In early August, the American Cheese Society held its annual conference and awards program in Montréal.....I can hear all Canadians doing a collective double-take. Did you really mean Montréal, CANADA or is there a Montréal in Wyoming for example? Yes, I really meant our own Montréal. Finally Canada has started to gain some recognition south of the border for a little more than great hockey players and an excellent economic system!
But this was a bit of a strategic move for the American Dairy Industry. Canada is a bit, well let's tell it like it is, A LOT unfamiliar with cheeses that come from the States and like Canada, there has been a real upsurge in small, artisinal cheese makers who are doing some really interesting things. Take this one for example, Barely Buzzed from the Beehive Cheese Company in Utah.
This reads like a modern-day "Green Acres " for those who remember the 60's sit-com, except that it involves two brothers-in-law (Pat and Tim) who decided
to chuck the 9-to-5 (one was in real estate and the other a partner in a softwear company) for cheese making. Launching their business in 2005, they discovered quite by happenstance that their cheddar (Promontory Cheddar, an Irish-style cheddar with a buttery sharpness made with the milk of a single-herd) when rubbed with a coffee/lavender concoction all of a sudden took on a whole new flavour life of its own. I have sampled this cheese to a number of my customers asking for them to identify the flavour. The response has been hickory, spices including nutmeg and allspice but no one has come up with the actual combination. But the overall reaction has been "I'll take some of that!"Barely Buzzed won first place in the Flavoured Cheese category at the ACS and is in stock at C'est Cheese Please!
Just as a side note, Canadian cheese makers did exceptionally well at the ACS winning 73 medals, two of which were Best of Shows!
Bon Appétit!
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