Some of you may have caught my blog entry about attending the Science of Artisan Cheese Conference in the UK in September last year. If you did, this is to follow up and let you know that co-sponsors Neal’s Yard Dairy and the Specialist Cheesemakers Association have now uploaded videos of the conference presentations given by several of the eminent dairy scientists and cheesemakers who were able to attend.

If one needed any proof, the recent—and very well-deserved—success of American cheeses at the World Cheese Awards competition in Birmingham, UK, bears testament to the meteoric rise of artisanal cheesemaking in the United States over recent years.

The last two decades have seen a remarkable rise both in the number of people embarking on a career in cheesemaking as well as the number of cheeses produced. This fact is borne out in the crucibles of various cheese competitions with huge increases in the number of entries submitted each year. Not only that, but the quality and consistency of the cheeses is constantly improving too.

Today's competition and record entry of 2,785 cheeses for the 2012 World Cheese Awards was first whittled down to 55 cheeses that qualified for the prestigious award of Super Gold. Among them were (hurrah!) three cheeses from American cheesemakers: Baetje Farms, Jasper Hill and Rogue Creamery, with the latter two (with Harbison and Rogue River Blue) making it through to the final round of judging of only sixteen cheeses.

Rogue Creamery also went on to win Best American Cheese, with David Gremmels present to receive the award (see picture).

The first ever Conference on the Science of Artisan cheese was held at the end of last month in the beautiful setting of North Cadbury Court in Somerset, also home to famed Montgomery’s cheddar.

This was a non-profit initiative, co-sponsored by Neal’s Yard Dairy and the Specialist Cheesemakers Association in the UK, with the concept being the idea that if the dialog between cheesemakers and scientists is expanded and enriched, both parties will benefit. The goal of the conference was to bring together scientists studying the basic principles upon which successful cheesemaking depends with practitioners at the artisan level.

In addition to scientists and cheesemakers, there was also broad participation from the industry and public health professionals, for whom a thorough understanding of the principles of raw milk cheese production are of great importance.

Hello Cheese Enthusiasts!

 I must say, I was slightly disappointed with the first shipment of cheese, but I told myself that the whole point of me getting free cheese was to help improve it, not to give useless critique.

 Well, after reading Anne's post on the much anticipated new cheese, I was completely disheartened. I was hoping for a better cheese the second time around. So, I put the "failure" out of mind and went on with my daily life of tiring school, even more tiring homework, and brief, yet wonderful, sleep.

 After one particularly grueling day, I came home and saw that beautiful little package in my refrigerator. I had to try. I could not leave it sitting there any longer!

 I believe John adequately described the appearance of the two slices, so I'll elaborate on the texture, aroma, and flavor.

I took a 3-week trip to Florida and North Carolina in July and August, but got back to Chicago in time for the second shipment of samples in Culture's Birth of a Cheese Project 2012. New information has emerged, too, about the cheese we are birthin.' 

Sunday, August 26, 2012; 1:40 p.m. I’ve been thinking about Jasper Hill’s new cheese off and on ever since my two samples arrived on Friday around noon. They were eagerly anticipated both because of the delays-in-sending and because I hoped they’d arrive before I went out for the afternoon, so they wouldn’t have to sit on my porch in the 90-degree heat.They did but had to be deposited in the fridge till Saturday morning, when I followed the instructions on the emailed “Round 2” form and let them warm up to room temperature for a couple of hours.

It was nice to get an explanation of the numbering system this time around, and I also noticed the cheese now had a name--Alpha Tolman--printed in rather small letters between bars on the round blue stick-on tag.

My housemate and I were preparing for a big weekend party last Friday when my first Birth of A Cheese 2012 sample package arrived. Once the cheeses reached room temperature, I set about sniffing, tasting and analyzing while other fellas laid bricks, built flower beds, and mowed the backyard. Perfect timing, I thought. This all happened in a Chicago Bungalow that also serves as headquarters for Cheese and Cheers, a blog that I .. er.. maintain at www.cheeseandcheers.com.  The blog’s subject matter is all things near the intersection of cheese and beer, and my name is Dave Phillips.

April was National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month and The Lady and I, your humble Feline Foodie, promised 30 new grilled cheese recipes… alas… to mis-quote the late, great John Lennon… “we had grilled cheese plans and then life got in the way”… so even into mid-May, we are still posting grilled cheese recipes… this one today is #26 and as with the last, this is actually an open-faced cheese melt.

The Lady took Jasper Hill Farm’s sample #120125 to make her latest cheese sammy…

Using Original La Panzanella Croccantini for her bread base, she topped it with Prosciutto and then JHF’s sample #120125. She sprinkled a little rosemary on top.

She popped it in the toaster oven and three minutes later… ta da… we had dinner.

Another terrific grilled/open-faced sammy for the grilled cheese recipe vaults and future reference… living with The Lady does have at least one good side… Cheese, Glorious Cheese…

-- Spaulding Gray, The Feline Foodie, for Marcella (The Lady)

I rarely measure my ingredients and even when I do… it’s “sorta” that amount. Today, while watching The Players’ Championship, I made a mac n cheese using the 111228 sample, which was the largest of the three I received.

Here’s what I did: