Our June Seasonal Cheese Selections finds us without any sheep cheeses. As we strive to only support cheese makers who are either farmstead or who purchase their milk from small, nearby and sustainable dairies, sheep cheese just isn’t available among them right now. Our curated choices are limited when we are looking for ingredients that are raised sustainably and humanely, thanks for understanding and helping us to make change by supporting small farms.
Many of the cheeses this month are formed by hand which gives them delightful inconsistencies in their shapes, and yes, we veered out of the Pacific Northwest this month to capture some exciting flavors. To see our complete June Seasonal Menu, go here.
From top left to right we have:
Weybridge
Scholten Family Farm – Weybridge, VT
Patty and Roger Scholten make this certified organic cheese from Dutch Belt cows, which are also known as “Oreo” cows for their distinctive white belt around their midsection. The cheese is aged on the farm for 5 days and then whisked away to ripen in Jasper Hill. The finished cheese is bright and decadent with very savory undertones.
Smoked Gouda
Spring Hill Farm – Petaluma, CA
This is a very special, smoked cow cheese that was featured on our May Cheese Menu, but since it is not always available, we carried it over to June. It is richly creamy and decadent. Spring Hill Farm uses milk from 100% grass-fed Jersey Cows, and sells at various farmer’s markets throughout California.
Pleasant Ridge Reserve
Upland Cheese Co, – Dodgeville, WI
This farmstead creamery raises it’s cows on a 100% foraged diet of grasses, wild flowers, herbs, and legumes on a 300 acre pasture. This particular award winning cheese has a very deep nutty flavor and a slight crunch from natural forming proteins.
From bottom left to right we have:
Wabash Cannonball
Capriole Goat Cheeses – Greenville, IN
Judy Schab and her husband make this petite, hand-formed, and dense 3 oz spare of lightly-aged goat cheese from their 400 head herd of Alpine, Nubian, and Saanen goats. It’s creamy texture is sweet and fresh with citrus notes. The bright and clean characteristics of this delicate cheese are attributed to a 17 hour lactic fermentation that is gently hand-ladled.
Marinated Feta
Drake Family Farm – Ontario, CA
Aged 45-90 days and brined in whey, this farmstead feta is slightly salty and tangy in flavor. It’s firm texture makes it great for marinating and adding subtle perfumes to it like rosemary or pink peppercorns. After spending an entire day at Drake Family Farms (see it here), our hearts were warmed over by Farmer Dan and his affectionate, routine-loving goats.
Buff Blue
Bleating Heart Cheese – Tomales, CA
This raw blue cheese is made from buffalo milk, and despite being aged for 3-4 months, it still maintains the clean freshness of raw cheese. It’s also meaty and slightly spicy with a long buttery finish. The milk is sourced from a small water buffalo dairy in Petaluma called, Double 8 Dairy.
And here’s one more of our Crostini Stations with the same cheese. Isn’t it cool how different they can look?
Photos: Yolk & Flour
