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A cheesemonger's inside look at what you're getting in the Holiday Indulgence Box, a limited-release curation built for the season of hosting, toasting and grazing.
By
AppyHour's Cheesemonger | Updated this week
This time of year, no two nights look the same. Thanksgiving with family, Friendsgiving with the people who feel like family, and the quiet nights in between when it's just you, a blanket and something good next to the fire. We built the Holiday Indulgence Box for every single one. Every item is a flavor I know will win over whoever you share it with, from the adventurous eater to the cousin who "just likes cheddar." Let me open it up and show you what's inside.
Victoria, Australia
If there's one cheese I'd put in front of a crowd, it's this one. It's one of the most repurchased items we've ever sent, it's the cheese members can't stop talking about, and it has a habit of converting people who swear they don't like goat cheese.
It's made on a family farm about fifty miles west of Melbourne, where they milk their own sheep and goats and turn that milk into cheese in less than a day. Fresh, creamy cubes of sheep and goat cheese go into a jar of garlic-infused olive oil with fresh thyme and whole black peppercorns.
The result is soft, tangy and bright, with none of the sharp "goaty" bite that turns some people off goat cheese. It spreads like butter, and the herby oil it sits in is half the magic.
Vermont
Lonza is the whole pork loin, one lean muscle, cured with just salt, black pepper and garlic until it's firm and silky. What makes it a favorite is it's sliced so thin you can see light through it. Every bite just melts in your mouth.
Delicate and faintly sweet, it's the quiet one on the board that ends up disappearing first. Fold it rather than laying it flat, so you get those soft, ruffled layers in every bite.
Switzerland
The real thing. "AOP" means this Gruyère was made in its home region of western Switzerland under rules that haven't budged in generations: raw milk from cows fed on grass and hay, cooked in copper vats, and aged slowly in cellars. No shortcuts, and no other cheese can use the name.
It's nutty, sweet and a little brothy, with a firm, dense bite that gets more complex the longer it sits on your tongue. It's the cheese that nobody at the table will argue with.
Where the Lonza is delicate, the Toscano brings the punch. A classic in the Tuscan tradition: coarse-ground pork seasoned boldly with cracked black pepper and garlic, then slowly dry-cured until it's firm, savory and peppery. It's the hearty, satisfying slice on the board, the one that stands up to a big cheese and a glass of red.
Most cranberry spreads are closer to the canned stuff than to fruit. Not this one. There are real, whole chunks of cranberry in every spoonful, so it tastes like a preserve someone made in their own kitchen, the way it's supposed to be.
It's tart, bright and just sweet enough, and those chunks give it real texture on a cracker. Spoon it generously. It's the most Thanksgiving thing in the box.
I'll be honest: these are the item people don't expect to be the star, and then they are. You take one bite and think, where have you been all my life? Crisp and studded with tart cranberries and sour cherries, and takes everything you put on them to the next level of delicious.
They're especially incredible under the marinated Australian cheese. The tang of the cheese and the tart fruit in the cracker play off each other perfectly. Which brings me to the one bite I want everyone to try:
Roasted almonds in rich dark chocolate. Nutty, crunchy, and bittersweet enough that they feel grown-up. Set a little bowl out after dinner, or keep them close on a night in by the fire. They don't last long either way.
Hosting Thanksgiving? Set it out before dinner. It gives everyone something to graze on while the turkey rests, and it keeps people out of your kitchen.
Heading to Friendsgiving? Bring the board. It's the dish people crowd around and ask you about, with none of the cooking.
Staying in? Pour a glass, pull a blanket over and work your way through it over a few cozy nights. You've earned it.
This isn't everything. You'll also get a bonus artisan cheese and small-batch jam, matched to each other by us, things like Baked Lemon Ricotta with blackberry balsamic, or Manchego Aurora with caramelized fig and pear. And it isn't a one-time thing: you'll get a bonus cheese and jam pairing in every box, for life.
Every combination in this box is written out for you in your personalized tasting guide, and we even throw in wine pairing suggestions so you're set for the perfect holiday indulgence.