Manchester, Consider Bardwell, Vermont

You’d assume that a cheese called Manchester would be British, but no, this one is all red, white and blue.

Named for Manchester, Vt., this aged raw-milk cheese is a prime example of how a good goat cheese doesn’t have to reek of goats. The Consider Bardwell Farm in western Vermont makes the cheese from the milk of pasture-raised goats but then ages the 3-lb. tommes in Jasper Hill Farm‘s caves. The result is a semi-firm, nutty cheese with a taste that reminds of jumping around in a hay-filled barn. If that doesn’t get you in the mood for summer, I don’t know what will!

Artisanal Cheese recommends a Chenin Blanc as the accompanying sipper to Manchester, and I think any light, fruity wine would be a good match. I don’t know if rosés will be trendy this summer, but I’d be willing to give it a shot. Hell, I eat Lucky Charms in applesauce, so do you really think I care about wine trends?

 

Cabot Creamery and Jasper Hill Farm Clothbound Cheddar, Vermont

Being a Wisconsinite, I love my cheddar. Sharp, mild, aged, young – I love them all. I don’t limit myself to Wisconsin cheeses, even though I do take special pride in my home state’s offerings, because then I’d miss out on gems like Cabot Creamery and Jasper Hill Farm’s Clothbound Cheddar.

Cabot Creamery and Jasper Hill Farm's cave-aged clothbound cheddar

How can two cheesemakers take credit for this cheese? In the words of a song from one of my childhood Sesame Street LPs, “Co-operation makes it happen!” Cabot Creamery gets the cheese started, but it is then cave-aged in Jasper Hill Farm‘s cellars. The result is a mild yet full-bodied cow’s milk cheese that has a comforting presence on your palate, even long after you’ve swallowed your last bite.

A classic combination

I usually enjoy my cheddar with apples, but I don’t think the Granny Smith apple I had on hand was the best match for this cheese’s subtle sweetness. I’d like to try it with my favorite, the Gala, or a Honeycrisp when the variety is in season. (Honeycrisps were developed in Minnesota, by the way.) Normally, I have my cheddar and apple as a mid-day snack at work, which means I’m not savoring them with a glass of wine, but Liz Thorpe, the wholesale manager at Murray’s Cheese, recommends a medium-bodied Chardonnay.

Cabot Creamery only produces a limited amount of Clothbound Cheddar each year, so act fast! If you have trouble finding it in your local cheese shops, mail-order may be the way to go. Cabot recommends checking with Murray’s Cheese or Artisanal Cheese for availability.

 

Bayley Hazen Blue, Vermont

And now we get down to business! In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we’re starting our tasting journey by expressing our gratitude for outstanding American blue cheeses. For our first cheese, I chose Bayley Hazen Blue by Jasper Hill Farms in Greensboro, Vermont.

The Kehler brothers didn’t intend to become dairy farmers when they took on a dilapidated hillside farm in 1998, but developed an interest in sustainable agriculture as they witnessed other Vermont dairy farms going out of business. They began their herd with 15 Ayrshire heifers in 2002, and the care and dedication they’ve put into their operation is evident in their cheese. The Bayley Hazen is a creamy, tangy, raw-milk blue that strikes just the right balance of salty bite and grassy sweetness. It is not an overwhelming blue, so it is perfect for cooking or crumbled over a seasonal beet salad.

I used it to top my Zesty Green Beans Almondine, and found the lemon zest really brought out the flavors of the cheese. If you were serving it on a cheese plate, I would be sure to include something sweet like dried fruit, maybe even candied citrus peels. If you’re serving it after dinner, a port or other sweet wine would be a perfect pairing.

This seems to be a fairly popular cheese at the moment, and deservedly so. It was available at Cheesetique and I have seen it on several DC-area restaurant cheese lists, including at Restaurant Eve. You can consult the retailer list on their website to find it near you.

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