Posted in Cheese, Local, Producer Profile, tagged Cheese, chevre, food, fresh goat cheese, Rawson Brook Farm, Susan Sellew on January 15, 2013 | 1 Comment »
Some of our customers may have noticed a new fresh goat milk cheese in our cases. Carolyn Hillman, our go-to fresh chèvre producer for many years, is taking a hiatus from production for the next year or so. While heartbroken about this absence, I am thrilled to be able to support another grande dame of Massachusetts cheesemaking – Susan Sellew of Rawson Brook Farm. Susan is entering her 30th year of production! (more…)
Posted in Cheese, Cheesemaking, Local, Producer Profile, tagged Cellars at Jasper Hill, Cheese, cheesemaking, curds, food, Harbison, Jasper Hill Farm, whey on November 19, 2012 | 2 Comments »
This past summer, I had the opportunity to assist with cheesemaking at Jasper Hill Farm. One of my favorite cheeses made by the team in Greensboro, VT is called Harbison, a fairly recent addition to the line-up but no less spectacular than their other cheeses. (more…)
Posted in Cheese, Local, Pairings, Thanksgiving, tagged 3-Corner Field Farm, Andy Kehler, Blue Ledge Farm, Brebis Blanche, Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, Cheese, David Major, Emily Sunderman, food, Gregory Bernhardt, Hannah Sessions, Jasper Hill Farm, Karen Weinberg, Mateo Kehler, Michael Lee, Middlebury Blue, Northstone, Paul Borghard, Thanksgiving, Twig Farm, Twig Square, Verano, Vermont Shepherd, Yesenia Major on November 4, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
We love Thanksgiving. It may mean a variety of things to a variety of people but there are many common threads – turkey, family, friends, cranberries, football, a full stomach and, in many cases, an afternoon nap or walk. This year, we checked in with our domestic cheese buyer, Tripp, who has put together a wonderful Thanksgiving cheese board, incorporating a cross-section of milk types and textures. He draws on some old favorites but also includes a couple of newer cheeses that we think are destined to become classics in their own right! (more…)
Posted in Cheese, Local, United States, tagged artisan cheese, Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, Cellars at Jasper Hill, cheddar, Cheese, domestic cheese, food on June 28, 2012 | 8 Comments »
Cabot Clothbound Cheddar (note the batch date at right)
Every two months or so, Tripp, our domestic cheese buyer in Cambridge, and I, domestic cheese buyer for our South End location, drive up to Greensboro, Vermont and visit with our friends at the Cellars at Jasper Hill. The purpose of these trips is primarily to select new wheels of Cabot Clothbound Cheddar.
Artisan cheeses, like Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, tend to differ slightly from one batch to another – even wheels made one day apart and aged under the same conditions, can be surprisingly different. These variations can be attributed to the season, to changes in the weather and to what the cows might have munched on the day they were milked. I like to think of it as a sort of time capsule, a way of capturing a moment of the farm’s existence in time. (more…)
Posted in Cheese, Fourth of July, Holiday, Local, tagged Blue Ledge Farm, Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, Cellars at Jasper Hill, Cheese, Consider Bardwell Farm, domestic cheese, Dorset, food, Goat Tomme, Lake's Edge, Twig Farm on June 21, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Lake’s Edge – Blue Ledge Farm
Celebrate Independence Day with a cheese plate that is “Made in the USA!” Tripp, domestic cheese buyer in our Cambridge shop, is recommending four cheeses for this July 4th (“four for the fourth!”). All of the cheeses hail from Vermont and represent varying textures, styles and milk types. Whether you try one or all of these cheeses, we think you’ll be as impressed with what is happening on the American cheese scene as we are! (more…)
Posted in Cheese, Cheesemaking, Local, Producer Profile, Travelogues, United States, tagged Cheese, Debora Wickart, food, Inspiration, Mt. Mansfield Creamery, Stan Biasini on April 26, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
L-R: Stan Biasini and Brad
I recently had the great fortune to visit with Stan Biasini and his family at Mt. Mansfield Creamery in Morristown, Vermont. I arrived bright and early, just as Stan was pooling the milk from the morning milking into a heating vat to begin making his cheese: Inspiration. Here at the shop, we only began carrying Inspiration this year – it is a washed-rind cow milk cheese based on a Corsican recipe and has quickly become a staff favorite. (more…)
Posted in Cheese, Cheesemaking, Food Science, Local, Producer Profile, Travelogues, United States, tagged Cellars at Jasper Hill, Cheese, cheesemakers, cheesemaking, curds, food, Jasper Hill, Jasper Hill Farm, Landaff, rennet, whey, Winnimere on January 30, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Last year, I visited the Cellars at Jasper Hill and had the opportunity to participate in the Winnimere cheesemaking process. It was a very educational experience as there are some interesting new developments going on at Jasper Hill. I thought I would share a little about the cheesemaking process, as well as give a sneak peek into a couple of new cheeses:
Flocculation is a test conducted with a rounded knife. The knife is put into the renneted milk. When the milk starts to curdle and grab onto the knife, an experienced cheesemaker is able to determine the exact time to cut the curd. (more…)
Posted in About Us, Cheese, Food Science, Local, Producer Profile, Travelogues, United States, tagged Ascutney Mountain, Bayley Hazen Blue, Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, Cellars at Jasper Hill, Cheese, cheesemakers, cheesemaking, Constant Bliss, curds, food, Jasper Hill, Jasper Hill Farm, Landaff, Moses Sleeper, Oma, rennet, whey, Winnimere on September 9, 2011 | 2 Comments »
TOP ROW (L-R): Cabot airing, Bayley Hazen salting, Bayley Hazen pH graph + rocks under the cheese racks help with moisture control. BOTTOM ROW (L-R): Moses Sleeper in 20% brine, Landaff cheese and Bayley Hazen in its forms.
Some weeks ago, I made an immensely informative and inspiring trip to Jasper Hill Farm and The Cellars at Jasper Hill in Greensboro, Vermont.
The Jasper Hill enterprise was started by two brothers, Andy and Mateo Kehler. The determination that they have towards revolutionizing and solidifying the cheese-making industry in their state and in this country is unmatched in its political, scientific, and pastoral fervor. As a result, I want to share a bit of what got me so excited! (more…)
Posted in Cheese, Local, Producer Profile, Travelogues, United States, tagged Caerphilly, Cheese, Gorwydd Caerphilly, Landaff on February 17, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Fellow monger, Erin, and I drove up to the Cellars at Jasper Hill before the holidays. The object of our journey: to pick up 40 wheels of Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, 20 wheels of Landaff cheese and a number of other Jasper Hill cheeses: Constant Bliss, Weybridge, Hartwell, Oma, Winnimere and Caspian. En route, we stopped to visit with the makers of Landaff cheese, Doug and Deb Erb in Landaff, New Hampshire. (more…)
Posted in About Us, BBQ, Cheese, Local, Special Events & Field Trips, Travelogues, United States, tagged BBQ, cheesemakers, Consider Bardwell Farm, food, Jasper Hill Farm, Shelburne Farms, Spring Brook Farm, Twig Farm, Vermont on July 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The call time was 6 a.m., but our first guests — just as excited as we were — were standing outside our door at 5:40.
Gradually, the rest of our sleepy customers arrived, picked up their coffee and croissants, and by 6:30, all 32 of us were on the road, headed for high adventure in the Green Mountain State. Our destination was the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival, a gathering of about 50 local cheesemakers, 30 breweries and wineries, and a host of other food artisans making everything from mustard to nougat. The event, in its second year, was held last Sunday at the breathtakingly lovely Shelburne Farms estate outside of Burlington, and this year we organized a bus to bring our customers to the festival — a first-of-its-kind trip for Formaggio Kitchen.
The Shelburne Farms estate sits on Lake Champlain.
We personally knew many of the cheesemakers at the festival and were excited not only to see them, but also to introduce them to our customers. (more…)
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