Fine Cheese & Charcuterie July / August 2012

I just returned from the Vermont Cheesemakers’ Festival at Shelbourne Farms on the shores of Lake Champlain. There were cheeses being sampled and offered for sale by local cheesemakers from all over Vermont to an enthusiastic crowd of foodies. It was great to see that there was not only an abundance of great Cheddars, but also many other varieties, made using age-old European techniques with milk from goats, cows and sheep. I was pleased to see so much interest in cheese as well as the wonderful cured meats from Vermont Smoke and Cure.

After leaving such an event, I was left pondering how these cheese consumers would ever remember what they saw and tasted during the festival. Some of the producers represented were household brands that many would know, like Cabot, but there were many small producers that I don’t think I was aware of before.

This past weekend, I also had an interesting conversation with the owner of the local cheese shop in Stowe, Vt., who posed an interesting question to me: “Why is Cheddar cheese yel- low, if the milk we use to make it is white?” What he really wants to know is why do American consumers who come to his store still think that Cheddar should be yellow, and why are they so resistant to buying cheese that is not. He had heard that the history behind coloring cheese yellow goes back to a king wanting cheese made especially for his consumption, and signified as such by being colored as opposed to the white cheese that commoners consumed. If anyone can offer some “color,” so to speak, on this question, we would love to hear from you. Otherwise, I will have to get our resident cheese expert James Mellgren to do some research for all of us.

The point of the conversation was that there still seems to be a distinct need to educate consumers on cheese. We certainly have a growing population of cheese connoisseurs, but they are still in the minority. These outings taught me that we still have more work to do to continue to educate and inspire con- sumers about cheese. This monumental task can’t fall completely on the shoul- ders of suppliers; retailers also need to do their part if we want to continue to grow consumption.

This month we are doing our part to educate our retailers about the fine cheeses of the world. In James Mellgren’s “Passport to Fine Cheese” in this issue, page 12, we analyze what makes a cheese being imported by David Voremberg’s Jana Foods worthy of being declared world champion.

We haven’t left out our cured meat friends this month either, as our feature “Up in Smoke,” page 17, details products preserved through smoking. I do love how the flavors of wood smoking can permeate the food and complement the flavors of the meat, fish or cheese in a surprising way. I hope you enjoy the feature and discover some great new products that demonstrate the art of smoking, and always make a wonderful accompaniment to great cheese.

David Spencer Publisher,

Gourmet Business President,

HousewaresDirect, Inc.

dspencer@gourmetbusiness.com