5 California Cheeses to rock your Thanksgiving Cheese Plate

These 5 California cheeses will make your Thanksgiving cheese plate unforgettable.

Thanksgiving to me is a time of A) gathering with family and eating an amazing cheese plate, or B) eating an amazing cheese plate no mater who is there because, pandemic even you can’t stop my holiday cheese.

I also like to focus on American cheeses to honor the domestic makers for whom I’m thankful.

This year I’ve been especially thankful for 5 California cheeses. You may already know them. You may just not have noticed them because they’re not the creamery’s bestselling cheese. They might be ones you have to order directly or seek out. Or, they could just be brand new so you haven’t had a chance to taste them.

Try putting one you haven’t tasted before on your plate to liven things up. Or, grab all 5 and knock your Thanksgiving cheese plate out of the water! Or, screw Thanksgiving and just eat a huge piece of one of these tonight.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. In no particular order.

1. Cypress Grove Purple Haze

Obvs this isn’t as famous as it’s superstar big sister Humboldt Fog. But Purple Haze fresh chèvre -upper left photo corner- is surprisingly stunning. Marry fresh chèvre with lavender and fennel, then give it a name that sounds like a potent marijuana strain, and you have one surprising stunner.

2. Stepladder Cambria

A mixed milk goat and cow’s milk cheese, Cambria is as charming as it is complex. I mean, check out the cheese on the right side of the photo—even it’s rind is cute. Imagine a cheese that tastes like halfway between Garrotxa and Machengo with a like Abbaye de Belloc thrown in and you’re close to these beauty’s flavor. Becomes spicier with age. Bonus- it’s hard to think of wine that wouldn’t go with this.

3. Point Reyes Quinta

Made by California cheese veterans Point Reyes, Quinta is the newest cheese on Point Reye’s line up. And it was worth waiting for. It is creamy, soft, wrapped with spruce bark, and topped with local laurel leaves that lightly perfume the cheese. How to eat: Buy a whole wheel. Let Quinta come to room temp an hour before serving. When ready to eat, slice off the top rind, and dig into the oozy wheel with a spoon.

4. Morsey’s Buffalo Milk Tomme

Real talk real quick. I’ve only seen this once in my life at Sigona’s Market and it’s not even listed on Morsey’s website. This makes me think a couple things. One, it’s really new, or, two, it’s really small production. Or, three it was an experimental batch that they only made once. I hope it’s not 3! Though it looks like a mini-camembert because of it’s bloomy white rind, it actually slices like a tomme. It’s semi-soft, slices easily, and tastes like fresh melted butter and white mushrooms.

5. Garden Variety Black-Eyed Susan

Made near Monterey, Black-Eyed-Susan is farmstead sheep’s milk cheese aged around 4 months. This is for manchego lovers who love sheep milk’s complex, peppery bite and brown buttery notes. You don’t see it that often because it’s in such small production, so if you spot it at your local shop, buy it! Perfect for heavy red wine lovers.