As usual, the winners’ circle at the recent American Cheese Society awards included several repeat victors who almost always land ribbons. They’re just that good. A few new creameries won blue ribbons, but the top honors—the Best of Show and four runners-up—went to long-established producers. These five winners, from five states, had at least one common feature. “What struck me, standing on stage, was that it was all independent cheesemakers,” said Andy Hatch of Wisconsin’s Uplands Cheese. In an industry that constantly grapples with the meaning of “artisan cheese,” it is indeed worth noting that the five winning wheels are all made by hand.
Read moreU.S. Cheesemongers Vie for World Champion
Photo: Janee' Muha
Will an American be the next World Champion Cheesemonger? It could happen, although it never has. But this year is different. This year, a small army is working mightily to clinch the title for Team U.S.A. The U.S. has two entrants—Courtney Johnson from the Seattle area and Sam Rollins from Portland, Oregon—who will be competing against each other and against 14 mongers from other nations at the biannual contest in France in September.
Read moreBetter Than Ever
I recently led a small cheese and wine tasting for the winners of a charity auction lot. The cheeses were donated by the makers and maybe not what I would have chosen—they weren’t fancy-schmancy—but free is a nice price. So I wasn’t expecting any “wow” moments from this cheese plate but…wow.
Read moreRemembering Cindy Callahan, Sheep Cheese Pioneer
A registered nurse who became a tax lawyer and, in her fifties, a California cheesemaker and shepherd, Cindy Callahan died in early June after a brief illness. She was 88. Callahan was an American sheep cheese pioneer who, with her son, Liam, and his wife, Diana, built one of the most successful U.S. creameries devoted largely to sheep’s milk products. Bellwether Farms, in Sonoma County, is now the nation’s leading producer of sheep’s milk yogurt and an acclaimed producer of sheep cheese. In her multi-faceted career, “shepherd” was the job Callahan loved most. She didn’t exactly choose the role but life happens.
Read moreAward-Winning Crème Fraîche for Berry Days
I live in a pretty food-savvy place (Napa Valley) so I was surprised when nobody at my local supermarket knew where the crème fraîche was. The clerks didn’t even know what it was. I finally located some in the store but it wasn’t the product I was hoping for, from nearby Bellwether Farms. It was a French brand I had never tried. And OMG, was it amazing. I needed it for an ice cream recipe but kept sneaking little spoonfuls.
Read moreBuzziest Creamery in America
Top: Linedeline (left) and Shabby Shoe; bottom (l to r): Sunny Ridge, Afterglow and St. Germain
In last week’s post, I polled retailers around the country about their favorite new American cheeses. Laura Downey, who owns the Greenwich Cheese Shop and Fairfield Cheese Shop in Connecticut, replied immediately. “Veronica Pedraza is making some of the best cheese in the U.S. at the moment,” wrote Downey. Wow. I’ve written about Pedraza before but not since her latest career move: to a new goat farm and creamery in Wisconsin, where she has creative freedom and an employer with deep pockets. Time for an update on this rock-star cheesemaker and what seems like the “buzziest” creamery in America.
Read moreCheesemaker on a Mission
It’s probably a good thing that the artisan cheese world doesn’t have cult creameries and cheesemakers—at least, nothing like the wine world, where the fandom can be insidious. That said, I’m starting to think Connecticut cheesemaker Brian Civitello deserves a fervent following. He is so capable and so thoughtful about his cheesemaking, and I love what he does.
Read moreWhite House Worthy?
Photo: White House
President Biden held a State Dinner for the president of France last week and made headlines by serving an all-American cheese course. (Imagine the outcry if he hadn’t.) Of course, cheese people were eager to learn what the White House selected, and I personally would love to know if President Macron cleaned his plate.
Read moreSecond Time Around
This focaccia bread pudding with mushrooms and goat cheese got good reviews from [ital] Planet Cheese [end ital] readers last year so I’m bringing it back for an encore. If you’re ready to change up your Thanksgiving dressing, or need a vegetarian alternative, please give it an audition. It’s crusty and custardy, with soft nuggets of goat cheese, sweet leeks and toasty bits on top.
Read moreThe Salad You’re Missing
If you have room for one more dish on your Thanksgiving table, I nominate this one. A crunchy, colorful salad is often what’s missing on the menu, a contrast to all the rich, creamy, brown food that Thanksgiving is usually about. As we know, but sometimes forget, the holiday is a harvest celebration (although where I grew up, in Dallas, it was more about football). A salad with persimmons, radicchio, grapes and walnuts is autumn in a bowl, and of course a few nuggets of blue cheese will only improve it.
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