"Seasons of Change"

Our 16 page, Fall / Winter print newsletter, can be read on our web site.

Vermont Cheese Trail Map
The new Vermont Cheese Trail Map has just been reprinted! Visit our web site for the latest version, or if you would like some printed copies, please send a request to info@vtcheese.com

Thank you retailers and other associate members for your support of the Vermont Cheese Council!

Black River Produce

Brattleboro Food Coop

Castleton Crackers

Cheese Traders &
Wine Sellers

Dakin Farm

Equinox Resort and Spa

Hanover Coop

Harvest Market

Healthy Living

Hunger Mountain Coop

Lebanon Coop

Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op

Mountain Cheese and Wine

Mountain Greens Market and Deli

Newport Specialty Foods

Peter Dixon Dairy Consulting

Provisions International

Ren Hen Cafe and Bakery

Rock Art Brewery


South Royalton Market

Stratton Mountain Provisions

Sugarbush Farm

Sweet Clover

The Cellars Group

The Cheese House

The Cheese Shop/ Wasiks

Wine and Cheese Depot

Upper Valley Food Coop

Vermont Cheesemongers

Woodstock Farmer's Market

Facebook

Become a fan of the Vermont Cheese Council on Facebook!

Visit our new Facebook page.

Post a comment or a photo about your favorite Vermont cheese.

Cheese makes a wonderful holiday gift. Many of our members sell their cheese  through their web site. Visit our cheesemakers online.

Blue Ledge Farm

Blythedale Farm

Bonnieview Farm

Cabot Creamery

Champlain Valley Creamery

Cobb Hill Cheese

Consider Bardwell Farm

Crawford Family Farm

Crowley Cheese

Dancing Cow Farm

Does' Leap

Fat Toad Farm

Franklin Foods

Grafton Village Cheese

Hildene Farm Signature Cheese

Green Mountain Blue Cheese

Hope Farm

Jasper Hill Farm

Jericho Hill Farm

Lakes End Cheeses

Lazy Lady Farm

Maplebrook Farm

Mt. Mansfield Creamery

Neighborly Farms

Orb Weaver Farm

Peaked Mountain Farm

Ploughgate Creamery

Plymouth Artisan Cheese

Sage Farm

Scholten Family Farm

Shelburne Farms

Spring Brook Farm

Taylor Farm

Thistle Hill Farm

Twig Farm

Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery.

Vermont Shepherd

von Trapp Farmstead

Willow Hill Farm

West River Creamery

Woodcock Farm

Holiday Shopping Tips
For Vermont Cheese

We all know how wonderful Vermont cheeses are but how can you get the best of the best this holiday season, inside and outside of Vermont? See below for all the great places to buy or order Vermont cheese this holiday season!

Retailers: Find a Vermont Cheese Council retailer near you!

On-line/Mail Order Sales
Thistle Hill
Fat Toad Farm
Orb Weaver
Mt. Mansfield Creamery
Twig Farm
Shelburne Farms
Sugarbush Farm
Crowley Cheese
Cabot Creamery  *Every outgoing Cabot package in December includes a card for a free one-year subscription to Vermont Magazine.

Other on-line sites that often feature
and carry Vermont cheese
Murray's Cheese
Saxelby Cheese
Zingerman's
Cow Girl Creamery
Artisan Made Northeast
Culture: the world of cheese: a searchable, and extensive, directory of cheese retailers who handle farmstead, artisan, specialty cheeses, etc.

The Vermont Cheese Club

Sign up for The Vermont Cheese Club and receive a special selection of holiday cheeses this month. Or give someone a gift subscription to the Vermont Cheese Club for one, three or six months. www.vtcheeseclub.com
Sign up now to become a friend of the Vermont Cheese Council and receive a 10% discount for three months with the Vermont Cheese Club.

The Vermont Cheese Club introduces the Cellars of Jasper Hill Holiday Collection. Order by December 18th to receive three cheeses: soft Moses Sleeper (available only for the holidays), delicious Cabot Clothbound Cheddar and mouthwatering Bayley Hazen Blue.

Cheese News

SAVE THE DATE!
Vermont Cheesemaker’s Festival July 25th, 2010,
Shelburne Farms,
Shelburne, VT
www.vtcheesefest.com


Dancing Cow’s new cheese, Lindy Hop is made with uncooled raw cow's milk from a single milking, Lindy Hop is a very approachable, mild, creamy blue with a natural rind. Lindy Hop's unique flavor highlights the high quality raw cow's milk, while adding a bit of spice from the blue veining. Named after a 1920's dance that originated in Harlem, the Lindy Hop was very popular in Blues and Jazz clubs. Aged on farm, a minimum of 60 days.

Mount Mansfield Creamery presents Hayride an Austrian Tomme with a rind washed with whey solution. Also, Mount Mansfield Creamery has teamed up with Molly Pindell of Sage Farm Goat Diary to make a raw milk soft cheese with added herbs named Chapel Lane. A soft bloomy rind with rosemary and lavender available only upon request and for the holiday season.

Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery is crafting a unique and exclusive cheese for the Artisanal Premium Cheese Center in New York. The cheese is called Laurier, see the link for more details.



Crowley Cheese has just released their 2-1/2 lb. wheels in flavors, for the first time, just in time for the holidays.  In addition to Mild and Medium Sharp wheels, they have Garlic Chive, Muffaletta and Sage.  Previously, these were only available in bars or blocks.

Visit the Taylor Farm Store this holiday season. Sleigh rides and an assortment of Vermont artisan cheeses available. The cheese house and farm store are open throughout the winter!

Shelburne Farms
Watch this wonderful video from Shelburne Farms and learn about the farm and their outstanding cheddar:
"From Sun to Cheese at Shelburne Farms"
Part 1 & Part 2

Culture Magazine
Vermont's Champlain Valley Cheesemakers featured in Culture Magazine: Blue Ledge Farm, Crawford Family Farm, Champlain Valley Creamery, Dancing Cow Farm, Orb Weaver, Shelburne Farms and Twig Farm.

"Vermont has the highest number of artisan cheese producers per capita of any state. Still, the density of cheesemaking along this Route 7 corridor is high even by Vermont standards. The Vermont Cheese Council lists 35 members-and nearly a quarter of them are just off this 30-mile stretch of highway."

Castleton Crackers, a Vermont Artisan Cracker company, is now offering a 15% discount on all bulk cases of crackers to Vermont cheesemakers. Thanks Whitney!

Awards

Cabot Creamery Cooperative's Cabot Sharp Cheddar was named Grand Champion at the annual contest of the National Milk Producers Federation, held in Dallas in November. The Cabot Sharp Cheddar entry was also named Best Overall Cheddar and Best of Class for Sharp Cheddar. In addition, Cabot received Best of Class honors for Mild Cheddar and plus awards for both Extra Sharp Cheddar and Horseradish Cheddar. It was the fourth time since 2000 that a Cabot entry was named Grand Champion and nearly represented back-to-back titles. In 2008, Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar was named Best Overall Cheddar, but was edged by an Italian cheese entry for the Grand Champion honor. 

Franklin Foods has received the "Best New Product Award" by the leading industry magazine, Refrigerated & Frozen Foods Retailer, for their new Green Mountain Farms product line. They also received SQF Level 3 Certification, which is the highest level possible.

Events

Sweet Clover Market, Essex

Monday, December 14th 3- 7 pm
Cheese Tasting: Fondue
Perfect for a holiday party. Great with fresh veggies, fruit, bread, and meats. Have fun with fondue!

Saturday, December 19th 11 am - 1:30 pm
Fat Toad Farm and Castleton Crackers
Yummy Castleton Crackers teams up with Fat Toad Farm, makers of fantastic goat cheese and goat’s milk caramel, so you can sample both local cheese and crackers.

Healthy Living, South Burlington
Saturday, December 19th 2:30-5:30
Castleton Crackers and Fat Toad Farm partner up to do a holiday demo of local artisan crackers and cheese!


Mt. Mansfield Creamery, Morrisville Vermont
Tastings every Friday of the month of December at different locations throughout Vermont along with tastings every Wednesday from noon until 2:00 at the creamery. E-mail for more details rugit13@aol.com

January 17-19, 2010
35th Winter Fancy Food Show
Moscone Center, San Franscisco
www.specialtyfood.com

Cheesemaking Classes

Cheesemaking with Peter Dixon
Consider Bardwell Farm, West Pawlet

December 16-17, 2009
Cheesemaking and Affinage: Techniques, microbes and facilities. Exploring the craft of cheese making and ripening. On day one participants will make a tomme cheese. On day two they will follow the steps for ripening this cheese and many others. The focus will be on ripening cultures, bio-reactions, affinage techniques, quality control, and how to design and construct facilities for the many types of cheese.

January 4-5, 2010
Beginners class about cheese making and starting an artisan cheese business. Topics include starting up a creamery; properties of sheep, cow and goat milk and their use in cheese making; making lactic curd cheeses (Chaource and Fromage Blanc) and Tomme; cheese brining; cheese ripening; and financial and marketing information.

The Vermont Institute For Artisan Cheese Classes

Feb 1, 2010 - Feb 3/2010
Essential Principles and Practices of Cheesemaking

Feb 4, 2010
Hygiene and Food Safety in Cheesemaking

Feb 5, 2010
Quality and Chemistry of Milk

Feb 15, - Feb 16, 2010
Cheese Chemistry Short Course

Feb 17, 2010
Starter Cultures

Feb 18, 2010
Basic Sensory Evaluation


Rural Vermont Hosts Cheesemaking Classes 

January 10, 2010
Yogurt & Soft Cheeses
Gillian Comstock, Metta Earth Institute Inc., Lincoln

Recipe of the Month

By Courtney Contos, Executive Chef for Cook Academy

Holiday Blue Cheese Thumbprints
Makes about 30

8-ounces crumbled blue cheese 
Recommended Vermont Blues
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/3  cups  all-purpose flour
1/4  teaspoon  ground red pepper
1/3  cup  cranberry, cherry, or apricot preserves
Parsley leaves

Beat blue cheese, butter, and honey at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add flour and red pepper, beating just until combined. Roll dough into 3/4-inch round balls; cover and chill 15 minutes.

Arrange balls on ungreased baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and press thumb into each ball of dough, leaving an indentation.

Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until golden. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Place about 1/4 teaspoon preserves in each indentation. Garnish with parsley.

As a Friend of the Vermont Cheese Council, we welcome your donations to assist us with our endeavors to improve the production and advancement of Vermont cheese. Your generous support helps us to continue to grow and expand our technical support for members, while providing you with delicious Vermont cheese. Learn more about the benefits of becoming a friend of the Council or sign up now!

As an Associate Member of the Vermont Cheese Council, we welcome all industry related businesses and individuals who see the value in having a strong cheese industry in Vermont. Learn more about the benefits of an Associate Membership on our web site.

For more information, you may contact our main office at: (866) 261-8595 or visit www.vtcheese.com

This newsletter can also be viewed on our website.