Awards for Hoard’s: Farm Creamery cheeses win over tough judges

Every dairy enthusiast knows that cream rises to the top — but cheese can make its up there, too. Every year, the lucky experts at the American Cheese Society (ACS) get to taste and evaluate some of the nation’s best cheeses — upwards of 1,600 entries in varieties that range from curds to Colby, Muenster to Mozzarella, and everything in between. And although that may sound like the ideal gig, rest assured these lab-coated judges take their duties seriously: cheeses are evaluated based on technical and aesthetic aspects — flavor, texture, aroma, visual appeal, and more. Each cheese earns technical and aesthetic scores based on its merits, rather than pitting product against product; that way, every sample is given a fair shake. And with more than 120 categories, there’s a place on the metaphorical charcuterie board of competition for all.

This year’s competition garnered two awards for Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery cheese, which is crafted from the Wisconsin herd’s Guernsey milk:

Governor’s Select Cheddar, which already made the podium in a previous ACS competition, took this year’s third place prize among cow’s milk Cheddars aged through 12 months. In this category, ASC’s Standards of Excellence include hitting just the right balance of sweet, nutty, salt, and acid in the cheese’s flavor profile. Texture, body, and moisture level also needed to be on point; the process to make Cheddar requires care to achieve all three. Hoard’s Governor’s Select Cheddar’s advantage might just lie in the Guernsey milk used to achieve its creamy consistency and savory taste.

Also scoring high for both its flavor and presentation is Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery Port Salut-style Belaire Cheese. In the Open Category for American-Made, International-Style cheeses, this mild, rich cheese took third place. Here, the expert evaluators were in search of cheeses with clean, cows’ milk flavor and saltiness that didn’t overpower the classic expected flavors of the variety. Port Salut-style cheeses such as Belaire should be soft with a mild, appealing flavor that was first perfected by the 19th-century Trappist monks of Port-du-Salut in Entremmes, Brittany. Hoard’s version not only pleased the tasting judges but also scored high for its aesthetic appeal — it has a buttery yellow interior with a bright orange rind, a classic Port Salut appearance made even more distinctive by Guernsey milk. 

Hungry for more? Check out our variety of cheeses, learn the history behind the Guernsey cows that make up our herd, and find cheese-centric recipes that’ll hit the spot.