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 5 w i n t e r / s p r i n g 2 0 1 6 | 6 5 talking about them. e story of Jasper Hill Farm and their phenomenal cheese aging cel- lars is a remarkable one, and their ongoing commitment to their staff, their dairy partners and sustainable business growth is inspirational. Above all, the incredibly high quality of their cheeses is consistent, and I for one remain grateful of their efforts to distribute their exceptional cheeses throughout the U.S. To choose just one favorite from Jasper Hill? Utterly impossible. Is it the bright, grassy semi-firm Landaff or the creamy texture and stunning visual of the Harbison? Perhaps today it is the flavorful Von Trapp's OMA, a monumental wash rind by global standards. Be sure to try one of our nation's greatest blue cheeses, Bayley Hazen, a veritable "sweet & sour" of fruity tones and spice. ankfully, there are always multiple cheeses to try and return to from Jasper Hill. e landscape for farmstead cheese across the United States is vast. From Vermont to Wisconsin to Texas to Oregon, the farmstead cheese movement has never been more exciting. e quality of cheeses that I discovered on my New England tour astounded and thrilled me. e key to finding and enjoying them lies only in minor amounts of digging. First, seek out farmstead cheeses—raw milk cheeses made by the people that care for the animals and the land; second, ask your local cheesemonger to make suggestions for fine farmstead American cheese. Chances are, like me, they will adore the cheese that they recommend and be smitten by the story of the people who made it and the farm that it comes from. Top: Named for an old military road commissioned by George Washington during the Revolutionary War, the Bayley Hazen Blue is a Jasper Hill Farm favorite. Bottom: Wheels of young Harbi- son are wrapped in strips of spruce cambium, the tree's inner bark layer, harvested from the woodlands of Jasper Hill. The dairy barn at Jasper Hill Farm, where their herd of about 45 pasture- raised Ayrshire cows are milked twice a day. COURTESY OF JASPER HILL FARM New England Cheeses Worth Seeking Out ASCUTNEY MOUNTAIN, Cobb Hill Cheese, Hartland, VT (raw cow's milk, Alpine style) MAGGIE'S ROUND, Cricket Creek Farm, Williamstown, MA (raw cow's milk, Alpine style) INSPIRATION, Mt. Mansfield Creamery, Morrisville, VT (raw cow's milk, local beer wash rind) ALPAGE, Chaseholm Farm, Pine Plains, NY (raw cow's milk, Alpine style) BAYLEY HAZEN BLUE, Jasper Hill Farm, Greensboro, VT (raw cow's milk, blue veined) COOMERSDALE, Bonnieview Farm, South Albany, VT (raw sheep's milk, Pyrenees-style) LAKE'S EDGE, Blue Ledge Farm, Salisbury,VT (raw goat's milk, Loire bloomy ash-style) PHOTOS COURTESY OF JASPER HILL FARM