A couple months back the good folks at Billings Farm & Museum in Woodstock, Vermont sent me a selection of their cheddar cheeses. Their cheese is produced at Grafton Village Cheese using the raw milk of Billings Farms’ forty purebred, registered Jersey cows. Per FDA regulations, the cheese is aged for a minimum of sixty days and contains no additives, preservatives or artificial coloring.
Wanting to share my good fortune, I staged a group tasting at Southern Alpaca Connection in downtown Lavonia and invited some of the local Cheese Swells. I had the group taste all four cheeses sent to me and rank each 1 to 4 from their favorite receiving 4 points and their least favorite receiving a 1 point. Every Swell commented that ranking the cheeses from least favorite to most favorite was difficult because they liked them all. The results are at the bottom of this article.
These are my thoughts:
The Butter Cheddar, sometimes known as Butterkase, is creamy and mild; similar to a young Gouda or an American-style Muenster. I would call it “Kid-Friendly”; Liz Thorpe might call it a “Gateway Cheese”; a perfect cheese to introduce the young and hesitant to Cheddar. This cheese would also be perfect as one of the cheeses used in your favorite mac n cheese recipe.
The Sweet Cheddar has a full-cream flavor with slightly sweet and savory notes. This cheese is firmer than the Butter Cheddar while still creamy on your palate.
The Woodstock Reserve Cheddar was my favorite of the four. Reminiscent of the English Traditional West Country Cheddars, this cheese is full-flavored, savory with notes of that bitter bite I like in cheddar. Some call that bitter bite “sharp”; but not that sharpness that “takes the back of your head off” (quote courtesy Gavin Alexander, Poker Buddy and lifelong friend of The Man).
The final cheese was a Smoked Cheddar. I am not a fan of smoked cheese, but recognize how popular the style is. The smoke was more pronounced at the edges leading me to believe it was cold-smoked as opposed to a liquid smoke being added to the milk.
Were Spaulding Gray, The Feline Foodie, still with us, he would pronounce this quartet of cheese “4 Paws” worthy.
And for the ratings from my Cheese Swells: Receiving the highest scores: #1 Woodstock Reserve; #2 Sweet Cheddar; #3 Smoked Cheddar; #4 Butter Cheddar. The difference between favorite and least favorite was only ten points. 11 Cheese Swells voted.
You can purchase a selection of 34 Degrees Crisps (shown in the photos here), by clicking here.
I’ll be at Blue Haven Bee this Saturday 8/17 from 1 to 6pm with my cheese plates. This week I’ll be showcasing my new fig spreads made from Jan Taylor’s figs which she and I picked this past Saturday. As always the plates will be $10. Also available will be my Creamy Cheddar and Spicy Pimento Cheese Spreads.
In addition to being an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, I am a Certified ServSafe Food Production Manager with certifications that also include ServSafe Certified Instructor and Proctor. I am available for cheese events, cheese program development, cheese training, food safety training and 3rd party food safety auditing. See my About Me and Resume pages for more details or call me at 360 921 9908 to discuss availability.
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