With pandemic disruptions now mostly in the rearview mirror, American cheesemakers are creating again. In a promising sign for the domestic artisan cheese scene, a few new creameries are gaining traction, and established producers are launching new items that look like keepers. To keep your cheese case on the cutting edge, keep your eyes out for these ten noteworthy newcomers. May is American Cheese Month, a good time to lean into the theme and promote “Made in America.”
Apricity from Alemar Cheese Company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a four-ounce Geotrichum-rinded cow cheese from an urban creamery already acclaimed for its Camembert-like Bent River. Minneapolis monger Liz Nerud described Apricity as “a rich, soft-ripened cupcake.” Another Minnesota monger, Benjamin Roberts at France 44 in Minneapolis, called it “bright and buttery” and said it’s compatible with just about any accoutrements. It won an American Cheese Society blue ribbon in 2023.
Blakesville Creamery, based in Port Washington, Wisconsin, has racked up a crazy number of ribbons since its debut in 2020. Cheesemaker Veronica Pedraza has a lengthy cheesemaking resume that includes retail stints, so she understands what works at the counter. Farmstead goat cheese is the focus at Blakesville, with standouts including Shabby Shoe, a two-pounder with a Geotrichum rind and mild, lemony flavor; Linedeline, a tangier, four-pound wheel with an ashed rind and interior ash line and a mushroom aroma; and St. Germain, a Garrotxa-like wheel matured for four to five months, with a natural rind.
Faultline is the newest creation from Central Coast Creamery in Paso Robles, California, makers of well-distributed cheeses like Holey Cow, Seascape, and Dream Weaver. Cheesemaker Reggie Jones said his goal was an affordable, well-aged cow’s milk wheel to replace Ewenique, a sheep cheese he had to abandon when he lost his milk supply. Faultline is a stylistic hybrid, said Jones, merging characteristics of Cheddar, Gouda, and alpine cheese. It has a crumbly Cheddar-like texture, with the caramel notes of an aged Gouda and the roasted-onion and walnut aromas of Gruyère.
Finback is surely among the most distinctive new American cheeses, an outstanding aged cow’s milk wheel from Mystic Cheese in Groton, Connecticut. Inspired by French Cantal and British Lancashire, cheesemaker Brian Civitello aspired to make a large wheel with uncooked milled curd from two batches. This method is rapidly disappearing, said Civitello, because it is slow, painstaking, and not suited to modern production schedules, but he believes it produces some of the world’s most compelling cheeses. Compelling is certainly an appropriate descriptor for Finback, a 13-pound wheel with a natural rind, a crumbly texture, and mouthwatering acidity. Released at seven months, it has aromas of warm butter, buttermilk, and yogurt and a complex, brothy flavor. Finback makes a statement, pushing back against the tidal wave of new cheeses with sweet and fruity flavors.
Golden Gate from Marin French Cheese Company in Petaluma, California is a half-pound beauty with a sunset-hued rind, thanks to Brevibacterim linens in the brine wash. No annatto is used. Made with cream-enriched cow’s milk and matured for about two weeks before release, Golden Gate has a thin, crunchy rind, and the plush texture of a double-cream cheese. The aroma is politely garlicky and beefy but not super pungent; if you want more funk, let the wheel ripen beyond its best-by date.
Perrystead Dairy, launched in 2021 in Philadelphia, specializes in small, high-moisture cow’s milk cheeses with short ripening times. Cheesemaker Yoav Perry prides himself on not mimicking cheeses from Europe and giving each of his creations an original twist. Intergalactic, a 3-1/2-ounce cube with a wrinkly Geotrichum rind, is coagulated with thistle rennet. Atlantis, an 8-ounce wheel, is washed with sterilized sea water “just to be playful,” said Perry. There’s some konbu in the wash as well, imparting “a little beachy whiff,” he said. Not surprisingly, given the creamery’s location, Perry is also making a variation on cream cheese, christened The Real Philly. Made from whole milk, with no added cream, it has half the butterfat and twice the protein of conventional cream cheese, said Perry. “It’s like lightly whipped cream cheese and fromage blanc and really tangy.”
Queen of the Woods, from Green Dirt Farm in Weston, Missouri, debuted in 2021 as a mixed-milk cheese but is now 100 percent sheep’s milk, making this bark-wrapped cheese even more luscious. The creamery produces it only for three months in the fall, when the sheep’s milk is particularly concentrated, and releases it after five to six weeks. Its high cost may be a consideration at some counters, but owner Sarah Hoffman said the reception has been good for this spoonable newbie. At nine ounces, it’s a one-sitting cheese for four. The creamery suggests warming it briefly to make it even more gooey.
Quinta, a spruce bark-wrapped disk from Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese in Petaluma, California, is a Vacherin Mont d’Or-style creation made with the creamery’s own cow’s milk and decorated with California bay leaves. Made in two sizes—5 ounce and 10 ounce—the bloomy-rind Quinta becomes more supple and aromatic with age. Released at 20 to 40 days, it’s buttermilk-scented and only faintly woodsy. Over time, it develops aromas of mushrooms, mustard, bacon and forest floor. At 75 days, you can slice off the top horizontally and scoop out the fondue-like interior.
Sneek 1000-Day Gouda is not a new item for the 15-year-old Frisian Farms in Leighton, Iowa, but the producer only recently, and somewhat reluctantly, engaged a distributor. Brad Dubé of Food Matters Again persuaded the small creamery to ramp up production of Sneek (pronounced “snake”), the extra-aged version of its young Gouda. Brothers Mike and Jason Bandstra grew up on a dairy farm and started their own enterprise in 2008. Given their Dutch heritage (Sneek, in the Friesland province, is their ancestral village), Gouda was the obvious choice when they launched cheesemaking. The creamery sells most of its production young, but a handful of wheels receive extended aging, developing a butterscotch aroma and abundant protein crystals.
Walpole, from Wm. Cofield Cheesemakers in Sebastopol, CA, is the most recent entry in the domestic raclette niche. Michigan’s Leelanau Raclette is the veteran. Mount Raclette from Wisconsin’s Alpinage Cheese and Whitney from Vermont’s Jasper Hill Farms have recently helped to flesh out this slim category. Made with raw organic cow’s milk, Walpole spends three to four months at the Sonoma County creamery and receives regular washings of brine with B. linens. Wm. Cofield specializes in British-style cheeses, but the pandemic upheaval persuaded owner Keith Adams to explore a style that matured faster than Cheddar. An early batch of raclette sold briskly at the creamery shop so it’s now part of the mix.
Image: Janet Fletcher/Planet Cheese