Fine Cheese & Charcuterie November 2013

Time to Rethink the Premium Deli?

When I took a bite of my ham sandwich last week during a lunch break, I was in for a pleasant surprise. Well, it wasn’t your ordinary sandwich since it did have Niman Ranch Jambon Royal, which has a great flavor and texture. But the surprise was that the little sliver of cheese that accompanied the ham was sharp and nutty, sort of like a good Swiss cheese should be, and had great flavor that was an even match to the taste of the ham. I looked at the sticker on the package to see what it was, and it was a local grocery store’s private-label Swiss cheese. I thought I had hit the jackpot of the century, but my wife quickly informed me that the store was having a sale on its private-label Swiss cheese, but was all out, so they offered her anything else at the same sale price as a substitute. Smart wife that I have (I am rubbing off on her after all these years), she went straight for the Emmentaler. Well, that explains why it didn’t taste like cardboard like so many of the other choices.

Usually I have to buy the cut-and-wrap cheese and slice it myself to get something that tastes respectable. But there is something about the simplicity of having the pre-sliced option there for a quick sandwich prep, and it also provides flavor with minimal extra calories. Which got me around to thinking: Why is it so hard to find good cheese to buy at the deli counter? Obviously, Americans are warming up to the flavors of the better cheeses of the world. Why is it that when we hit the deli counter, we have to lower our standards? Is it just price? Are the cheese producers not supplying something that can be sliced? Why can’t I get sliced Emmentaler everywhere?

There have to be some additional choices out there for a full-flavored cheese beyond Boar’s Head Chipotle Gouda. Don’t get me wrong. I love the smoky flavor of chipotle and I do enjoy Gouda, but we shouldn’t have to use strong flavor- ings to bring taste to cheese at the deli counter. There is good-tasting cheese available from around the world! I would do it myself, but the last time I brought a consumer spiral slicer home and insisted I was going to do it myself, my family thought I had gone off the deep end. Well, it was that and the leg of prosciutto that came with it that translated into a couple of weeks of prosciutto dishes, but that’s another story. Not to mention the fact that most things wouldn’t keep fresh long enough to be entirely consumed by one family, which is why we need grocers to step in and fill the need. Cheese lovers like me need your help!

I plead with the grocers in the country to rethink the premium deli. You’re already selling us better-quality meats in the deli, can’t we have some equally special cheese to go with it? Think about it. If you slice it, they will come ... And I will be the first in line!

David Spencer 

Publisher, Gourmet Business 

President, HousewaresDirect, Inc. 

dspencer@gourmetbusiness.com