Soft. Hard. Fresh. Aged. Stinky. Illegal. Let’s talk cheese with Certified Cheese Professional (CCP) and Fromologist, Kyra James. We chat about proprietary bacterial slurries, basement caves, cheese knife etiquette, rind eating, vegetarian versus vegan cheeses, cheese history, different warm-blooded animals whose milk is used for cheese, American cheese side-eye, shoe deodorizers, and how to chat up a monger.

And come back next week to learn more about plant-based cheese options, how to properly store cheese, the difference between orange and white cheddar, the grilled sandwich debate, DIY cheese, pricey varieties, squeaky curds, the moon’s composition, how cheese changes your brain chemistry, and the ultimate charcuterie board. Plus: holes and crystals and maggots, oh my!

[Content warning: we discuss dairy and do make acknowledgments of animal rights concerns, and next week we discuss vegan options in more depth. However this episode and expert’s focus isn’t the ethics of dairy farming as a whole, but rather the process of cheesemaking. We do have a future episode planned about plant-based diets.]

Visit Kyra’s website and follow her on Instagram and LinkedIn

Donations went to the Cheese Culture Coalition and Team Up’s 2025 Building Schools in Kenya

More episode sources and links

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Other episodes you may enjoy: Gastroegyptology (BREAD BAKING), Food Anthropology (FEASTS), Critical Ecology (SOCIAL SYSTEMS + ENVIRONMENT), Mammalogy (MAMMALS), Bisonology (BUFFALO), Zymology (BEER), Gustology (TASTE), Disgustology (REPULSION TO GROSS STUFF), Speleology (CAVES), FIELD TRIP: I Go France and Learn Weird France Stuff

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Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn