This short article/blog is about some US cheese makers who were brave enough to visit the Slow Food festival in Bra last year and this one about the birth of Mystery Bay farm cheeses in Washington State.
I don't intend to get involved in bringing any over (not just yet anyway), but if you're American and know about great US farm cheeses (not orange cheddar or Monterey jack, with respect) please let us know here. Over to you.
bought at the "normal" supermarkets.
Humboldt Fog, and Fog lights (both ripened cheeses) and purple haze, a chevre with fennel pollen and lavender.
Looks like some of the people you've linked to have some interesting goat and other cheeses.
I also remember some people outside of Chapel Hill, NC making some interesting stuff, mostly locally though. I don't know if they've expanded. I have to see if I can remember their names.....
THe best thing about CHapel Hill was the rather extensive food shopping in a place with just about 50,000 people. More grocery stores per capita and two big organic markets and another fancy gourmet place, Southern Season, just enormous. And it wasn't all bbq and grits. Thankfully.
As for 'farm' cheeses, there are tons of good ones to be had at any Farmer's Market in the San Francisco area, but I am not sure if any are branded strongly enough that expats would buy them while living in Europe amongst so many other great cheeses.
JMO
fduvall
i visited them 2 years ago, and we went to a farm which made their own cheese (forgot the name of the farm) but there was a cheese festival going on - i tasted some pretty great cheeses.
also when i was in vermont, i tasted some amazing cheddars (with wax on, similar concept to the godminster)
i think there are plenty of great cheeses to be found in the states.
Of the awesome, local cheeses they had:
- Brunkow cheese from Fayette, Wisconsin. It's a cooperative. Week in, week out, it was the same family at the market. Brunkow made several cheddars, including a raw milk cheddar. They also make several other types of cheeses (some raw milk, some not) that won awards, including the " Little Darling " 'farm' cheese... it was awesome. I was even a fan of their grilling cheese and raw cheddar cheese spread... I'm drooling.
- Prairie Fruit Farms of Champaign, Illinois. This is a family-run operation with more of the softer 'farm' style cheeses than aged cheeses. I think they raise goats and sheep, because most of their cheese is goat or sheep cheese. The chevre is amazing. So is the Little Bloom. Once a month, they'd have fresh ricotta... it was out of this world and sold out immediately.
I've tried some of the other cheeses mentioned - they're all good! I LOVE cheese!
Also, an artisinal company - Bobolink Dairly - is a husband and wife team in New Jersey, and they are getting rave reviews for their cheeses - supposed to be 100% grass fed milk cheese. I've not tried their cheese, but have heard great things from those who have. The website is www.cowsoutside.com .
The Cheesemonger is just a little north of where my parents live and they stop by there for cheese, but they are able to get many local cheeses at Central Market.
Meet Buckets , who helps put cheese on my parents table.
I miss my Tillamook .
I wouldn't seriously consider importing cheese from the states, it's clear there are many great cheeses but it would be costly to get them here and I could only really sell them because of the curiosity factor and because most of them are probably based on original European recipes. Still, fascinating to read all about the cheeses and the people and animals behind them.
Also, if you're intersted in finding out about the offbeat US cheeses/Making contacts, you can't go wrong with these guys in NYC:
Small-scale but maybe they would export some wheels!
Australia isn't just about cheddar, Nick Haddow, a good friend of mine is doing some magical stuff with cheese....
http://www.brunyislandcheese.com.au/cheeses.php
we all need to be less blinkered and support those producers and importers that take the path less travelled.