This week, we’re all about Vermont. Vermont wines, Vermont cheeses, Vermont everything. I’m hopping on the Vermont train because I’m inspired by all these tasty products, and also, I LOVE the Vermont train. I wish could hop on an actual train to the northern climes right now, ski a while, get a beer, sit in front of a fire ... sounds pretty nice.

Vermont produces so many cheeses we can’t live without. For example, I am writing this in my kitchen and am distracted because I know there’s a piece of Carefully, made by Parish Hill Creamery, sitting in my fridge and I want it. I need it! … Ok, phew, I have it in front of me, now I can write.

Lately, I have started to wonder how Vermont became known for its cheese. If you ask someone what states come to mind when they think of American made cheese, I guarantee they’ll say Vermont and Wisconsin. Even though Vermont isn’t in the top ten cheese producing states anymore, it is still foremost in our minds as a place of cheese. After reading some cheese books, here are my findings:

Firstly, this is because of Vermont’s long dairy history. Cheesemaking came across the ocean with the Puritans to (what would become) Massachusetts in the 1600s. Production at the beginning was very small, though. The few families that had a cow made the cheese they remembered from home, aka England, which was usually firm, tangy, and a bit crumbly. The Revolutionary War caused much chaos and mayhem, so some of these farmers moved to the more peaceful north, bringing cheesemaking to Vermont.

This leads us to the second reason Vermont holds its place as one of THE places for cheese. It is essential to Vermont’s economy. Dairy farming has been a core industry since the 1700s and continues to make up three quarters of Vermont’s agricultural revenue. Sadly, with falling milk prices, we lost almost a quarter of Vermont’s dairy farms, usually small and family owned, between 2004 and 2012.

To help Vermont’s dairy farm community, the state government and cheesemakers are making a concerted effort to ensure Vermont retains its reputation as one of the great places for cheese. More customers for Vermont cheese mean more dairy farmers stay in business, which means we get even MORE good cheese, which means even MORE dairy farmers stay in business … You get it. It’s a beautiful cycle supported by some good marketing (see my t-shirt above) that’s backed by seriously good cheese. It is very easy to tell someone they should buy something when it tastes amazing and can save a small farmer’s livelihood.

ON THAT NOTE, buy Vermont cheese! It’s really friggin awesome. A couple of my favorites are, of course, this Carefully I’ve housed while writing, Mt. Alice, which I’ve housed while writing many other newsletters, and Bear Hill. I’m a bit addicted to Bear hill because it tastes like fresh, sweet hay smells and lots of nutty brown butter. Yummy! So Vermont, keep doing what you’re doing, we love it!

For the love of cheese and our northern neighbors,

Kiri

P.S. I’ve had my eye on these rye chocolate chip cookies from cook Aaron Hutcherson’s blog, and I think it’s time to give them a go. I’ll probably halve the sugar and double the chocolate as it my way as a chocolate obsessed individual.

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