Healthy Living boasts one of the most comprehensive cheese departments in Vermont. We’re proud to cut cheeses from all over the world…with an emphasis on something we can all be proud of: cheeses lovingly crafted right here in Vermont. Our Vermont cheesemakers are becoming famous, and we love working with them. Our Cheese Department also boasts another thing we’re proud of; a knowledgeable and great team who can tell you the story of every cheese, pair it with food, put together a fabulous cheese platter for you, special order, and more.

What's New

Featured Cheese of The Week: Mt. Sterling Mild Raw Goat’s Milk Cheddar

5/14/2012

We often have customers looking for a goat milk cheddar that’s not too “goaty.”  This happens sometimes because they can’t have the traditional cow’s milk cheese, and sometimes because they just want to try something new.  Regardless of the reason, it’s always our pleasure to show them to Mt. Sterling Co-op Creamery’s Mild Goat Cheddar.  Made in Mt. Sterling, Wisconsin from raw, RBGH-free goat’s milk sourced from farmer-owner goat dairies throughout the state, the mild cheddar is semi-firm, smooth, a little crumbly, slightly nutty, and truly very mild when it comes to “goatiness.”  Sound good?  It is: this mild goat cheddar won 2^nd Place at the ACS competition in 2006 and the Bronze at the World Championship of Cheese in 2002.  If you’d like to try some, this delicious cheese is sold in two forms: blocks, which are excellent for cutting, snacking, and grating; and slices, which are convenient for sandwiches, cooking, and snacking as well.

Featured Cheese of The Week: Zamorano

5/7/2012

We’re always delighted to introduce you to those kinds of cheeses which are a little obscure but completely delicious and often make regular appearances on cheese boards once known.  This week, we’re featuring one such cheese, and it’s called Zamorano: a raw, firm, sheep’s milk cheese from Spain.  You’ve most likely heard of or tried its cousin, Manchego, and they share common features such as the type of milk, hardness, and zig-zag patterning, but what makes Zamorano special is the unique flavor which results from being made with primarily Churra sheep milk in the Zamora province of Spain and the influence of the region’s cold, humid climate.  Its flavor is nuttier, richer, and often more piquant than even the most-aged Manchegos, and the zesty flavor lasts longer in your mouth; its texture is also quite dry, making it a good cheese for grating.  Zamorano is excellent when enjoyed with grilled or roasted meats, melon, quince paste, and full-bodied red or white wines, and will melt easily when grated, making for an unexpected and tasty topping for burgers and omelets.

Featured Cheese of The Week: Cotija

4/30/12

Having a Cinco de Mayo celebration this year?  Or simply looking for some good Mexican-style cheese?  Let us recommend to you the classic cheese called Cotija- pronounced (ko-TEE-hah) a cheese which holds as much prominence in Mexico as Parmigiano-Reggiano holds in Italy.  In fact, this aged, crumbly, salty cheese is typically used in cooking applications much like that Italian stand-by, being grated, shredded, or crumbled into dishes.  A cow’s milk cheese which is named after its town of origin in Michoacán, it is firm with a distinct granular texture, the result of curds being milled to very fine pieces before being molded and pressed.  While the cheese has a very faint sour-milk aroma, almost like feta, its predominant flavor is salty; it is several times saltier than most cheeses (twice as salty as a typical cheddar, for example) making it very fine for cooking.  Cotija’s unique tangy and salty flavor, plus its grainy texture and ability to soften but not melt when heated, enhance tostadas, tacos, beans, soups, grilled vegetables, elote (corn on the cob slathered with mayonnaise, chili powder, lime juice, butter, and Cotija), fresh tomato and avocado salads, and just about any other Mexican or Mexican-inspired dish you can think of.  Enjoy a dark lager or a full-bodied red wine alongside and your taste buds will be dancing!

Featured Cheese of The Week: 1-Year Shelburne Farms Cheddar

4/23/2012

This farmhouse cheddar is made entirely by hand from the raw milk of the Brown Swiss cows raised by the folks at Shelburne Farms- a nonprofit sustainability education center and working dairy farm- in Shelburne, VT.  Every day, the milk is loaded right into the cheesemaking vats in the morning and then taken through the cheddaring process since “cheddar”, after all, not only refers to the final delicious product but also the specific method of cheese production.  To cheddar, the cheese curds are formed into blocks or loaves and then piled upon one another to press out the excess whey, whereupon the loaves are put through mills in order to make tiny cheese crumbles.  These, in turn, are heaped into molds and pressed.  The result of this lengthy and laborious process is a collection of young cheeses which are allowed to ripen to various ages, including the 1-yr old cheddar we’re focusing on (we sell waxed 8- and 16-oz bars, as well as wrapped blocks of varying weights).  Shelburne Farms’ 1-Year Aged Cheddar is sharp with slightly fruity and acidic tones, and though solid and firm, is creamy and dense enough to be perfectly sliceable for your next grilling of hamburgers.  This cheddar is a very versatile cheese.  Its flavor is not so mild as to be less interesting, nor so piquant as to be aggressive, making it a  cheddar which you can use any way you want!  We Love it!  Please stop on by and try some for yourself.

Featured Cheese of The Week: Maple Chevre from Boston Post Dairy

4/16/2012

 

With sugaring season come and gone, we thought it would be appropriate this week to feature a local cheese which uses the sweet Vermont staple in a thoroughly delicious way: Boston Post Dairy’s Maple Cream Chèvre.  Don’t be confused by the name: this cheese does not come from Boston but hails from Enosburg Falls,Vermont, and the name was inspired by the Old Boston Post Stagecoach road which runs through the property.  Family-owned and run by the Gervais family, the farm hosts seventy dairy goats whose milk has been transformed into fresh, pasteurized cheese since only 2010, and visitors to the farm are able to see this magic happen through their cheeseroom viewing windows.  Their maple cream chèvre is available seasonally, and now is the season to try this slightly tangy, super creamy, and delightfully sweet fresh cheese which uses both maple syrup and maple cream!  The balance of sweet and savory in this cheese is such that we can recommend it for many uses, such as an unforgettable cheesecake, toasted on a baguette, spooned into a sweet soup, or simply paired with fruits and nuts.

Featured Cheese of the Week: Crème Fraîche

4/9/2012

Crème Fraîche

 

 

 

 

 

French for ‘fresh cream’, this cheese is a staple of French Cuisine. This exquisitely rich cheese is made with fresh, high quality, local Vermont cream from a co-op of 500 family farms located in Northeast Vermont.  After the cows have been milked, they separate and set the fresh cream aside.  They then let the natural lactic bacteria take over, creating a thick, smooth, tart result known as Crème Fraîche.  This cheese is similar to sour cream; slightly tangy, with a cultured, nutty flavor.  Crème Fraîche does not separate when cooked at high temperatures or when used with wine, so it is great for finishing sauces and pan searing, or one can add a few tablespoons to enrich soups and stews.  It is often used as an ingredient for custards, or as a topping on pie and fresh fruits.

 

Featured Cheese of the Week: Cave Aged Clothbound Cheddar from Grafton Village Cheese Company

4/2/2012

This week, we’ve chosen to feature a cheese which we’ve only recently starting carrying and which has been long-awaited by many local cheddar fans: Grafton Village Cheese’s Clothbound Cheddar!  Made since 2010 in the same way as their other aged cheddars, this cheese is hand-crafted from raw Jersey cow’s milk which is sourced from several small family farms in southern Vermont.  Yet unlike their other cheeses, these ones are wrapped in cloth and aged in the company’s own aging caves for at least six months- a method of producing cheddars which is very common in England, where this type of cheese originates, but not so widely done here in the U.S.  We’re lucky to have a couple locally-made clothbound cheddars available to us, and what sets GraftonVillage’s apart from the others is its mild and accessible flavor with predominantly earthy and mushroom-y notes.  We think you’ll really enjoy its flavor and its classic creamy-yet-crumbly texture.  We also think you’ll like knowing that Grafton Village Cheese is a member of the Windham Foundation (www.windham-foundation.org), and as such, every purchase of this fine clothbound cheddar helps support their mission of promoting rural Vermont communities.  Try this newcomer today!