10 Cheeses You Would Never Think to Put on a Burger
Photo credit: St. James Cheese Company
What do you get when you mix National Cheeseburger Day with four expert Vermont cheesemongers?
You get a whole lot of awesome, is what—the sorts of unique combos that will make you totally re-think your go-to orange American slice or fat, doesn’t-melt-so-well hunk of cheddar.
The fine folks at Jasper Hill Farm, who make the unctuous blue cheese pictured above, put their heads together to create this crack list of the top 10 cheeses you should slap on your next burger.
Mons Gabietou: “A delectable cow and sheep’s milk melter [a cheese that melts easily] from France, semi-firm with a lightly washed rind,” says Molly Browne, one of Jasper Hill’s certified “cheese professionals.” She likens it to fontina and loves it on a burger because “the little bit of funk works really well” with the meat.
Neal’s Yard Dairy Kirkham’s Lancashire: This “tangy, crumbly farmhouse cheese from England” is “super-buttery, with a nice milky component that would mellow out” the fat, well-seasoned pub burger—the only kind Browne likes. She’d add some roasted asparagus, too.
Columbia Cheese Scharfe Maxx: Brace yourself if you go in this…pungent…direction. As Browne warns, laughing, “when I worked at a cheese shop in Colorado, one of my customers—his favorite thing to do was melt it on bread at home, and he actually got a cease-and-desist letter from his landlord because neighbors were complaining.” Feeling brave? The firm cow’s milk cheese boasts a “creamy texture, and melts really well.”
Spring Brook Farm Reading: This “amazing melting cow’s milk cheese that could literally go on anything” has a lightly washed rind and a nice sweetness to it, says Browne. She’d go so far as to pop it on a burger along with some sliced figs.
Roelli Dunbarton Blue Cheddar: “The first time I ate it I shed a single tear. I’m not kidding. It’s that good.” Although Browne knows she’s “not supposed to say this is my favorite cheese,” she’s smitten. The blue-cheddar hybrid is delicately veined, like a blue cheese, but its texture is more like cheddar, nice and crumbly. That said, it would “melt on a burger better than regular cheddar. It’s one-of-a-kind.”
Vermont Creamery Fresh Chèvre: This superstar among goat cheeses is a favorite because it’s “bright and light!” Furthermore, “it’s silky, and its difference in texture makes it delicious on a burger.” Browne loves that unlike some grassy, barnyard-y goat cheeses, this boasts “a clean flavor with only a touch of farminess.”
Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk: “A luscious triple-crème washed rind from California” is a Browne favorite because “it has such a meaty side to it, it’s spreadable, and I love the slathery quality of a triple crème.” (That’s thanks to the super-creamy cheese’s high fat content!)
Landaff Creamery Landaff: “I’m eating a piece of this right now!” laughs Browne. Landaff is “famous for topping the best burger in Vermont, at Farmhouse Tap and Grill in Burlington—it’s a sharp, bright melter. Like cheddar, but with a nice, bright acidity.”
Bayley Hazen Blue: “Grassy, creamy, and sublimely blue,” Browne thinks Jasper Hill’s blue is superior to the pack because of “all the magic we put in it.” More specifically: “Bayley works especially well ‘cause it’s nicely balanced, not too blue or piquant. It’s got sweet cream and grass, with a hint of blue in back.” And crucially, “it gets nice and gooey on a burger.”
Cabot Hot Buffalo Wing Cheddar: Browne admits that your first instinct might be to think: “How is this even real?” (She’d be right.) “Nice and spicy and a little bit smoky,” this would be killer on a beef patty. “When you think of a burger and pub food, wings and a burger definitely go together!” (In one cheese? News to us, but hey, these guys are professionals.)
