New England Artisanal Chesses

Bayley Hazen Blue – Cellars at Jasper Hill
This new American classic is named for a road half-built during the Revolutionary War.  This Stilton-esque invention, made of raw milk from their herd of 50 Ayrshire cows, Bayley’s paste is drier than most blues due to the beautiful buff colored natural rind, but the texture is fudgy and dense. Unique, balanced flavors range from buttered toast to licorice, chocolate and hazelnuts.

Cremont Double Cream (Cow/Goat Milk) 
From the Green Mountain State, another fantastic little cheese from the chevre pioneers at the Vermont Creamery. This one combines high-quality pasteurized goat’s milk (from the twenty family farms supported by the creamery) with cow’s milk & cream (from a local co-op). A slow, lactic set and a delicate, crinkly rind make for a cheese that has just as much in common with Italian robioli as it does with French soft-ripened goats: rich, mouth-coating, earthy, satisfying.

Ascutney Mountain – Cobb Hill
This raw cow’s milk cheese is made by Gail Holmes at the Cobb Hill cooperative in Hartland, Vermont. The milk comes from about 30 Jersey milkers that are very well cared for by the entire community. Made in the alpine style, Ascutney Mountain has a clean, hard rind and a smooth semi-firm interior with a stunning dandelion-yellow color. Depending on its age, the cheese can have flavors ranging from mild and yogurty, to intense, savory and nutty.

European Cheese Selection

Alta Langa La Tur  (Mixed Milk)
From the great wine region of Piemonte comes La Tur: a dense, creamy blend of pasteurized cow, goat and sheep milk. Runny and oozing around the perimeter with a moist, cakey, palette-coating paste, its flavor is earthy and full, with a lingering lactic tang. The effect is like ice cream served from a warm scoop; decadent and melting from the outside in.

Tomme de Savoie  (Cow’s Milk, Firm)
Tomme means smallish, roundish cheese, and is usually combined with the region or town of origin. In this case, a raw, cows milk wheel from France’s mountainous eastern region of Savoie a region on the eastern boarder of Switzerland.  The cheesemaker uses the skim milk after the farmer uses the cream to make butter. The maturing process takes two or more months resulting in a mild, creamy, fruity and nutty cheese with overtones of salt and an unmistakably raw flavor.

Pecorino Toscano Aged DOP
A D.O.C. sheeps milk cheese produced with the milk from the regions of Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio, under strict supervision of the Consortium of Percorino Toscano. Each wheel must bear the seal of the Consortium. Aged about 5 months has a firm texture with a nutty and refined finish.