We’ve already covered hard, flaky cheeses<\/a> (e.g. gouda and clothbound cheddar), semi-soft, fudgy cheeses<\/a> (most blues and block cheddars), soft, gooey cheeses<\/a> (like \u00c9poisses<\/a> and Vacherin Mont d\u2019Or<\/a>), and firm, toothsome cheeses<\/a> (such as Comt\u00e9<\/a>, Gruy\u00e8re<\/a>, and aged block cheddars). Next up in our guide is Semi-Soft, Spreadable Cheeses<\/strong>. Spreadable cheeses can be cut with the dullest of butter knives and spread\u2014at room temperature\u2014on delicate bread without tearing it. While very soft, these cheeses do not readily ooze at room temperature; they may cling to a knife or spoon, but their paste is not sticky. Examples include fresh ch\u00e8vre<\/a>, Camembert<\/a>, and cream cheese.<\/p>\n Before it\u2019s transformed into this seriously addictive pyramidal cheese, raw goat\u2019s milk from two small producers arrives at Cerney Cheese in frozen blocks. \u201cGoat\u2019s milk is sort of naturally homogenized so it protects itself during the freezing process,\u201d explains head cheesemaker Avril Pratt. Freezing the milk, she says, keeps it \u201cextremely fresh.\u201d<\/p>\n Every step of the five-day make process\u2014from adding starter and rennet to patting on the pyramid\u2019s distinctive oak ash and salt covering\u2014is done by hand. Such artisan production remains aligned with that initiated by Lady Isabel Angus, who first created the cheese in the Cerney House butler\u2019s pantry in 1983.<\/p>\n A former Supreme Champion at the British Cheese Awards, the densely textured cheese earned Super Gold at the 2014 World Cheese Awards. Cerney\u2019s two-person team relies on the seasonal rhythms of the goatherds, producing an average of 550 pyramids per week.<\/p>\n \u201cIn spring we have lots of milk,\u201d Pratt says. \u201cBut around Christmas, when we need a lot of milk, there isn\u2019t any. We want to have Christmas in June, really.\u201d<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Almonds, citrus, cream This farmer-owned co-op, which has more than 600 members in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, started producing dairy products in 1958. (It changed its name from the Mississippi Valley Milk Producers Association to Swiss Valley Farms and relocated to its current Davenport headquarters in 1981.) A multiple domestic and international award-winner, the company\u2019s cream cheese is notable for its depth of flavor and smooth, creamy texture; it\u2019s not small-batch, but it sure tastes like it.<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Fresh cream, lactic, sweet Narrangansett Creamery Crescendo<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n When we think of Stracchino di Crescenza\u2013style cheese, our minds wander to a rindless square with a soft, thick paste\u2014and Narragansett Creamery\u2019s take on the Italian favorite follows suit. Dubbed Crescendo, the Ocean State\u2013made curd is crafted gently by hand, ensuring a mouth-coating consistency. \u201cIt\u2019s a texture you can\u2019t get from machinery alone,\u201d owner Mark Federico asserts. \u201cSome say it\u2019s like Brie<\/a> without the rind.\u201d<\/p>\n Its flavor, however, is a far cry from the mushroomy French fromage. With aromas of cheese curds and buttered popcorn, the cheese is unbelievably creamy on the palate, with floral yet tangy-sharp notes reminiscent of hops. It\u2019s no wonder Crescendo snagged a blue ribbon at the 2015 American Cheese Society Judging & Competition\u2014and for this small, family-run creamery, that recognition makes all the difference.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are very proud of our team members,\u201d Federico says. \u201cFrom the front office to the milk vat to the loading dock, their dedication contributes to our success and sets us apart.\u201d<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Cream, butter, hops, grass No stranger to culture<\/strong>\u2019s pages, Flower Marie is a raw sheep\u2019s milk cheese with a talent for tickling judges\u2019 fancies.<\/p>\n Which makes sense, as it was a youthful flight of fancy that saw creamery owner Kevin Blunt cast aside his biochemistry degree and turn to livestock and dairy farming on Greenacres Farm. Blunt and his wife, Alison, started making cheese after they bought neighbor Regis Dussartre\u2019s recipes, goats, and milking parlor. In turn, Dussartre schooled the Blunts in French cheesemaking, paving the way for the pair to launch Golden Cross Cheese Co. in 1989.<\/p>\n Today Golden Cross is respected for its handmade goat\u2019s and sheep\u2019s milk cheeses. Kevin and Alison are joined by their son, Matthew, in crafting an average of 240 small ivory blocks of white-mold-ripened, brine-washed Flower Marie daily (as the cheese matures, mushroom and caramel notes dominate and the paste turns soft and oozing). Does Kevin ever regret turning his back on biochemistry? \u201cAbsolutely not,\u201d he says, without hesitation.<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Caramel, mushrooms, lemon Many Fold Farm Garrets Ferry<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n A mere 30 miles from a major metropolis might not be where you\u2019d expect to encounter a rural community focused on farming. But that\u2019s exactly what you\u2019ll find in Chattahoochee Hills, Ga., a district that has managed to preserve its agricultural way of life in the face of Atlanta\u2019s urban sprawl. It\u2019s the home of Many Fold Farm, whose cheeses\u2014including crottin<\/a>-style Garretts Ferry\u2014swept all three sheep\u2019s milk categories at the 2015 American Cheese Society Judging & Competition. But winning didn\u2019t come easy: \u201cI almost scrapped Garretts Ferry,\u201d cheesemaker and owner Rebecca Williams says. \u201cIt was making me nuts trying to get it right.\u201d<\/p>\n The bloomy-rind cheese is semi-lactic, meaning the make process requires time, patience, and a delicate hand. Curds set for 18 to 24 hours before being ladled into forms, where they drain an additional 36 hours. Then the small rounds age three to six weeks. For Williams, though, slow is best.<\/p>\n \u201cSheep\u2019s milk is high in protein\u2014the longer acidification helps the proteins break down and gives the cheese more flavor,\u201d she says. And Garretts Ferry has flavor in spades: sheepy fat envelops the palate with tart, floral, and acidic notes. As the cheese ages, it becomes meatier, and a touch smoky\u2014vaguely reminiscent of bacon.<\/p>\n (Read our cheesemaker profile of Many Fold Farm from our Summer 2016 issue!<\/a>)<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Mushrooms, butter, green apple Gorgonzola Dolce<\/a> has been around since the 12th century, but that doesn\u2019t mean all versions of this PDO cheese are created equal. For four generations, Arrigoni Battista has toiled to improve the production and aging of classic Italian cheeses (its current factory is divided into different sections for washed-rind and blue-veined styles). Dolce, which means \u201csweet\u201d in Italian, refers to milder, creamier Gorgonzolas that are aged only about two months\u2014 Naturale or Piccante varieties<\/a> are often aged three months or longer, becoming spicier and more pungent.<\/p>\n Arrigoni Battista\u2019s Dolce version\u2014a Super Gold at the 2014 World Cheese Awards\u2014is accessible and mild, with an extra sweetness to it. It\u2019s best enjoyed if left out at room temperature for an hour or so, until the cream-colored paste mottled with bluish veins starts to become \u201cbuttery and melty,\u201d export manager Roberta Cavagna says.<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Cream, sweet, tangy Fromagerie du Presbyt\u00e8re Lalibiter\u00e9<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n This soft, Brie-style round hails from Que\u0301bec\u2014specifically, a beautiful, circa-1936 priest\u2019s home in the village of Sainte-E\u0301lizabeth-de-Warwick. Brothers John and Dominic Morin acquired the property in 2005 and have been completing renovations and crafting award-winning cheeses\u2014including Laliberte\u0301, the 2015 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix Grand Champion\u2014under its stately roof ever since. The setting is made even more idyllic by the dairy across the street, which provides the creamery with fresh Holstein<\/a> and Jersey<\/a> cow\u2019s milk daily.<\/p>\n Named after sculptor Albert Laliberte\u0301, also from Sainte-E\u0301lizabeth-de-Warwick, the surface-ripened triple cream is firm and possesses a subtle aroma of mushrooms and cream when young; with age, it develops a savory meatiness akin to roasted cruciferous vegetables.<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Cream, butter, mushrooms, tangy On the rugged coast of Downeast Maine, 15 minutes from the easternmost point in the US, sits Tide Mill, an organic farm and creamery. The land has been in owner Rachel Bell\u2019s family for nine generations, but it wasn\u2019t until recently that she and her husband, Nate, started crafting award-winning cheeses, including the Camembert-style Little Bloom, which took home a first-place ribbon at the 2015 American Cheese Society Judging & Competition.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t separate the cheese from the land,\u201d says Rachel, of the wooded paddocks and seaside pastures where Tide Mill\u2019s animals graze. \u201cI am truly a farmer at heart, and cheese is the best way to express my love for this place.\u201d<\/p>\n Delightfully simple in flavor and appearance, Little Bloom is made from a blend of goat\u2019s and cow\u2019s milk\u2014two-thirds goat and one-third cow, specifically, a ratio that provides \u201cthe best of both worlds,\u201d Bell says. Before wheels are set aside to age one to two weeks, curds are rubbed with vegetable ash and local sea salt.<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Cream, earth, lactic Tide Mill Creamery Little Bloom<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n Bottled milk from Randall Lineback<\/a> cows is the core business at Sweet Rowen Farmstead in West Glover, Vt. But a line of cheeses, overseen by creamery manager Blair Johnson, plays a brilliant supporting role. Along with feta, cheddar curds, and two lactic-set, bloomy-rind cheeses, Sweet Rowen produces five unripened farmer\u2019s cheeses in various flavors, including this best-selling, award-netting nettle version.<\/p>\n Johnson, who\u2019s done stints at Jasper Hill Farm<\/a> in Vermont and Cedar Grove Cheese<\/a> and Uplands Cheese Company<\/a> in Wisconsin, started at the small creamery just over a year ago. When he arrived, one of the farm\u2019s cheeses was called Wood Nettle\u2014a dry-salted cheese rubbed with dried nettles. The cheese had potential, Johnson says, but he thought it might benefit from a different format. He liked the \u201cbright, almost spinach-y flavor\u201d that nettles imparted to the milk, so he tried mixing leaves into a farmer\u2019s cheese instead. Sure enough, infusing the tangy curds with the herbaceous plant produced a winning combination.<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Grass, tangy, vegetal Sweet Rowen Nettle Farmer’s Cheese<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n \u201cThis is a cheese you want to keep coming back to,\u201d said Australian Grand Dairy Awards chief judge Neil Willman, after Warby Red won the Champion Washed Rind at the 2015 contest. Indeed, it\u2019s a little cheese with a big, funky flavor profile, balanced savory notes, and a creamy finish.<\/p>\n Cheesemaker Ken Cameron comes from a long line of dairy farmers, and along with his wife, Margi, established Boosey Creek Cheese in 2007 on a farm owned by his parents. \u201cBoosey Creek Cheese started as a hobby, so to now have a product that\u2019s among the best in Australia is really exciting,\u201d he says. It\u2019s a true farmstead operation, with all of the milk coming from the family\u2019s herd of more than 400 pasture-raised Holstein<\/a> Friesian cows. While Warby Red is made year-round, it really comes into its own during late winter Down Under (July\u2013September), when the humid weather helps create a moist rind and spreadable paste that\u2019s oh-so-smooth.<\/p>\n
\nCerney Pyramid<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> A glass of chilled Sancerre is tops with this cheese.<\/p>\n
\nCream Cheese<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Purists should slather this cheese on a whole-grain bagel or toast, but it\u2019s also dreamy in dips and spreads.<\/p>\n![\"Narrangansett](\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/BST16_SemiSoftSpreadable_Crescendo.jpg\")
Crescendo<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Slather Crescendo on dried-fruit focaccia (the acid cuts the cream) and drizzle with warmed honey.<\/p>\n
\nFlower Marie<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Flower Marie is irresistible with crisp sauvignon blanc.<\/p>\n![\"Many](\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/BST16_SemiSoftSpreadable_GarrettsFerry.jpg\")
Garretts Ferry<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Cut through the cheese’s sheepy sweetness and rich fat with sips of clean K\u00f6lsch-style Harpoon Brewery Summer Beer.<\/p>\n
\nGorgonzola Dolce<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Melt this cheese slowly with butter and cream to create a decadent pasta sauce.<\/p>\n![\"Fromagerie](\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/BST16_SemiSoftSpreadable_laliberte.jpg\")
Lalibert\u00e9<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Laliberte\u0301 is wonderful after dinner with fresh pomegranate or pear. Pick prosecco to serve alongside a young round; opt for a spicier red to complement a more mature cheese.<\/p>\n
\nLittle Bloom<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Opposites attract when this rich, mixed-milk cheese meets prosciutto di Parma\u2014the rind\u2019s sharpness keeps things from getting too decadent.<\/p>\n![\"Tide](\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/BST16_SemiSoftSpreadable_littlebloom.jpg\")
Nettle Farmer’s Cheese<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Wake up right: Balance this cream cheese\u2013esque prizewinner’s tang with grainy, earthy toast and draw out its smooth, herbaceous notes with rooibos tea.<\/p>\n![\"Sweet](\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/BST16_SemiSoftSpreadable_NettleFarmersCheese_2.jpg\")
Warby Red<\/h2>\n
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