PrintWhat's Your Favorite Local Cheese?
About the author: Jamie Forrest publishes Curdnerds.com from his apartment in Brooklyn, New York, where he lives with his wife, his daughter, and his cheese.
American Artisan Cheese Plate. Counter-clockwise from left: Point Reyes Blue, California; Jasper Hill Bayley Hazen Blue, Vermont; Uplands Cheese Pleasant Ridge Reserve, Wisconsin; Bellwether Farms San Andreas, California; Cato Corner Hooligan, Connecticut; Haystack Mountain Red Cloud, Colorado; Nettle Meadow Kunik, New York; Vermont Butter & Cheese Coupole, Vermont
Ed's post from yesterday got me thinking about locally made cheeses, and how lucky I am to be in New York City, close to the prolific cheese-producing areas of the Northeast. The Hudson Valley is filled with cheesemakers, and more open up every year. Coach Farm in Pine Plains, New York, has been around for almost 20 years and makes wonderful fresh and aged goat cheeses, as well as goat milk and yogurt.
Relative newcomer Nettle Meadow Farm in Thurman, New York, makes an amazing triple cream Camembert-style cheese called Kunik that's buttery-rich, tangy, slightly grassy and is made with goat's milk and Jersey cow cream.
There's also Sprout Creek Farm, Mecox Bay Dairy, Three Corner Field Farm—all are producing excellent cheeses all within about 200 miles of New York City.
New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts are also home to a good many artisan and farmstead producers. New Jersey's Valley Shepherd Creamery makes fantastic French- and Spanish-style sheep's milk cheeses and sells them regularly at the Union Square Greenmarket on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Also occasionally at this farmers' market is Connecticut's Cato Corner Farm, whose raw cow's milk cheeses are complex and delicious (their Hooligan is one of the best washed-rind cheeses in America). Great Hill Dairy in Marion, Massachusetts, near Buzzard's Bay, makes one of the few raw-milk American blue cheeses. And of course if you count Vermont as local to New York City, you open yourself up to almost 40 more farmstead cheesemakers.
The Northeast isn't nearly the only great American cheesemaking region either. The Midwest, which includes the great dairy state of Wisconsin, is home to some incredible artisan cheesemakers such as Uplands Cheese Company and Carr Valley Cheese. There's even a Wisconsin-focused cheese blog called Cheese Underground.
The Pacific coast is also home to many artisan cheesemakers. California is poised to overtake Wisconsin as largest cheese-producing state in the country and is home to Cypress Grove, makers of the incredible Humboldt Fog. Beecher's Handmade, in Seattle's Pike Place Market, makes Beecher's Flagship Reserve, an aged Cheddar-style cheese that was runner-up for the Best in Show award at this year's American Cheese Society Competition. Like Wisconsin, the Pacific Northwest also has a blog dedicated to following its many artisan cheesemakers.
So, Serious Eaters, what are your favorite local cheeses? If you don't know whether there are any cheesemakers near you, pick up a copy of Jeffrey Roberts's new book, The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese, which features listings of more than 350 small producers.
Photograph from zesmerelda on Flickr
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15 Comments:
Jonathan and Nina White make amazing cheeses at Bobolink Dairy up in Vernon, NJ. (I believe they also attend the Union Sq. Greenmarket on Fridays). The cage aged cheddar is outstanding and the one they call Frolic might be the best cheese I've ever eaten!!
Abis144 at 1:24PM on 09/11/07
Cato Corner's Hooligan is a favorite, as is the Aged Dairyère.
3 Corner Field Farm's fresh cheeses are wonderful, especially the sweet and creamy Camembert. I like her Frère Fumant too.
I'm sorry to say I've had too many rank, ammoniated cheeses from Bobolink. They may be great when made but I don't think they're stored and transported appropriately.
Cathy at 1:42PM on 09/11/07
The Point Reyes blue is very good, and the people are friendly. My wife suffers from celiac disease (no wheat, rye or barley!) so we were concerned about the practice of culturing the penicillium mold on bread. We called Another California Blue Cheese Maker and got a brushoff, but when I called Pt. Reyes I was transferred to the head cheesemaker, who assured me that while they did in fact use bread-cultured mold, they had had the cheese tested with the accepted test for gluten and it was unmeasurable. This is now our first-choice blue cheese, and my wife can eat it without fear.
BerryK at 2:23PM on 09/11/07
Here in Vermont we have a lot of really excellent local cheese, but here are two on the top of my list:
Thistle Hill Farm's Tarentaise - North Pomfret, VT http://www.thistlehillfarm.com
Jasper Hill Farm's Constant Bliss - Greensboro, VT http://www.jasperhillfarm.com.
hobnob at 5:45PM on 09/11/07
I'm a huge fan of Hawthorne Valley's Bianca. It reminds me of the soft, white, un-aged farmer's cheeses I feel in love with on a trip to Croatia last summer. Ideal for late-summer tomato sandwiches.
theheadhen at 5:50PM on 09/11/07
Monterey Chevre from Rawson Brook Farm in Monterey Mass. It is a tiny operation in the Berkshires that makes a great fresh chevre. Look for it at some Whole Foods in Mass and NY, Fromaggio Kitchens and local restaurants.
coolname at 6:13PM on 09/11/07
I've fallen in love with Burrata cheese, a recently popular type of mozzarella with a very creamy center. It has a very short shelf life. I have found a domestic version made by Gioia Cheese in El Monte, California. Had it last night with some wonderful summer tomatoes, fresh basil and olive oil. Yum yum!
Catharine56 at 6:31PM on 09/11/07
My son I have a few faves:
Three Corner Field Farms "Brebis Blanche" and their newest addition an aged cheese
http://www.dairysheepfarm.com/
Sprout Creek Farm's "Doe Re Mi "Goat Cheese and Toussaint
http://www.sproutcreekfarm.org
Cato Corner's "Bridgid's Abbey"
http://www.catocornerfarm.com/cheese.php
Hawthorne Valley's "Bianca"
http://www.hawthornevalleyfarm.org/
We are so fortunate to have these great choices for local cheese. Try them if for you are in nyc..all at union square market.
izzy's mama at 7:02PM on 09/11/07
Baa Baa Bloo from Valley Shepard Creamery, no two ways about it.
Of course, to be absolutely sure, I'd have to TASTE every single local cheese.
Want to set that tasting up for me? ;)
Peter at 11:28PM on 09/11/07
7 year aged cheddar from Hook's in Mineral Point, WI.
Yum.
kplays at 1:20PM on 09/12/07
I just visited family in New Mexico and had a wonderful chipotle-and-honey-flavored chevre from South Mountain Dairy at the Santa Fe Farmers' Market. It's not technically "local" for me since I live in NYC, but I thought it worth mentioning since NM doesn't usually come up in conversations about cheese, and besides if I did live there that variety or one of the others that the farm makes would definitely be in my shopping basket each week.
harlem_panadera at 2:01PM on 09/12/07
Oakvale Cheese just outside of Columbus, Ohio makes some wonderful Goudas. I'm not a huge fan of pepper-cheeses in general, but their Habañero Gouda is pretty amazing.
They sell both young and aged cheeses.
johnmccollum at 4:01PM on 09/12/07
Zingerman's Creamery in Ann Arbor makes an awesome fresh goat cheese cream cheese
jasmall at 4:09PM on 09/12/07
Carr Valley Cocoa Cardona. When I drive from Minneapolis to Madison, there's always a stop at the Carr Vally in Mauston and load up on cheese.
aharste at 5:21PM on 09/12/07
Two and a half:
One: MAYTAG BLUE from the kickass folks at the Maytag Dairy farm - yes, around the corner from where they make the washers and dryers AND
Two-&-a-half: MOUCOU Brie & Camembert from Ft Collins Colorado if I remember correctly. They kick ass also!
Some woman here in Big D also makes Mozz and whatnot and it is good, but nothing to get all worked up about.
Regards,
Sputnik
SputnikHQ at 6:00PM on 09/12/07