Announcing the South’s Best
Cheeses – SFA Juried
Cheese Tasting
In advance of the 2005 Southern Foodways Symposium, a panel of three judges – Sarah Fritschner of the Courier Journal in Louisville, Tina Ujlaki of Food & Wine in New York, and Joe Castro of the English Grill in Louisville – convened to taste fifty-two Southern cheeses. They tasted the cheeses blind, employing protocols borrowed from the American Cheese Society.
Following are the top ten cheeses in both cow milk and goat/sheep milk categories, annotated by a sampling of judge comments. On October 28, at the Southern Foodways Symposium in Oxford, Mississippi, we will crown the winners in each category and introduce a recipe utilizing the winning cow milk cheese.
Funding for this project comes from the Southeast Dairy Association.
Fleur de Lis Bittersweet Plantation, Gonzales, Louisiana
Cow’s milk cheese. Triple cream, French style cheese made from Holstein cow milk. Bloomy rind with vegetable ash through center. Aged four to six weeks.
Judges said, “sweet, creamy, mild” “barny, balanced” ”beautiful light texture.”
Contact: John Folse
www.jfolse.com
(225) 644-6000 or (800) 256-2433
Green Hill Sweet Grass Dairy, Thomasville, Georgia
Cow’s milk cheese. Soft-ripened, double cream cheese made from Jersey cow milk. White, bloomy rind. Rich and smooth. Aged four to six weeks.
Judges said, “sharp, yet buttery” “melts in your mouth” “very clean finish, amazing” “aroma of wet, green bushes.”
Contact: Desiree Wehner
www.sweetgrassdairy.com
(229) 227-0752
Bittersweet Plantation Gonzales, Louisiana
Cow’s milk cheese. Triple cream French style cheese with bloomy rind. Aged four to six weeks.
Judges said, “heavenly” “but needs more tang” “creamy, buttery, addictive.”
Contact: John Folse
www.jfolse.com
(225) 644-6000 or (800) 256-2433
Grayson Meadow Creek Dairy, Galax, Virginia
Cow’s milk cheese. Aged at least two months. Almost liquid when fully ripe and at room temperature. Very rich and beefy with pungent aroma and nutty, sweet overtone. Surface ripened with a thin reddish-orange washed rind.
Judges said, “very strong smelling, funky” “thick, dense, and smooth” “enticing” “barny and earthy.”
Contact:
www.meadowcreekdairy.com
mcd@LS.net
(888) 236-2776
Kentucky Blue Kenny’s Country Cheese, Austin, Kentucky
Cow’s milk cheese. External blue molded cheese. Aged two and one-half months.
Judges said, “very stinky and strong” “creamy and pasty in a nice way” “nutty flavor underneath.”
Contact: Kenny and Rose Mattingly
www.kennyscheese.com
Kenny@kennyscheese.com
(888) 571-4029
Hickory Grove Chapel Hill Creamery, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Cow’s milk cheese. Washed rind. Monastery style. Buttery flavor. Melts well. Aged sixty to ninety days.
Judges said, “buttery and toasty” “a nice sharpness, not too aggressive” “good fruit cheese” “soft and creamy in mouth.”
Contact: Portia McKnight and Flo Hawley
(919) 967-3757
Natural Rind Yellow Branch, Robbinsville, North Carolina
Cow’s milk cheese. Unwaxed and washed in apple cider vinegar. Drier and sharper version of farmstead cheese. Aged for a minimum of four months.
Judges said, “milky, acidic” “dry, aged” “caramel nose” “sharp in a cheddary way” “balanced and pleasant.”
Contact: Bruce DeGroot and Karen Mickler
www.yellowbranch.com
mail@yellowbranch.com
(828) 479-6710
Trappist Mild Gethsemani - Trappist, Kentucky
Cow’s milk cheese. Made in French Port du Salut style. Aged two weeks.
Judges said, “balanced” “promising aroma” “pungent and earthy” “tiny bit rubbery.”
Contact:
www.gethsemanifarms.org
gethfarms@bardstown.com
(800) 549-0912
Fresh Mozzarella Mozzarella Company, Dallas, Texas
Cow’s milk cheese. Moist, creamy, and flavorful. Hand formed balls or tubes.
Judges said, “fresh dairy smell” “mild and pleasant” “a little on the rubbery side” “milky.”
Contact: Paula Lambert
www.mozzco.com
(214) 741-1072
Clemson Blue
Clemson University - Clemson, South Carolina
Cow’s milk cheese. Blue-veined and aged for six months.
Judges said, “textbook blue taste” “tart” “a little curdy” “salty.”
Contact:
www.clemson.edu/foodscience/bluecheese.htm
clemsonblue@yahoo.com
(800) 599-0181
Stackhouse Spinning Spider Creamery, Marshall, North Carolina
Farmstead goat cheese. One-half pound loaf with a white rind. Thin layer of organic apple wood ash down the center and dusting of ash under the rind. Aged three to four weeks.
Judges said, “assertive, strong, promising” “milky, tangy, salty, balanced, multi-dimensional” “texture is perfect throughout.”Contact: Chris and Jeff Owen
www.southerncheese.com/Pages/spinningspider.html
(828) 689-5508
Sophia Capriole, Greenville, Kentuckiana
Farmstead goat cheese. One pound loaf with wrinkly, white rind. Marbled with ash. Aged approximately five days in cave.
Judges said, “creamy, light paste, moist—perfect to me” “fabulous, no flaws” “needs a little more age” “love the look of this cheese.”
Contact: Judy Schad
www.capriolegoatcheese.com
caprioleinc@aol.com
(812) 923-9408
Old Kentucky Tomme Capriole, Greenville, Kentuckiana
Farmstead goat cheese. Four to five pound wheel with whitish grey rind. Mellow, buttery, and mild, with mushroomy overtones. Aged four months.
Judges said, “very salty, barny—delicious” “fresh, mild, pleasant” “firm, but creamy” “good acid/bitter/salt/milk balance.”
Contact: Judy Schad
www.capriolegoatcheese.com
caprioleinc@aol.com
(812) 923-9408
O’Banon Capriole, Greenville, Kentuckiana
Farmstead goat cheese aged in Old Forester -- and Woodford Reserve Bourbon -- soaked chestnut leaves. Creamy and dense.
Judges said, “fresh, lemony, and figgy” “needs a bit more salt” “milky, boozy, leafy—aromatics overwhelm the cheese a bit” “very pleasant mouth feel.”
Contact: Judy Schad
www.capriolegoatcheese.com
caprioleinc@aol.com
(812) 923-9408
Camille Spinning Spider Creamery, Marshall, North Carolina
Farmstead goat cheese. Traditional goat milk Camembert in half-pound round. Aged three to four weeks.
Judges said, “a little bitter finish, but balanced and clean” “silky and rich in your mouth where it is ripe.”
Contact: Chris and Jeff Owen
www.southerncheese.com/Pages/spinningspider.html
(828) 689-5508
Evangeline Bittersweet Plantation, Gonzales, Louisiana
Aged goat cheese. Triple cream goat’s milk cheese in four ounce round. Tangy, soft, almost runny paste. Aged three to four weeks.
Judges said, “nice and cheesy, pungent” “tacky in your mouth in a pleasant way” “rind is bitter.”Contact: John Folse
www.jfolse.com
(225) 644-6000 or (800) 256-2433
Chevre La Cuesta Farm, Laguna Park, Texas
Farmstead goat cheese. Soft and cultured. Alternative to cream cheese. Normally produced lightly salted, but can be made salt-free with advance notice.
Judges said, “creamy, milky, mild” “moist and curdy” “fresh and nicely dense.”
Contact: Alberto and John
(254) 622-2751
Piedmont Everona Dairy, Rapidan, Virginia
Fresh sheep’s milk cheese. Sweet, nutty, and pleasant aftertaste. Aged six months.
Judges said, “dry and crumbly in your mouth” “good toasty, caramel smell” “a little tart, not too much finish.”
Contact: Pat Elliot
(540) 854-4159
Jumping Jack Firefly Farms, Bittinger, Maryland
Farmstead goat cheese. Washed rind. Semi-soft texture, similar to a Muenster cheese. Aged three months.
Judges said, “very mild” “understated” “sweet, nutty and mildly fruity” “not quite assertive enough” “firm and crumbly.”
Contact:
www.fireflyfarms.com
(301) 245-4630
Merry Goat Round Firefly Farms, Bittinger, Maryland
Aged goat cheese. Similar to a goat’s milk brie, but firmer. Sharp like a young cheddar. Aged five to eight weeks.
Judges said, “almost like a very, very mild blue” “tangy” “dry, dense, crumbly, and chalky.”
Contact:
www.fireflyfarms.com
(301) 245-4630
