Every year, the American Cheese Society (ACS), which strives to raise the quality and availability of artisan, farmstead, and specialty cheese in the Americas, hosts a world-renowned cheese judging and competition. This year, the competition was held in Richmond, Virginia, with expert judges considering 1,742 entries of cheeses and cultured dairy products from 257 companies, representing 35 U.S. states, four Canadian provinces, Mexico and Brazil. We’re happy to announce that six Pennsylvania cheese makers were among medal winners, including two gold medals going to Goat Rodeo Farm & Dairy and Calkins Creamery.
Goat Rodeo’s Bambooze won a gold medal in the “Washed Rind Cheeses aged more than 60 days, up to 42% moisture, made from mixed, or other, milks” category. This semi-soft goat and cow milk cheese is aged for at least two months and washed with beer from Pittsburgh’s Cinderlands Beer Co. Goat Rodeo is a 130-acre family-owned farm located near Pittsburgh in northern Allegheny County. Goat Rodeo raises a herd of alpine and Nubian dairy goats. Using milk from the goats and sometimes buying cow’s milk from local farms, Goat Rodeo makes fresh and aged cheeses using traditional techniques and artisan methods.
Calkins Creamery, from Honesdale in Wayne County, PA, took home two prizes. Its big first-place win was in the “Soft-Riped Cheese, Brie made from cow’s milk” category. The winning cheese, Noblette, is the miniature version of its Noble Road, a soft-ripened cheese, naturally ripened with white blooms at the creamery.
Calkins Creamery Noble Road
It also won a 2nd-place award for its Calkins Curdz, fresh cheese curds made during the holiday season in the “Fresh Unripened Cheese: Cheese Curds, All milks” category. Calkins Creamery, owned by Emily Bryant and her husband, Jay Montgomery, makes small-batch, fine, artisan cheeses with milk from their herd of Holstein cattle (the cattle gets to spend an abundant amount of time outdoors).
In other categories, PA Cheeses also got to shine:
- In the “American Made/International Style, Dutch-style (Gouda, Edam, etc.), all milks” category, Farmer Rudolph’s Creamery won second place for its Sir Farmer Cheese. (Lebanon, PA)
- In the “Fresh Unripened Cheeses, Mascarpone and Cream Cheese, made from cow’s milk” category, Savencia Cheese USA won both second and third places, for its Smithfield Cream Cheese, Un-Whipped and its Smithfield Cream Cheese, Whipped, respectively. (New Holland, PA)
- In the “Goat’s Milk Cheese Aged 31 to 60 days” category, Yellow Springs Farm won 3rd place for its Black Diamond, a ripe cheese coated in vegetable ash. It also won a 3rd place prize for its Blue Velvet, a pungent goat milk blue cheese akin to gorgonzola, in the category of “Mold Cheeses: Blue-veined with a rind or external coating, made from goat’s milk.” (Chester Springs, PA)
- Revittle also won two awards: a 2nd-place nod for its Tomme, made from fresh, raw, whole sheep milk and aged for three months. in the “Farmstead Category, Aged 60 days or more, 39% or higher moisture, made from cow’s milk.” Its Shepherd’s Delight, a Tomme-style table cheese reminiscent of farmer’s cheese, took 2nd place in the “Farmstead Category Aged 60 days or more, made from sheep’s milk” category.
Cheese from Yellow Springs Farm
Though not PA-produced, it’s worth noting that the competition’s “Best of Show” winner was “Stockinghall,” from Murray’s Cheese in New York. Second place “Best of Show” went to “Professor’s Brie” from Wegmans Food Markets, and third place “Best of Show” was awarded to “Aries” from Shooting Star Creamery in Paso Robles, California.
For more information, and a full list of winners, head to the American Cheese Society’s website. Congratulations to all of the Pennsylvania cheese makers who performed so well on this national stage!
- Feature photo and Noble Road Photo: Casey Martin Photography for Cider Culture
- Yellow Springs photo: Nina Lea Photography
