There is quite honestly nothing worse than excitedly pulling a leftover wheel of brie from a plastic bag in the fridge, ready to slice into that baby with a plate of grapes and crackers, only to find that the precious cheese, pristine not too long ago, is now smelly and inedible.
A Richmond, Virginia, company realized this and nobly created a product to keep cheese as fresh as possible, for as long as possible: the Cheese Grotto.
Think of this as a little cheese fridge that you put inside of your actual fridge. It's an 8.5-inch high, one-foot deep wooden thing of beauty that prolongs the most sacred dairy product's shelf life.
The grotto's clay slab at the bottom and ventilation ducts in the back provide the ideal environment for cheese, which needs a different temperature and level of humidity to thrive than the other foods in your fridge.
The device has two shelves, onto which you place your cheese directly with no wrapping needed. They're also removable, so you can wash them after a night of charcuterie feasting.
The box itself is eco-friendly, too, made of bamboo, glass and clay.
Behind the Cheese Grotto is Jessica Sennett, a cheese specialist for 10 years. She's worked at well-known cheese shops like Cowgirl Creamery, makes her own cheese and, of course, knows all about tasting it and cooking with it.
The cheese box is $350, and for an extra $40, they'll engrave your initials into the clay. They're handmade in Virginia and ship a month after the order date. Get yours here.