Golden Age Cheese's Cheddars

 The small township of Woodhull, New York is located in South Central New York State just north of the Pennsylvania State line. This is the home of Golden Age Cheese Company.
In 1983 Lawrence and Angela Hickey began the company to provide a local source of quality cheese for their community. Since the passing of Lawrence in 2004, Angela and their son, Marco, are continuing the tradition and keeping Lawrence’s dream alive.
The Hickey’s buy their milk from local farmers and it is hormone-free.
In the interest of full disclosure, Golden Age sent me free samples of their cheese with a request that I review the cheese on this blog. There were no other caveats to their request.
Golden Age sent me two cheddars: a yellow extra sharp and a white “super” sharp cheddar. They also sent cheddar curds and jalapeno-flavored cheddar curds, which I will review in my next post later today.
The Lady has always been a big fan of “New York” Cheddars. When the samples arrived she was quite excited. I had to explain to her that I was first in line to sample as I am the cheese connoisseur around here; she is merely the cheesemonger…sheesh…sometimes I get the feeling The Lady thinks she’s the power behind my throne…wrong, wrong, wrong…I am the center of this universe; at least in these parts…but I digress and with all due respect to The Brain, who IS the center of the universe.
Extra Sharp Cheddar:

The Lady, The Man and I tasted the Extra Sharp Cheddar first. The texture was crumbly but still creamy. The taste was quite sharp and full-bodied with just a nip of bitterness, a taste that I really like. According to the Golden Age Cheese website, this cheese has been naturally aged 2 to 3 years. After our tasting and discussion, The Lady decided to use it to make a Panini and the recipe is posted on my sister blog. You can view the recipe by clicking here.
I give Golden Age Extra Sharp Cheddar 3 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).
Serving Suggestions: Obviously, it works well in Paninis and “melts” beautifully. It’s a great choice for a cheese board with grapes and apples. It would also work well in a not-your-everyday mac n cheese. Again, any dish or casserole that calls for cheese would benefit from the addition of this cheese.
Wine Pairings: The Lady suggested New York State Arbor Hill’s Award-winning Noiret – a dry, red wine aged in French Nevers Oak.
Beer Pairings: Award-winning Lake Placid IPA.
Source: Cow’s Milk
Super Sharp Cheddar:

Aged 5 to 6 years, this is one sharp cheddar and for The Lady and me, the sharper, the better. The Lady and The Man had a poker buddy who used to like to say, “So sharp, it’ll take the back of your head off” when referring to sharp cheeses…and that was a good thing… I never had the pleasure to meet Gavin; he retired and moved to Reno before my tour of duty observing The Lady and The Man began; but my money says he would LOVE this cheese. And as an aside, based on comments of The Lady and The Man, if one of my comrades is observing Gavin…wow…do they have their paws full…
This Super Sharp Cheddar is one damned fine cheese…do not pass go…do not collect $200…proceed directly to the Golden Age Cheese Company and order this cheese which is a steal at only $7.99 a pound.
I give Golden Age Super Sharp Cheddar 4 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).
Serving Suggestions: This is a cheese that should be enjoyed alone with crackers, such as 34° Sesame Crispbread, and grapes, pears or apples. The Lady has plans to use to make Cheddar Pop-Overs (I’ll report on this culinary adventure once it has occurred…).
Wine Pairings: Staying with the New York State theme, I suggest Highfalutin Red from the Finger Lake’s Pompous Ass Winery…how could I not???
Beer Pairings: Troy, New York’s Brown’s Pale Ale
Source: Cow’s Milk
In addition to these two fine cheddars, Golden Age Cheese offers a cheddar that is aged 7-8 years and appropriately named “Jurassic Cheddar”. 
They also make Provolone, Muenster, a Double Smoked Gouda and a Smoked Provolone.
Be sure you visit their website – their prices are quite reasonable and their variety of cheeses in quite impressive.
Up next: Golden Age Cheese Company Curds

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