Cheese of the Month: Oldwick Shepherd

Last year, Valley Shepherd Creamery in New Jersey appeared on my radar and quickly became a favorite source for rustic, raw-milk cheese. This Pecorino-style wedge made from the milk of pasture-raised sheep is a good choice for February, when your disposition needs sweetening and your palate craves dense, nutty cheeses. Tuck a wedge of Oldwick Shepherd into your down vest pocket and go for a walk in the woods. Pair this with a flask of scotch, and you’ve got a mood lifter—call it the ultimate stay-cation package.

Oldwick Shepherd has a natural (edible) rind and a dense paste like a Pecorino, but it tastes more like a cave-aged Gruyère crossed with a clothbound cheddar. The wheel I tried was caramel-sweet and herby; near the rind, I detected pronounced walnut notes. Unlike other sheep cheeses, there isn’t a muttony finish. As one friend from the Garden State recently told me, “This cheese makes me proud to be from New Jersey.” 

—Tenaya Darlington,
madamefromage.blogspot.com

Look for cheeses from Valley Shepherd Creamery at Di Bruno Bros. and Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal Market. Valley Shepherd Creamery, 50 Fairmount Rd., Long Valley, N.J. valleyshepherd.com;
908-876-3200

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Cheese of the Month: Blue Suede Moo

Around the holidays, Blue Suede Moo has become my local go-to Stilton impersonator. Like its famous British counterpart, it’s straw colored with beautiful indigo veining, densely packed beneath a cobblestone-like rind. One whiff, and you smell a burlap sack full of walnuts. One taste, and your mouth fills with toasty nuts and portobello mushrooms. The finish is like green branches on your tongue.

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Cheese of the Month: Valley Thunder

Valley Thunder is a cheese with a split personality, pairing the sweet-as-evening smell of a Parmigiano with the bright bite of a true cheddar. Raw sheep’s and cow’s milk collude in this heartthrob from Valley Shepherd Creamery.

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Cheese of the Month: Puddle Duck Creek

If you’re a fan of Beatrix Potter, then you probably remember Jemima Puddle Duck, a character in many Peter Rabbit stories. If there’s a young reader in your house, this might be the perfect time to introduce this tender morsel of cheese with a pleasing, grassy character.

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Cheese of the Month: Old Man Highlander

Calkins creamery in honesdale makes a brie-style cheese called Noble Road that has garnered a cult following. But the creamery also produces a Gouda-style heartthrob with a nutty swagger, which is just as fabulous. If Robert Redford were a cheese, he’d be this one. Old Man Highlander even has a leathery exterior. Inside though, it’s all walnuts and sweet cream, thanks to the unpasteurized milk of Delaware River Valley Holsteins.

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Cheese of the Month: Red Cat

If you’re looking for a bold cheese to pair with beer, reach for Red Cat from Birchrun Hills Farm. This classic washed-rind stinker from Sue Miller isn’t as bossy as a ripe Epoisses—a pungent French delicacy—but it has the same creamy texture and beefy character. Think of stewed meat and bitter greens. The slightly astringent finish makes this cheese an ideal pairing for the rustic hoppiness and grapefruity twang of a Yards Pale Ale. For something gentler and smoother, try Red Cat alongside a pint of Slyfox Saison VOS. Loaded with apricot and honey notes, this saison softens Red Cat’s growl into a luxurious purr.

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Cheese of the Month: Hummingbird

When Kristian Holbrook named his mixed-milk robiola “Hummingbird,” he couldn’t have chosen a more perfect image. Like its namesake bird, this soft cheese is bright and delicate, with a nectar-like flavor profile that calls to mind vanilla and citrus. At one week, Hummingbird has the consistency of airy cheesecake; at three, the center liquefies and gains pungency.

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Cheese of the Month: Keswick Creamery Quark

Keswick Creamery Quark
If you like baking with cream cheese, you should know about quark. Chances are you haven’t heard of it—unless you have relatives in Germany or Poland—

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Cheese of the Month: Tomme de Linden Dale

When I stopped by Andrew Mellinger’s stand at the Rittenhouse Farmers’ Market, he was sold out of his goat Tomme. Fortunately he still had toothpick samples, and it was so good that I convinced him to sell me his display wheel.

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Cheese of the Month: Hidden Hills Dairy's Boltonfeta

Lori Sollenberger owns eight cows. From that limited milk supply, she makes eight different kinds of cheese, including a sharp, salty feta. It pairs beautifully with tomatoes, onion-heavy salads and even watermelon. “Just crumble some feta over the melon and add chopped mint,” she advises.

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