Vermont Cheese is More Than Cheddar

Send us Fan Mail When most people think Vermont cheese, cheddar probably isn’t far behind. And fair enough—Vermont makes some damn good cheddar. But that’s only the beginning. Three years ago, I went to the Vermont Cheese Makers Festival as someone who loved cheese, had started a cheese business and podcast…and still felt very much like the new girl in the room. That weekend included Jasper Hill’s absolutely ridiculous 20th anniversary party, unlimited Harbison, a maple creemee truck, a cheese science expo, a Shelburne Farms tour—and one of the muddiest festival parking situations imaginable. I also came home feeling like maybe I actually had a place in this industry. Now, three years later, I’m looking at Vermont cheese from a very different perspective—and going beyond the names and cheeses everyone already knows. In this episode, we’re meeting three smaller Vermont cheesemakers doing some seriously interesting things: 🐑 Fat Sheep Farm — where Suzy Kaplan makes small-batch sheep’s milk cheese using natural starter cultures made from the farm’s own milk. 🐐 Barn First Creamery — where Rebecca Velazquez is basically proving that “I don’t like goat cheese” is not a sufficient answer, with everything from bloomy-rind goat cheese to a raw goat’s milk blue. 🧀 Good Hands Creamery — where Liz Bleakley makes tiny batches of raw milk cheese by hand, including saffron-brine-washed Solidago, cider-washed Echo and wheels literally pressed with buckets of water. We’re also talking about Vermont Cheese Week and the Vermont Cheese Makers Festival, natural cultures, farmstead vs. artisanal cheese, why cheese doesn’t always behave the way its maker wants it to, weird-but-brilliant pairings like kimchi grilled cheese, and why the best thing you can do at a cheese festival might be trying the cheese from the producer whose name means absolutely nothing to you. Plus, I have three assignments for anyone heading to the festival. Come for the cheese. Leave knowing the people who make it. And if you go? Please tell me what came home with you. References/Places mentioned: Vermont Cheese Council / Vermont Cheese Week + Vermont Cheese Makers Festival Fat Sheep Farm Barn First Creamery Good Hands Creamery Jasper Hill Farm Shelburne Farms Cabot Creamery Vermont Creamery Plymouth Artisan Cheese Parish Hill Creamery / Peter Dixon David Asher — The Art of Natural Cheesemaking