The American Cheese Society conference has been an annual highlight for me for the past 25 years. I get to learn, connect with colleagues and eat cheese until I cry “uncle.” Held in steamy Louisville earlier this month, the three-day meeting brought together makers, mongers, suppliers, distributors, shop owners and groupies like me. My favorite event is the walk-around Meet the Cheesemaker tasting, when dozens of creameries from around the country showcase their wares. When a cheese stands out for me in that cacophony, I know I’ll enjoy it even more in a calmer setting.
Read moreVermont Slays It
Again?? Yes, unbelievably, again. For the fifth time, a Jasper Hill Farm cheese was deemed Best of Show at the American Cheese Society’s annual judging. What’s more, the winning cheese is a two-time champion, finishing first in 2013 as well. This year, it prevailed over more than 1,600 entries, seducing the judges who elevated it over all the other category winners. “This particular batch was one of the best cheeses I’ve ever eaten in my life,” said the creamery owner after the awards ceremony in Louisville last week.
Read moreStar-Studded Evening for Cheese
Seven blue-ribbon winners on one plate. Am I fantasizing or what? Thanks to a little help from my friends, it happened. Guests in last night’s World Cheese Tour class got to taste not only a hand-picked selection of first-place finishers from the recent American Cheese Society competition. Among those seven were the Best of Show, the first runner-up and another cheese that finished in the Top Ten overall. For us cheese lovers, that’s a Grand Slam.
Read moreAll Eyes on Canada
Left image courtesy of Morgan Mannino/Formaggio Kitchen
For the second year in a row, a Canadian cheese has taken Best of Show at the American Cheese Society’s prestigious annual judging. More astonishing, the winner was the same creamery. Québec’s Fromagerie La Station won with a different cheese this year, but still. It’s back-to-back victories for this fourth-generation family business specializing in farmstead cheese from organic raw milk. What a validation for traditional practices, and a reminder of how much we are losing by not having freer trade with our northern neighbor.
Read moreAmerica’s Newest Cheese Gems
(l to r) Withersbrook Blue; Jake and Sylvia Stoltzfus of Jake’s Gouda; Shabby Shoe
American Cheese Month is a time for celebration and optimism. So here’s my toast to several new (or newish) domestic cheeses that make me especially proud of our artisan producers and hopeful for their future. In alpha order:
Read moreKeeping it Raw
No longer raw: Buttermilk Blue from Roth Cheese
International Raw Milk Cheese Appreciation Day is Saturday, October 19. But as our former President might say, “So what?” If nothing else, the occasion is a reminder that the freedom to make and sell raw-milk cheese is not guaranteed. This election year, especially, we’re hyper-aware that laws can change and restrict or retract rights we’ve had forever.
Read moreBlue Ribbon Worthy
When it comes to Brian Civitello at Mystic Cheese, I’m a fan girl. Civitello is a student of history who finds inspiration in cheeses of the past. He’s a risk taker. But most important, he is exceptionally skilled. Everything I’ve tasted from his Connecticut creamery has been captivating, unusual and memorable, including the newcomer pictured above. It won a blue ribbon at the American Cheese Society competition this year.
Read moreCanada Rocks the Cheese World
Winning wheel: Raclette de Compton au Poivre/Photo: ACS and Valerie Tobias Photography
For the first time in its 38 years, the American Cheese Society competition’s Best of Show is Canadian. Not only that, but the runner up is, too. Both winning wheels were made in Quebec, by different creameries, and they topped 1,600 other entries from North America. Fortunately, a Washington State cheese placed third to prevent a Canadian sweep of this prestigious annual judging.
Read moreThat Slippery Slope to Cheese
It’s not the first time I’ve heard that buying a pet goat was the prelude to owning a cheese business. Goats are adorable; we know that. But if you take home a pregnant goat, which is what India Loevner did on impulse (actually, she bought two), there is goat milk in your future. And probably more goats. A decade after Loevner introduced the prize-winning pair to her small Pennsylvania family farm, the herd numbers about 140 and the family’s cheese is racking up awards. The cheese pictured here is the breakout star, for good reason. Shave it with a plane and you’ll think you’ve never tasted a creamier cheese.
Read moreTough Calls in Cheese Land
Do plant-based products belong in a cheese competition? As we cheese lovers learned in January, a plant-based entry was a finalist in the Good Food Awards’ cheese category. That’s a first. Many people, including me, weren’t even aware that non-dairy foods could compete in the category, which specifies that the entries be “made with milk from animals raised using good animal husbandry.”
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