"sarabande" news and stories

When it comes to American cheese, shapes and sizes can be deceiving. Smaller cheeses that come in the shape of a pyramid or disc (think Valençay or Selles-sur-Cher) are often associated with goat's milk cheeses. However, there are several American cheesemakers, like Cowgirl Creamery, that are defying these expectations by producing an array of cow's milk cheeses, including Inverness, in the shape and size of French chèvres.

Sarabande, a raw cow's milk cheese from Dancing Cow Farm in Vermont, is an astonishing example of this innovation. In a pyramid shape reminiscent of a Valençay, it shares more similarities with Taleggio and Langres.

"We have low production pastured cows that don't give a lot of milk, say 30 pounds a day average, but they give a very rich, flavorful milk," says Karen Getz, who co-owns Dancing Cow Farm with her husband, Steve. "We make cheese every day from warm, straight out of the cow milk [...], because milk is very fragile and starting with fresh milk each day allows the flavors of the pastures to shine."