It’s time to cut the cheese — for dessert

Grafton Village Cheese has been handcrafting specialty cheeses for more than a century. The beloved aged cheddars, as well as the new Tavern Select and Cave Aged varieties, are the perfect ending to a variety of autumn recipes.

Just in case you needed a reason to eat sweets, October happens to be National Dessert Month. And whereas stalwarts such a pumpkin pie or chocolate cake always get your attention, in honor of the holiday it’s time to direct your attention to an overlooked contender: cheese.

Cheese, please

Dane Huebner, the head cheesemaker of Vermont’s Grafton Village Cheese, shares his tips on why and how to get out of your sweets comfort zone and add some sophistication to dessert:

It’s simply better for you, health-wise. “You’re not going to eat as much cheese as you are a piece of cake,” Huebner says simply. “It’s less filling and more nutritious than your average sweets, which are usually full of fat and salt and sugar. There’s protein and calcium in cheese. And with raw milk artisanal products, you are going to get cultures [that] help with digestion.”

Toward the end of the meal is the better placement for cheese. “If you eat cheese as an appetizer, it can dull your hunger,” he says. “By having it at the end of the meal, you can take more time to appreciate it. And since you’re not having to really prepare anything, you can relax with friends and family.”

You can please both your sweet and savory sides. “Fruit is a natural sweetness that plays well with cheese; same with nuts,” says Huebner on a nice accompaniment. “You get both your sweet and savory tastes in.”

How to serve

Complement your cheese dessert with the right carb. Huebner says: “A nice, crusty French loaf of bread is a better accompaniment than crackers. There are just a lot more dynamics to a nice piece of bread.”