Cypress Grove Chevre may be the best cheesemakers in America. They're certainly one of the very best. If you want to know what extraordinarily high quality American cheese tastes like, sample any of their products.I recently tried Cypress Grove's triangle-shaped Mount McKinley cheese. This unique shepherd-style goat cheese is aged 18 months and is covered in vegetable ash. On top of the ash sits a thin, bloomy layer of white peniclium molds. The cheese has a sharp, robust, earthy flavor and a hard, somewhat dry texture.
Many foodies recommend grating hard, dry cheeses like this over pasta or other dishes. In my mind, that's like cooking with a $150 bottle of wine. You should cook with a $5-$10 wine and drink the $150 bottle. Similarly, I recommend enjoying Mount McKinley by itself on a warm slice of bread.
Mount McKinley has garnered a variety of awards from the American Cheese Society, the London International Cheese Competition, and the National Cheese Competition. Curiously, it is not currently listed on Cypress Grove's website as one of their current products.Some consumers pass over Cypress Grove cheeses in the cheese aisle because of their slightly higher prices. Cypress Grove cheeses, however, are among the best in America. Your taste buds will thank you for spending a little extra.
I was at Wegmans this weekend and could not help noticing that they had a Cypress Grove Goat's Milk Cheddar, have you tried this, or reviewed previously? It sounds intriguing, but on a grad student's budget I thought the better of forking out 12 dollars for a little less than 16oz. Though perhaps it would be good for the cheeseboard the next time I host a party.
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing this.
ReplyDeletei'm just stoked i'm from humboldt so this stuff is in stores everywhere. gotta love it.
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