Editor’s note: We can’t resist the cheese department at Whole Foods Market! We covered their annual 12 days of cheese last year in Why Whole Foods 12 Days of Cheese is the Best Time of Year and the year before in Why Whole Foods 12 Days of Cheese 2021 is so Extraordinary. We also shared the Best Cheeses at Whole Foods. We hope our primer gives you the inside intel you need to make a memorable cheeseboard this holiday season.
Whole Foods cheeses
Care of a recurring promotion that’s been running for almost a decade now, Whole Foods has been providing an answer to the age-old question, “When do the 12 days of Christmas actually begin?” For cheese aficionados, that answer is December 13, when Whole Foods’ legendary holiday cheese sale, 12 Days of Cheese kicks off. For those not yet in the know, this is way more fun than your typical advent calendar, and way, way more fun than being the recipient of several dozen birds this season.
Whole Foods recently announced its cheesy lineup for this year’s promotion, running from December 13 to December 24, when deep discounts are offered on 12 world-class cheeses for all 12 days of the promotion. (Prior to 2021, only one cheese was discounted daily, so let us have grateful hearts that the powers that be spared us 12 trips to Whole Foods since then.) A continually capitalizing amount of dairy is still arguably better for you, at least sanity-wise, than contending with all the avian and human gifts inspired by the classic holiday tune. (Golden rings always welcome, though.) Here’s everything you need to know about 2023’s 12 Days of Cheese, enabling you to be your own true love this year.
What is Whole Foods’s 12 Days of Cheese?
12 Days of Cheese is a special promotion that offers discounts on very special cheeses. While this year’s discount is a little reduced from years past, it’s still an insane deal worthy of a Whole Foods pilgrimage, especially if you’ve got a cheese board to style. Whole Foods prices are already very competitive when it comes to cheese, given the buying power of a retailer of its formidable size. The cheeses in the 12 Days of Cheese lineup typically retail at Whole Foods from about $15 to $35 a pound, but during the promotion, are offered for an additional 28 percent off. (It has been 30 percent in recent years, so there’s inflation for you.)
Amazon Prime members stand to save a little more during 12 Days of Cheese, with the total discount rising from 28 to 35 percent. To capitalize on this additional savings, the Amazon Prime discount is available either by syncing your Prime account to the Whole Foods app to generate a barcode for purchase in store, or through Amazon directly, in certain markets where you are able to purchase Whole Foods groceries for pickup or delivery.
The Cheeses of Whole Foods 12 Days of Cheese
Each year the cheeses offered through the 12 Days of Cheese promotion are a little different, but Cathy Strange, Whole Foods Market’s Ambassador of Food Culture and absolute cheese legend, rightfully spotlights some of the United States’ and the world’s most important producers and distributors. Historically, Jasper Hill Farm, Cypress Grove, Cowgirl Creamery, Hervé Mons, Neal’s Yard Dairy, and Emmi Kaltbach have always had cheeses in the lineup, though the particular cheeses from these companies are often switched up from year to year. Every year also gives us some new selections to get excited about. (Rhythmically speaking, “Cathy Strange” has the same meter as “Santa Claus.” Coincidence?)
This year’s selection showcases a variety of milks and styles, including a few heavily awarded cheeses. You can basically draw any three or four of these out of a hat and create a flawless, crowd-pleasing cheese plate. The full list includes:
● Jasper Hill Farm Cabot Clothbound Cheddarr Read more about Jasper Hill.
● Sweetgrass Dairy Thomasville Tomme Read more about Sweetgrass Dairy.
● Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog Read more about Cypress Grove.
● Cowgirl Creamery Mt. TAM Organic Triple Cream Read more about Cowgirl Creamery.
● Uplands Pleasant Ridge Reserve
● Neal’s Yard Dairy Appleby’s Cheshire Read more about Neal’s Yard Dairy.
● Papillon Roquefort Revelation
● Quattro Portoni Quadrello di Bufala
● Klare Melk Truffle Gouda (exclusive to Whole Foods)
● Emmi Kaltbach Cave Aged Gruyère
What’s Exciting in Whole Foods 12 Days of Cheese 2023
All of these cheeses are prime candidates for being the life of any party, but here are a few we are especially stoked about this year.
Neal’s Yard Dairy Appleby’s Cheshire
Neal’s Yard Dairy Appleby’s Cheshire
A newcomer to the 12 Days of Cheese lineup, it’s kind of thrilling (much more so than when your nose gets a chilling,) to see British Cheshire represented, a farmhouse-style cheese that was once the most famous of British cheeses, but now is down to one cheesemaker. (Mrs. Appleby, as it were.) Milder and crumblier than cheddar, Appleby’s Cheshire has a tart finish “evocative of lemon peel, grass and cream,” according to Whole Foods’ tasting notes.
Papillon Roquefort Revelation
Papillon Roquefort Revelation
For some, it wouldn’t be Christmas without blue cheese. (I am one of those. It will always be a blue Christmas, in my book.) While Whole Foods always has a blue represented, typically by an American creamery, this year it’s showcasing a French stalwart. “Quite possibly one of the most famous cheeses,” according to Whole Foods, this Roquefort is “robust and complex, featuring notes of licorice, herbs and pepper with a lingering finish.”
Klare Melk Truffle Gouda
Klare Melk Truffle Gouda
A longtime selection in the 12 Days cheeses, and back after a brief hiatus in 2022, Whole Foods understands that it wouldn’t be the holidays without a little seasonal truffle decadence. Klare Melk Truffle Gouda, exclusive to Whole Foods, is a Dutch-made, raw milk gouda. The paste is supple and buttery; a perfect host for a generous inclusion of heady black truffle bits. Some people have the most festive lights display on the block, but yours is the most festive cheese plate.
Sampler bag
In addition to the cheeses themselves, this year Whole Foods shoppers can also capitalize on a grab-and-go promotion within the promotion, as they are offering a 12 Days of Cheese sampler bag. The bag includes three cheeses from the list, Bijou, Pleasant Ridge Reserve, and Truffle Gouda, plus Savannah Bee Whipped Honey — a gorgeous, pale version of honey that perfectly exudes a holiday sheen — and crackers, available for $34.99.