Online Gourmet Cheese Shops

Cheese has been around for as long as recorded history and before. Each country has their own flavors and techniques from the American Vermont Cheddar to Portuguese Toldeo and Swiss Gruyere. There are times that one cannot find a specific cheese in their local shop nor have no access to a cheese shop in their town. This article offers four online shops that sell cheese as well as accessories. Each site was chosen based on (1) customer service, (2) quality, (3) AOC and DOP labels, and (4) shipping abilities (usually shipped day of order if placed before a certain time).

Each site offers a wide variety of soft to triple cream and hard cheeses as well as seasonal cheeses. As to the labels AOC and DOP, their meanings are: (a) AOC "Appellation d'Orine Controlee" is French for controlled label of origin and (b) DOP "Denominazione di Origine Protetta" is Italian for protected designation of origin. These labels insure that the cheese comes from the origin it is produced in. Further, none of these sites offer industrial cheese (those made in mass quantities), they only offer artisan cheeses.

1. I Gourmet (www.igourmet.com). A wide selection of cheeses and reasonable priced. Sold by ounces to insure quality on arrival. Cheeses can be chosen by milk type, kosher and even organic. Further you can create custom cheese baskets or select one of their many styles including wine and cheese sets to towers of cheese. No only does this site sell cheese, it also sells service ware. Many of these cheeses can be shipped outside of the United States. Further, you can also request a catalog to see all of their products as well as their cheeses.

2. Zabars (www.zabars.com). From hard to soft, this site offers a decent selection of cheeses. Here you can also choose by milk, texture or even price range to select the cheese that you are looking for. Service ware is also sold on this site and includes such items as knives, boards and even flags to denote which type of cheese is being served. You can request a catalog from the site as well as sign up for email notifications and sales.

3. Dean & Deluca (www.deandeluca.com). This site is a bit pricy, but you can order a whole wheel of Italy's own Parmigiano Reggiano. You can also choose by styles and makes of cheese. They offer plates with different cheeses so a tasting of a country can be fully enjoyed. They also offer accompaniments such as crackers and syrups that enhance the flavor of the cheeses. This is the one site that offers a cheese of the month club in three, six or nine month choices.

4. Gourmet Food Store (www.gourmetfoodstore.com). You can order a catalog to come to you or another person. Further, this site also offers affordable artisan cheeses from different countries as well as styles (i.e. milk types, kosher, texture and the site even offers raw and organic cheeses). This site offers articles for the newbie or the experienced on such things as types of cheeses and how to serve to help the buyer understand the world of cheese. This site offers specials and accompaniments from food to service ware.