Cabot Clothbound Cheddar - Cheese Course

Photo: Cabot Creamery

It's no secret that Vermont is just as much a "cheese state" as Wisconsin. We all know about Vermont cheddars, in particular the wax-covered logs from Cabot Creamery and those from Grafton Village Cheese. But, over the past couple of months, smaller and more artisanal Vermont dairies, including Lazy Lady Farm and Willow Hill Farm, have been receiving attention from everyone from the New York Times Magazine to big names in food like Martha Stewart. What has prompted these cheesemakers to receive such positive media attention and to make it big in the marketplace? Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, the Che Guevara of cheeses.

After speaking to Mateo Kehler, co-owner of Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, Vt., we discovered that the artisanal Cabot Clothbound Cheddar is not only unique because of its mouthwatering, nutty, caramel-like taste, but also because of its pivotal role in allowing smaller Vermont cheese producers to blossom. The latter is responsible for the growth of Mateo's aging facility, the Cellars at Jasper Hill, where the cheddar is aged for approximately 10 months. "The cheese supplies us with the necessary cash flow to be able to financially support smaller dairies," says Kehler. He refers to the cheese as an "economic engine" in the Vermont cheese scene. Back in 2005, when Kehler took over the sales of Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, he sold 7,000 pounds of the cheese in just one week!
Thanks to its financial success, Cabot Clothbound cheddar has significantly provided Vermont dairies with the political and economic resources to help them avoid the industrial milk market. To begin with, cheddar's hefty weight (at 38 lbs) means that it costs a fraction of the price to deliver the cheese in controlled refrigerated trucks to the marketplace. It's less cost-effective to send smaller and lighter cheeses in large trucks. As a result, Kehler is now able to collect these smaller wheels from other dairies making it financially feasible for them to also get out their product. In addition, he has taken on the job of aging cheeses from other Vermont dairies, like Willow Hill Farm and Crawford Family Farm.

"Cheesemakers are too busy to do everything well," says Kehler. Sending their cheeses to the Cellars "allows them to focus on producing high-quality milk while we deal with transforming it into high-quality cheese." Of course, Kehler also deals with the logistical aspects, like the packing and shipping.

Kehler's mission with Cabot Clothbound Cheddar's success is to encourage other dairies to produce cheese. To achieve this goal, he is collaborating with dairies across the state to help them realize that they can have a more economically viable business by selling cheese instead of selling their milk to the industrial milk market. "The commodity milk market is an international marketplace in which the dairies have absolutely no control over the price of their product," says Kehler. "Artisanal cheesemakers can dictate their prices based on the economic needs of their company." When Kehler refers to the "commodity milk market," he is referring to the business of collecting industrial milk from farms worldwide to then sell.

While the cheese's revolutionary effects surpass its mere physical presence, it would be a travesty to overlook its beautiful bright white-to-yellow paste wrapped in cloth, its one-of-a-kind smooth, earthy flavor and its creamy texture (it melts on the tongue). "The aggressive acidification [lactic acid production] during cheddar's cheesemaking process creates a more crumbly texture," says Kehler, who began his cheese career selling cheddar for Neal's Yard Dairy in London. Unlike many other aged cheddars, Cabot Clothbound Cheddar does not have the same acidic bitter aftertaste. It's also less crumbly. This has to do with the less "aggressive acidification."

Besides the important acid profile, aging has a tremendous effect on the condensed nutty flavors and the firm texture. Most cheddar is aged at 40 to 45 degrees. Cabot Clothbound Cheddar is aged at 52 to 53 degrees. "The higher the temperature, the more quickly the cheese loses its moisture and ages," says Kehler. "As a result of this aging, there is more enzymatic activity which magnifies the flavor of the milk." When it comes to the breed of the cow, Kehler explains that for cheddar it's important to find a breed with a lower fat content because fat can cause bitterness. In fact, cheesemakers will control the cows' feed in order to create a fat-protein ratio with more protein and less fat. The milk used to produce Cabot Clothbound Cheddar comes from a single herd of Holstein cows.

From its role in the development of Vermont's "cheese movement" to its mind-blowing nutty taste, Cabot Clothbound Cheddar is truly remarkable, and certainly not to be missed. In the next few years, Kehler plans to further tap into the domestic cheese market from Vermont down to the Mid-Atlantic states. In the meantime, it can be purchased from stores, such as Cowgirl Creamery, Formaggio Kitchen and Murray's, or online from Cabot Creamery.