Canada Day

Canada Day is just around the corner!  And since no celebration would be complete without a selection of cheeses, I would like to suggest a cheese board representing the founding provinces of Canada with one exception and that is Nova Scotia.  There is a wonderful cheese from this province but unfortunately it is not licensed to sell outside of Nova Scotia.  So I have instead selected a cheese from Prince Edward Island which although that province didn't join the confederation until 1873, it was the site of the Charlottetown Conference in 1863 which set the groundwork for the founding of the most wonderful country in the world, Canada!

So without further adieu, here is the selection of cheeses for your Canada Day cheeseboard.  All are available at C'est Cheese Please!

• Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar (PEI) - this thermalized milk cheddar is made in a typically British fashion by binding the wheel of cheese with cloth (this keeps the moisture in the cheese) and since this is from PEI, the cloth that is used are potato sacks!  This gives an earthy taste to the cheese.  Aged 12 months.  Award winning (First prize - American Cheese Society Conference, 2012, Second prize - American Cheese Society Conference, 2013)
• Gai Bleu (New Brunswick) - a raw milk blue that is velvety on the tongue and earthy in taste from La Bergerie  Aux 4 Vents in Camp Doré.  It is named for the Blue Jay's that made the farm their home.
• Le 1608 - Charlevoix region of Québec, this wash-rind cheese is made from the milk of the oldest breed of cattle in Canada, the Canadienne.  This breed is directly descended from a few hundred cattle brought from Normandy and Brittany 400 years ago!  More Canadian than maple syrup!
• Lindsay Clothbound Goat Cheddar - this goat cheddar is aged 12 months.  Creamy, buttery and with that tangy goat cheese flavour, it is no wonder it took Second Place for Best of Show at the 2011 American Cheese Society Conference.

Happy Canada Day!  Joyeux Jour du Canada!