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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!
