Pizza Talk, Season Two, Episode 12: The Cheese Dude Returns!

Welcome back to Pizza Talk, not only to you, but to today’s guest, Mark Todd, aka The Cheese Dude. During his last visit Mark not only told us how he became The Dude, but then took us on a tour de force tour of the pizza community’s favorite cheese category, pasta filata, or as most of us recognize it, where mozzarella lives, and how it is distinct from all the other categories of cheese.  (You can check out that episode here )

This time around I asked The Dude if he would address the category that I think is the most under-appreciated by most cheese lovers: cheddar. I was thrilled to learn that Mark, too, passionately loves cheddar, mainly because it includes so much variation and nuance. In this episode (and it won’t be our last visit with the Mark, so we will eventually cover all aspects of the cheese world), The Dude leads me on a full immersion cheddar tasting across the various types, defined mainly by the aging cycles but also by regional milk types, raw vs. pasteurized, and also the skill of the cheesemakers themselves, whose job it is (like bread bakers with wheat) to evoke the full potential of flavor from the “cheddared” milk curds. Strap in and join the ride with Mark Todd, The Cheese Dude, as he teaches us more than we ever knew about this beloved food — cheese, glorious cheese!