort.
Not a Cowgirl product — but still California.Murray's — Cypress Grove chèvre or Humboldt Fog (their signature ash-veined soft-ripened goat cheese). Taste it beside the Mt Tam for a cow-vs-goat contrast.
Not a Cowgirl product.Murray's — Manchego (Spain) or Pecorino Romano/Toscano (Italy). Compare density and richness against the cow and goat cheeses above.
Murray's — Cabot Clothbound Cheddar (raw milk, aged in the Cellars at Jasper Hill, well past the federal 60-day minimum) or any labeled raw-milk cheese. Read the label against Session 19's aging-rule discussion.
Winnimere or Harbison — seasonal spruce-bound washed rind
An affinage showcase piece
Murray's / Jasper Hill Farm — Winnimere (raw milk, seasonal, spruce-bark bound) or Harbison (pasteurized, year-round). Spoonable, gooey, and a strong Session 15 example of deliberate affinage technique.
Any good local honey and a fig jam or quince paste (membrillo). The single most reliable counterpoint to salt and pungency across nearly every cheese on this list — especially the blue.
Murray's Cheese of the Month Club or the Jasper Hill Cheese Club — curated, rotating selections that cover a range of styles in a single shipment. A fast way to start a comparative flight (Session 4).
Cowgirl Creamery or Jasper Hill Farm — both are farmstead-adjacent operations that publish their milk sourcing and production practices openly. Read the story against Session 19's artisan-vs-industrial framing.