Details
A salute to the innovation of those giving proper care and attention to the source of their creations. Each of these producers tells a story of time and place. We highlight a rich raw Jersey cow’s milk washed rind cheese from Meadow Creek Dairy, decadent raw cow’s milk blue from Great Hill Blue and from Consider Bardwell Farms, an aged alpine style from the raw milk of Jersey cows. We continue on with handcrafted salame from Creminelli Fine Meats, spiced pickled fruits from Boat Street Pickles, and crispy rustic crackers from Castleton Cracker Company. Invite these producers to your table.
Grayson
Meadow Creek Dairy, Galax, Virginia, Raw Cow’s Milk
A proper diet of pasture grasses allow the Jersey cows at Meadow Creek Dairy to produce rich, flavorful milk, the key to the foundation of their cheeses. Grayson is of the washed-rind variety, named after the county the farm is in, and was inspired by a visit to Wales and Ireland made by cheesemakers Helen & Rick Feete in 2000. The cheese is seasonal and aged for a minimum of 60 days in their cellar. This aging and washing of the rind produces a funkier cheese with strong notes of dark chocolate, cream and roasted meats.
Great Hill Blue
Great Hill Dairy, Marion, Massachusetts, Raw Cow’s Milk
This creamery is located 50 miles south of Boston in picturesque Buzzard’s Bay. Their herd of Guernsey cows produce the raw milk for this smooth and creamy non-homogenized blue. Each cheese mold is hand filled after the curds are cut, achieving undamaged curds and proper whey drainage for a consistent texture in every six pound wheel that they produce.
Rupert
Consider Bardwell Farms, West Pawlet, Vermont, Raw Cow’s Milk
This cheese is crafted on the first ever Vermont cheese co-operative, founded in 1864 by Consider Stebbins Bardwell. Today they craft their cheeses from cow’s milk from three surrounding dairies, whose herds are rotation fed on pesticide and fertilizer-free pasture grasses. Rupert is an alpine style aged cheese fashioned from raw Jersey cow’s milk, aged for a minimum of 6 months and named after one of Vermont’s oldest towns.
Casalingo
Creminelli Fine Meats, Salt Lake City, Utah
Casalingo is Cristiano Creminelli’s “house” (“casa”) style. The family label in the Italian Alps is Salumifico di Vigliano, but Cristiano brought the family traditions (and recipes) to the United States in 2005. Delicately spiced with salt, pepper and garlic, this pork salame is cured to a softer texture than you may be used to, producing a chewy and flavorful bite.
Pickled Fruits
Boat Street Pickles, Seattle, Washington
Chef Renee Erickson opened her small cafe in Seattle with the goal of marrying French culinary technique with seasonal ingredients sourced in the Pacific Northwest. She began pickling anything she could lay her hands on to preserve the bounty of the seasons as well as supply the restaurant. These were met with such rave reviews that she has turned her pickling into a side business. These pickled fruits are the perfect blend of sweet and savory and incorporate the same focus on seasonality that Erickson derives for her restaurant.
Castleton Crackers
Whitney’s Castleton Crackers, Castleton, Vermont
17th century soldiers and sailors would frequently dine on Hardtack, a thick cracker-like bread that endured arduous journeys well. Around this same time period baker Josiah Bent began a fashion of baking a thinner version for the general public and today Whitney Lamy has greatly improved that recipe, but still makes her crackers in this tradition: rolling them out and cracking them by hand. Thick enough to be sturdy and thin enough for a snack on their own, these artisan crackers are perfect alone or paired.
Grayson
Meadow Creek Dairy, Galax, Virginia, Raw Cow’s Milk
A proper diet of pasture grasses allow the Jersey cows at Meadow Creek Dairy to produce rich, flavorful milk, the key to the foundation of their cheeses. Grayson is of the washed-rind variety, named after the county the farm is in, and was inspired by a visit to Wales and Ireland made by cheesemakers Helen & Rick Feete in 2000. The cheese is seasonal and aged for a minimum of 60 days in their cellar. This aging and washing of the rind produces a funkier cheese with strong notes of dark chocolate, cream and roasted meats.
Great Hill Blue
Great Hill Dairy, Marion, Massachusetts, Raw Cow’s Milk
This creamery is located 50 miles south of Boston in picturesque Buzzard’s Bay. Their herd of Guernsey cows produce the raw milk for this smooth and creamy non-homogenized blue. Each cheese mold is hand filled after the curds are cut, achieving undamaged curds and proper whey drainage for a consistent texture in every six pound wheel that they produce.
Rupert
Consider Bardwell Farms, West Pawlet, Vermont, Raw Cow’s Milk
This cheese is crafted on the first ever Vermont cheese co-operative, founded in 1864 by Consider Stebbins Bardwell. Today they craft their cheeses from cow’s milk from three surrounding dairies, whose herds are rotation fed on pesticide and fertilizer-free pasture grasses. Rupert is an alpine style aged cheese fashioned from raw Jersey cow’s milk, aged for a minimum of 6 months and named after one of Vermont’s oldest towns.
Casalingo
Creminelli Fine Meats, Salt Lake City, Utah
Casalingo is Cristiano Creminelli’s “house” (“casa”) style. The family label in the Italian Alps is Salumifico di Vigliano, but Cristiano brought the family traditions (and recipes) to the United States in 2005. Delicately spiced with salt, pepper and garlic, this pork salame is cured to a softer texture than you may be used to, producing a chewy and flavorful bite.
Pickled Fruits
Boat Street Pickles, Seattle, Washington
Chef Renee Erickson opened her small cafe in Seattle with the goal of marrying French culinary technique with seasonal ingredients sourced in the Pacific Northwest. She began pickling anything she could lay her hands on to preserve the bounty of the seasons as well as supply the restaurant. These were met with such rave reviews that she has turned her pickling into a side business. These pickled fruits are the perfect blend of sweet and savory and incorporate the same focus on seasonality that Erickson derives for her restaurant.
Castleton Crackers
Whitney’s Castleton Crackers, Castleton, Vermont
17th century soldiers and sailors would frequently dine on Hardtack, a thick cracker-like bread that endured arduous journeys well. Around this same time period baker Josiah Bent began a fashion of baking a thinner version for the general public and today Whitney Lamy has greatly improved that recipe, but still makes her crackers in this tradition: rolling them out and cracking them by hand. Thick enough to be sturdy and thin enough for a snack on their own, these artisan crackers are perfect alone or paired.