We’ve already covered soft, gooey cheeses<\/a> (like \u00c9poisses<\/a> and Vacherin Mont d\u2019Or<\/a>); soft, dollopy cheeses (fromage blanc, ricotta<\/a>, and mascarpone<\/a>, for example); semi-soft, fudgy cheeses<\/a> (most blues and block cheddars); semi-soft, spreadable cheeses<\/a> (fresh ch\u00e8vre<\/a>, Camembert<\/a>, and cream cheese); semi-firm, crumbly cheeses<\/a> (think ricotta salata, cotija<\/a>, and Caerphilly<\/a>); firm, toothsome cheeses<\/a> (such as Comt\u00e9<\/a>, Gruy\u00e8re<\/a>, and aged block cheddars); and hard, flaky cheeses<\/a> (e.g. gouda<\/a> and clothbound cheddar<\/a>).<\/p>\n Next up in our guide is Semi-Firm, Supple Cheeses.<\/strong> This is cheese that dents when pressed firmly with a finger but springs back into shape. Unlike fudgy cheese, a supple cheese cannot be squished into a paste—although it may break apart if you put enough pressure on it. Supple cheeses are easily bitten or cut, and will not crumble. Examples include Abondance<\/a>, Jarlsberg<\/a>, and young gouda<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ashbrook—originally called Ashlyn but renamed to avoid confusion with a Canadian goat\u2019s milk cheese—is an instant star. Recipe development began in early 2014, with wheels hitting the market later that year, and already Spring Brook Farm\u2019s raw cow\u2019s milk stunner has earned Best of Class at the 2015 United States Championship Cheese Contest. Washed-rind Ashbrook is based loosely on French Morbier<\/a> with a New England terroir twist. Aromatic of damp, dark cellar with mild funk, its orange rind encloses milky, sweet paste with a wispy layer of vegetable ash running through the middle.<\/p>\n Sister to wildly popular Reading<\/a> and Tarentaise<\/a> cheeses, Ashbrook is made with high-quality milk from two small area dairies—thanks to its expanding product line, Spring Brook is a boon to the local economy. Need more to feel good about? Parent organization Farms for City Kids offers agricultural education programs for urban youth.<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Lactic, milk, sweet-sour There are people who enjoy exploring mines to learn about history, but some of us require extra incentive to embark on a subterranean adventure. Luckily, the only one open to the public in Austria\u2019s Styria region—a former silver mine in Arzberg—now houses cheese. Almenland Stollenkaese manager Franz Mo\u0308stl began experimenting with affinage there eight years ago, and in 2009 the company transformed the mine\u2019s pit house into a production facility and built an additional underground maturation space. Visitors may taste the company\u2019s various cheeses, such as this creamy, washed-rind disk made with sheep\u2019s milk, which scored a Super Gold at the World Cheese Awards last November. After six to eight weeks spent in the humid caves and daily washings with brine, Arzberger Bellino develops a red-orange rind and a sheep\u2019s milk flavor that is, according to Almenland Stollenkaese\u2019s Manuela Fall, \u201cfine and discreet.\u201d<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Cream, barnyard, wild herbs John Savage-Onstwedder, one of the founders of Wales-based Caws Teifi Cheese, is no shrinking violet when it comes to promoting his cheeses. \u201cBasically,\u201d he says, \u201cCeltic Promise is the most highly decorated raw milk cheese in Britain.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a bold claim that\u2019s not without basis: The cow\u2019s milk Celtic Promise already has two British Cheese Awards Supreme Champion rosettes in the cabinet and this year netted the Best Welsh Cheese award at the same contest, as well as the Supreme Champion title at the Royal Welsh Show.<\/p>\n According to Savage-Onstwedder, the washed-rind cheese\u2019s success is due to terroir. \u201cThe milk is sourced from Kilkerk Farm on the coastline of Cardigan Bay,\u201d he explains. \u201cYou can sniff the salinity in the air, and the herbs and grasses of the Welsh meadows and hedgerows offer the Friesian<\/a> and Jersey<\/a> herd an incredibly diverse meal.\u201d<\/p>\n The cheese is made with vegetarian rennet and spends seven weeks maturing at a humid 60.8\u00b0F. During aging, it\u2019s washed 21 times with a solution of B. linens<\/i> and unpasteurized local cider, resulting in a pinkish orange exterior, a pungent aroma typical of washed rinds, and a knack for picking up top prizes.<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Cream, fruit, butter “Huguenot is a nourishing and arrestingly satisfying cheese,\u201d says Petrina Visser, co-owner of Dalewood Fromage Estate Cheese. Visser and her husband, Rob, make this signature wheel—along with a number of other cheeses—on their eco-friendly farm on South Africa\u2019s Cape of Good Hope. All varieties are made with milk from pasture-raised, hormone-free Jersey cows. FLAVORS:<\/strong> Fruit, nuts, butter, sweet Fritz Kaiser knows Swiss cheese—three of the Que\u0301bec-based creamery\u2019s raclettes topped their categories at the 2015 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix. In fact, the founder has been making cheese—adhering to recipes and techniques acquired in his native Switzerland—in Noyan, a small town near the New York border, since 1981.<\/p>\n Kaiser brines his surface-ripened Pepper Raclette, then ages it on wooden racks for three to four months or until the rind takes on a dusty rust color. Smelling of mushrooms and hazelnuts, the paste is tawny and dotted with whole green peppercorns. Being raclette, the cheese shines when warmed, yielding a nutty, fruity flavor interrupted only by pleasant heat.<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Nuts, fruit, pepper Pungent and meaty, this raw-milk stinker crafted with microbial rennet is a fine specimen from cheesemaker Jackie Chang\u2019s \u201cfunk factory\u201d (that\u2019s how director of sales and marketing John Scaggs refers to Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy\u2019s washed-rind aging room). The seven-ounce round, which monger-author Gordon Edgar once called \u201cone of my favorite American cheeses,\u201d is bathed in brine while it matures for at least 60 days on stainless steel racks. The resulting sticky, reddish rind is a nod to the cheese\u2019s namesake Redcloud Peak, a Colorado 14,000-footer beloved by company founder Jim Schott.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a bold cheese and we are bold, adventurous people [in Colorado],\u201d Scaggs says of Red Cloud, part of Haystack\u2019s line since 2004. \u201cIt helped get people psyched about washed-rind cheeses.”<\/p>\n FLAVORS:<\/strong> Fruit, salt, meat![\"springbrookfarm_ashbrook_lrg\"](\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/SpringBrookFarm_Ashbrook_lrg.jpg\")
Spring Brook Farm Ashbrook<\/em><\/div>\nAskbrook<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Consider texture and acidity: Green peppers and other crunchy veggies and fruits with bright flavors are fresh foils for this pungent cheese. Ashbrook demands bubbles to cut through its rich Jersey butterfat—Cre\u0301mant d\u2019Alsace or farmhouse ale, in particular.<\/p>\n
\nArzberger Bellino<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Melt this cheese into gratin or onto spa\u0308tzle<\/i> and serve alongside wheat beer<\/a> or sweet gewu\u0308rztraminer<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nCeltic Promise<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Celtic Promise matches well with chilled farmhouse cider<\/a>, Chablis, or Madeira. It\u2019s also wonderful melted and poured into a phyllo pastry cup.<\/p>\n
\nHuguenot<\/h2>\n
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\nMountain cheeses crafted in the Haute-Savoie region of France inspired Huguenot\u2019s hulking size, Visser says; at 50 to 55 pounds, it\u2019s the largest round produced in South Africa. The brushed-rind cheese is aged a minimum of six months, and its roasted caramel and toffee flavors continue to intensify after a year or two (a 10-month-old version netted Dalewood Fromage a 2014 World Cheese Award). A versatile flavor profile means Huguenot plays nice with a wide range of pairings, but Petrina says this cheese can stand alone. \u201cNothing else is required,\u201d she says, \u201cno bread, no accompaniment, not even any wine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Toss Huguenot into the fondue pot—it has top-notch melting capabilities and elasticity. Or go French: Layer it in a croque-monsieur and sip Champagne.<\/p>\n
\nPepper Raclette<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Traditional raclette sidekicks—cornichons, charcuterie, boiled potatoes—are obvious accompaniments, but the cheese is superb when melted on a grilled roast beef sandwich or in macaroni and cheese.<\/p>\n![\"haystack_redcloud_lrg\"](\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Haystack_RedCloud_lrg.jpg\")
Haystack Mountain Cheese Red Cloud<\/em><\/center><\/p>\nRed Cloud<\/h2>\n
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\nPERFECT PAIRING:<\/strong> Crack open a craft brew from the Rocky Mountain State—a floral IPA<\/a> goes toe-to-toe with Red Cloud\u2019s umami notes.<\/p>\n
\nSmoked Gouda<\/h2>\n