Issues → May/June 2011 → Features → Food Trails: New England's Culinary Legacies →
Vermont Food Trail: Cheddar Cheese
by Annie B. Copps
Truly fantastic cheeses, of all types and from the milk of several species, are made in the Green Mountain State, but cheddar is our choice for the most New Englandy of the lot. Most of the credit goes to the fine cow's milk from which it's made, but also to the strong backs of the cheesemakers who do the "cheddaring." You see, cheddar isn't just a creamy and delicious noun, but a verb as well. Cheddaring is a British tradition by which fresh curds are shaped into large blocks, cut into slabs, stacked upon one another, and turned to expel moisture and, most crucial to the taste and texture of the final product, to reach the proper acidity. Once the correct percentages are reached, the cheese is milled, salted, pressed, and on it goes through the aging process, whether a few months or a few years. Products from most of the following farms and cooperatives are available in local grocery stores and fine cheese shops. Or, for the freshest taste, trek north and visit their operations.
Cabot Creamery
This nearly 100-year-old co-op buys milk from more than 1,200 dairy farms all over New England and upstate New York. From grocery-store staples to award-winning aged varieties and cave-ripened cloth-bound cheddars (a collaboration with Greensboro's Jasper Hill Farm), fine cheese is a priority. 2878 Main St., Cabot (visitors' center); 2657 Waterbury-Stowe Road, Waterbury Center; 5573 Woodstock Road, Quechee. 888-792-2268; cabotcheese.coop
Crowley Cheese
This dairy, our family favorite, has been making cheese in small batches, by hand, since 1824. It's the cheddar that gets sliced and served with our Thanksgiving apple pie and the block that gets grated for Aunt Roxie's mac-and-cheese. Check the Web site to see when folks there are cheddaring--they love visitors. 14 Crowley Lane, Healdville/Mount Holly. 800-683-2606; crowleycheese-vermont.com
Grafton Village Cheese
Since the 1890s, the cheesemakers of Grafton, sponsored by the Windham Foundation (a nonprofit dedicated to promoting rural Vermont living), have been crafting gorgeous, creamy, nutty-tasting cheddars. Sample them at their bucolic in-town location or in Brattleboro. 55 Townshend Road, Grafton; 400 Linden St., Brattleboro. 800-472-3866; graftonvillagecheese.com
Shelburne Farms
Hugging Lake Champlain, this operation is a working grower, as well as a dairy, inn, restaurant, and education center. We love everything these folks do, but their selection of cheddars--which have garnered multiple honors from the prestigious American Cheese Society several years running--is the thing that has us really hooked. 1611 Harbor Road, Shelburne. 802-985-8686; shelburnefarms.org
Reader Comments
Comment from Margie Orr on June 9, 2011
I can find Cabot cheese at my local stores, but I\'ve never seen the other brands. I\'ll start looking for them, but not sure what\'s distributed in Louisiana. We\'re a few miles away from Vermont.
Comment from Beverly Julien on June 9, 2011
We love Cabot Cheese. It is wonderful. We buy it in stores when we can and also order from their website.
Comment from Anna Wolak on June 11, 2011
I won a variety pack of Cabot cheeses at an organic farming convention in Ohio this spring. There was so much cheese that I shared it with family and friends and all agreed that it was the best tasting cheddar they\'ve ever had.
Comment from Bobby4319 Bobby4319 on June 29, 2011
How about Sugarbush Farms cheese in Woodstock VT? It\'s great
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