As the adage goes, the month of March is “in like a lion, out like a lamb.” While this may be true meteorologically, astrologically speaking, March is more: in like a flounder, out like a ram. Welcome to the official beginning of the Zodiac calendar, with fiery Aries leading the way. Gone are the heady, empathetic, emotional days of Pisces the elder. Aries is like the foundling of the Zodiac, determined to prove that she can, almost literally, set the world on fire. It’s no-holds-barred, hang-on-to-your-butts, try-not-to-lock-horns kind of energy, and frankly, I am ready for it. That Aries begins around the same time as the advent of spring seems right: just when you are a little stir crazy from being too much inside your house, (or your own head,) it’s time to burst outside, take in the fresh air, and get back into your body. Who’s ready to rumble?! (Sorry, it’s that Aries spirit taking hold already!)
Granted, the ewe is mostly responsible for producing milk for cheese, but obviously, the ram is also…involved, so let’s roll with that, shall we? Aries’ personality characteristics are not unlike the characteristics of sheep’s milk cheeses themselves: robust, wild, a little spicy even. We can all use a little inspiration right about now from that kind of boldness, and channel our inner Arieses. Meanwhile, here are 5 cheese and cheesy gifts for celebrating your favorite fire-starters this Aries season.
Shooting Star Creamery Aries
Shooting Star Creamery, an offshoot of Central Coast Creamery, produces cheeses inspired by several of the Zodiac signs, but Aries was the first, and has a very Aries story behind it. Cheesemaker Avery Jones, the daughter of Central Coast’s Reggie Jones, was only 15 when she first made Aries, a rich, Alpine-style sheep’s milk cheese. And it pretty much immediately went on to win 3rd place overall in the American Cheese Society competition in 2019, its inaugural year. That’s about as fiery a beginning for Avery as Aries is to the start of the Zodiac. (I’m not going to look up whether or not she’s an Aries, because it will remain true in my heart that way.)
Brebirousse d’Argental
“Seeing red,” is an apt metaphor for seeing life through Aries-colored glasses, where just about anything has the ability to stir up excitement. Brebis refers to sheep’s milk cheese, and Brebirousse literally means “red sheep.” Its tinged red rind is made so with an assist from annatto, but for your Aries friends, it will doubtlessly stoke their never-to-be-extinguished flames. A pasteurized, soft-ripened sheep’s milk cheese from Lyon, France, brebirousse’s decadent paste and robust, earthy flavor has the potential to create a burning passion in just about every sign. (Yes, even emotionally cautious Aquarius.)
Meredith Dairy Feta
Aries and Capricorn are hardly compatible signs, but sometimes opposites do attract, and when sheep and goat get together as in Meredith Dairy’s Marinated Feta, sometimes the match is a brilliant one. Marinated in Australian extra virgin olive oil, with garlic and herbs, this dreamy feta almost has a cult-like following, and whose portability and bite-size pieces are perfect for the Aries who can’t slow down long enough to even cut the cheese. (Which is all of them.) Read more about Meredith Dairy.
The New Rules of Cheese: A Freewheeling Guide, by Anne Saxelby
One of the “rules” in Anne Saxelby’s “The New Rules of Cheese” is: “cheese your own adventure,” which is about as Aries as it gets. As the first of the Zodiac signs, Aries are born leaders, so it’s no surprise that Anne Saxelby, champion of American creameries, was one. She was among the first to try to prove that American artisanal cheeses were worthy of their own pedestal, beginning Saxelby Cheesemongers with a mission to give them the showcase they deserved. Her book maintains its Aries sensibility in the title, subtly insinuating with the word “freewheeling,” that rules are meant to be broken. Read How to Buy Cheese Like a Pro: Tips from Cheesemonger Anne Saxelby.
Zazzle Opa! Apron
Always down for a dare, what’s more Aries than seeing what all you can literally set on fire, including cheese? Throw in a bottle of ouzo, a cast-iron skillet, a hunk of sturdy Greek cheese, and this pyromaniacal apron, and you’ve got the perfect Aries gift set.
For other Zodiac and Cheese content, see 5 Gifts for Your Cheese Loving Pisces Friends, and 5 Gifts for Your Cheese Loving Aquarius Friends, or visit our sister site Alcohol Professor for Drink Like an Aries: 6 Beverages for Toasting the Fire-Starters.