Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/648009
w i n t e r / s p r i n g 2 0 1 6 | 6 3 w i n t e r / s p r i n g 2 0 1 6 | 6 3 w i n t e r / s p r i n g 2 0 1 6 | 6 3 OF NEW ENGLAND FARMS & CREAMERIES My cheese "studies" have brought me infinite gas- tronomic joy; everywhere I go, I wonder whether there is a compelling cheese made there. In my opinion, the United States of America has been producing incredible cheeses for decades. All across the U.S., farmstead cheese is receiving the praise and commercial success that it deserves. is summer, I spent time in New England and learned about several producers. Our road trip through Massachusetts, eastern New York, Vermont, New Hamp- shire and Maine was an endless discovery; the concentra- tion of great cheese producers is remarkable. Of course there are larger producers whose cheeses may be found around the country; they produce enough cheese to maintain national distribution, but there are many, many others who genuinely are small family farms and the vol- ume of their cheese production is limited. Many of these producers sell their cheeses at their farms; several of the producers that I visited had an "honor box" to leave your cash. Furthermore, most producers attend weekly farm- ers markets and sell direct to consumers on-site as well as sell directly to restaurants and cheese shops in the greater New England area. Cricket Creek Farm is located in Williamstown, Mas- sachusetts, in the beautiful Berkshire Mountains, in the northwestern part of the state. It is a bucolic place and a productive farm; in addition to cheese they sell their raw milk, butter, eggs, grass-fed beef and whey-fed pork. But I was largely aer the cheese, and tasted their cheeses oen on my trip. Suzy Konecky, the young Cornell University–educated cheese-maker at Cricket Creek Farm cras upwards of six unique cheeses, but there are two that really stand out. e first is a square wash rind cheese called Tobasi. It is aged 2–4 months and has a rich, custardy texture with mild but savory flavor. A signature Brown Smith and Jersey cows graze at Cricket Creek Farm, the small grass-based farm located in Williamstown, MA. PHOTOS COURTESY OF CRICKET CREEK FARM Racks of cheese aging in the cellars at Cricket Creek farm in William- stown, MA. COURTESY OF CRICKET CREEK FARM BY CHRISTIE DUFAULT