5 Innovations to Celebrate on National Cheese Day

Cheese Trends to Get Excited About for National Cheese Day

Cheese lovers have plenty to celebrate on National Cheese Day—from innovations that make our lives easier like pre-sliced and shredded cheese to exotic taste adventures like Taiwanese cheese tea. And don’t forget the clever uses of cheese that just make life more fun like cheese puffs and cheesecake.

Here’s a look at five cheese trends that illustrate just how far cheese has come!

1. Mac & Cheese Ice Cream

Van Leeuwen may change the way Americans think of cheese with the recent launch of its Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Ice Cream. Possibly inspired by traditional Filipino cheese ice cream, this sweet and salty ice cream contains Kraft cheese sauce mix as an ingredient for a new twist on an old favorite. Annatto and turmeric give this ice cream its bold yellow color.

2. Artisan Style Plant-Based Cheese

Plant-based cheese is evolving fast, moving beyond classic styles like mozzarella and cheddar into aged cheeses and other artisanal offerings. Consumers seeking the flavor of mature cheese in a vegan version can try Violife Epic Mature Cheddar Flavor Cheese Alternative or Miyoko’s Creamery Aged English Smoked Farmhouse Artisan Vegan Cheese. Blue and goat cheese are also on the menu now thanks to Sacre Bleu White Wine Infused Plant-Based Organic Cheese and Spero The Goat Alternative Goat Cheese.

3. High-Protein Cheese Puffs

America’s favorite extruded cheese snack is getting a healthy makeover. Health-conscious snackers can now get their salty snack fix with high-protein cheese puffs such as Pure Protein Puffs in Nacho Cheese for 18 grams of protein per serving or Twin Peaks Ingredients Protein Puffs in Jalapeno Cheddar for 21 grams of protein and only 2 grams of net carbs. The trend in high-protein snacking is driving manufacturers to find new ways to boost protein in a wide variety of snacks.

4. Creative Cheese Flavors

Another cheese trend going strong is the expansion of bold and creative flavors. The pandemic lockdown saw increased product development in this area to appeal to consumers missing the culinary adventure of dining out. Examples include sweet and smoky flavor combinations and cheeses infused with truffles, blueberries, and chile peppers. Block cheeses are featuring hot pepper infusions like buffalo seasoning and ghost pepper, while sriracha is being used in cheese dips.

5. 100% Crunchy Cheese Snacks

One of the newest innovations in the cheese category is the development of crunchy dehydrated cheese snacks made from 100% cheese. These are available in a variety of formats from bars to crisps to bites. For example, Just the Cheese Aged Cheese Bars are high in protein, keto-friendly, and positioned to compete with traditional protein bars, while Moon Cheese Crunchy Bites in flavors like Cheddar Believe It and Get Pepper Jacked offer a fun format you can pop in your mouth.

Enjoy National Cheese Day Your Way

On June 4th, be sure to celebrate National Cheese Day your way. You can make your own gourmet cheese sauce with herbs or chile peppers to top pasta and veggies for dinner or bake some crunchy cheese snacks in the oven starting with cheese slices or shreds. Or when you’re in the store, find a cheese you’ve never tried before—an artisanal or flavored cheese—and bring it home to top a homemade pizza.

Here at Glanbia Nutritionals, we know cheese, and we’re as excited as ever to share National Cheese Day with you. Whatever you’re making, we have the cheeses you need—from classic cheeses to flavored cheeses to health and wellness cheeses with protein, vitamin D, or probiotics. Contact us today to learn more!