I kid, I kid

On a recent trip to Paris, I marveled at the abundance of seasonal goat cheese and managed to sample as much as humanly possible. Now that I’m back, I called Felicia Johnson, the cheesemonger at Taylor’s Market, to find out what’s good locally right now. She started by explaining that the French are used to seasonality in their cheeses, but Americans are not—they want their favorites stocked year-round. “Humboldt Fog isn’t seasonal, but when I cut into it I personally can tell the difference,” she says. But Johnson, who “beefed up” her goat-cheese selection, says it’s a good time to look for fresh (as opposed to aged) goat cheeses because the goats are eating the fresh spring grasses and are kidding right now; it shows in their milk. She also recommends pecorino, which is not seasonal, but it goes well with spring asparagus and fava beans.