All of these are names of cheese from around the world. Made from cow's milk, goat's milk, sheep's milk, fresh or matured, hard or creamy soft, mild or stinky; the world of cheese is a fascinating place. It is filled with variety in shape, colour, aroma and texture.

And all through this month, we are celebrating this gastronomic diversity. Many people shy away from this variety and choose flavorless processed cheeses. Its understandable; buying cheese can sometimes be mind boggling. This is why each Nature's Basket outlet has a well stocked cheese section where you can sample authentic cheese from around the world. With each nibble, you can talk to our staff about its origins, the perfect way to serve or cook with it.

A classic way to enjoy cheese is to serve it up on a tray with foods it pairs well with. This is called a cheese flight and is an elegant way to serve during cocktail hour or at a relaxed brunch with friends. You can even gather a few friends for a DIY cheese tasting. Our cheese platter packed with nuts, fruits and crackers is perfect for this purpose. A good rule of thumb is to serve one sample of each type: hard (Parmesan), semi-hard (Cheddar), aged (Gorgonzola) and fresh (Mascarpone). Serve all cheese at room temperature with plain crackers, sweet fruit like grape, figs or apple, nuts like roasted almonds.

When used in cooking, cheese brings in intriguing flavours and textures, as best experienced in a grilled cheese sandwich, French onion soup or Mac n’ Cheese. But there are so many ways to enjoy cheese in regular meals. Crumble soft cheese like feta into a salad, layer Gruyere over sliced potatoes into a gratin, melt Swiss and fontina into a decadent cheese dip, grate Cheddar into an apple pie, add herbs like parsley and mint into ricotta to use as a spread in a roasted vegetable sandwich, whisk blue cheese into a homemade salad dressing.

We hope some of these ideas have you excited to try a new cheese today! No matter what way you choose to join in our cheesy celebration, the results are bound to be absolutely delicious!