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Featured Cheese of The Week: Springbrook Tarentaise

10/8/2012

If you’re into the Vermont cheese scene, you probably know that we carry an amazing local cheese called Tarentaise; if you’re really into it, you also probably know that we carry two local cheeses, both called Tarentaise, made by two different farms but based on the same recipe.  It might seem confusing at first, but it’s simply a matter of one farm- Thistle Hill Farm- developing the recipe and licensing it to another farm- Springbrook Farm- who have made it their own.  This week, we’re highlighting the version made by Springbrook Farm of Reading, VT.  Tarentaise is a raw Jersey cows’ milk cheese styled like Beaufort, made using traditional European methods, and aged for at least ten months.  It’s semi-firm and bursting with piquant and nutty flavors complemented by a smooth texture and a lovely, thin, caramel-colored natural rind.  That rind develops after the minimum ten months aging and all the care that happens therein, including rubbing and washing the wheels with brine at least sixty times.  It’s a truly special cheese and made even more special, perhaps, by the fact that funds from the sales of Springbrook Farm’s Tarentaise go toward their Farms for City Kids Foundation: http://www.farmsforcitykids.org/.  So grab a block, pair it with bock or brown ale, and do some good!