Todays Featured Cheese: Aged White Cheddar
This Aged White Cheddar is a favorite for its bold flavor and everyday versatility. Made with milk from our farm, it has a smooth crumbly texture and a rich savory taste that stands out without overpowering. It’s great on a cheese board, melted into comfort food, or sliced thick for sandwiches. Try it with crisp apples or pears, toasted nuts and crusty bread. It also pairs well with dry cider, pale ale or a bold red wine. Simple and full of flavor, this is cheddar you’ll keep coming back to. Order your Aged White Cheddar cheese here today!
Quiz Time!
About how many gallons of milk does it take to produce one pound of cheese?
a. 2.5 gallons
b. 1.25 gallons
c. 10 gallons
d. 4 gallons
If you guessed 1.25 gallons you are correct!
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 it 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.
Today’s Featured Cheese: BELAIRE
BELAIRE: PORT SALUT-STYLE CHEESE
Our Belaire, Port Salut (POR sa-LOO) -style variety is an exquisite, mild, and classic cheese that’s easy to eat and will quickly become one of your favorites. Its creamy, subtle flavor and soft texture make it an ideal cheese for formal occasions or a Sunday afternoon on the patio.
Belaire’s welcoming pale yellow interior is highlighted with a distinctive bright orange rind. Slice and enjoy on its own, with a cracker, or with fruit. Pair with a white wine for an extraordinary experience.
Trappist monks in the French coastal province of Brittany created the original Port Salut variety in the early 19th century. Today master cheesemakers are crafting our Belaire Port Salut-style cheese from rich, pure Guernsey milk that comes exclusively from the Hoard’s Dairyman Farm. Order your Belaire cheese here today!
Quiz Time! Wisconsin Edition.
What city in Wisconsin is known as "the cheese capital of the world"?
1) Monroe
2) Sheboygan
3) Plymouth
4) Madison
If you guessed answer 3) Plymouth, you are correct!
Quiz Time! Ice cream edition.
What is America's favorite ice cream flavor?
Neapolitan
Strawberry
Chocolate
Vanilla
If you guessed 4. Vanilla, you are correct!
Dairy brings more than just nutrition to the table (but it is pretty nutritious)
It’s National Dairy Month and you know what that means: It’s socially acceptable to eat ice cream every day!
Well, maybe not every day. But what better time of year to break out that aged parmesan you’ve been saving or your family’s secret fettuccini recipe or that ice cream maker you promised you’d put to use?
June Dairy Month has been an annual commemoration of dairy farmers and their cows since 1937 and is a celebration of the way dairy foods boost our nutrition, culture, economy, and history.
Don’t believe it does all that? Keep reading.
Nutrition
Dairy’s nutritional value is indisputable. Even if one is lactose intolerant, they can often find reprieve in consuming dairy products that are “lactose free.”
Dairy products contain essential vitamins and nutrients we need such as calcium, potassium, vitamin A, and protein. Americans are encouraged to eat three servings of dairy foods per day to stay ahead of long-term health concerns such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Thanks, cows!
Culture
Dairy foods play a significant roll in American culture. Cheese in particular (thanks to Social Media’s aesthetic elevation of charcuterie boards—but even before that) is an unspoken must-serve at social gatherings, from holiday get-togethers to wine tastings to watch parties and everything in between.
If you aren’t a fine wine and cheese board fan, odds are you still consume dairy by way of cheeseburgers, mac and cheese, pizza, whole milk iced lattes, ice cream sundaes, or myriad other iconic American milk-based dishes. There’s no escaping the udder!
Economy
According to the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), the dairy industry supports more than 3 million U.S. jobs and $198 billion in wages. That’s a lot of labor!
The IDFA has also reported that dairy contributes more than $779 billion annually to the U.S. economy.
Their website states, “[This] economic activity stays close to home, powering main streets, supporting small businesses, and helping rural America thrive. Dairy businesses are the lifeblood of American communities, and they share a commitment to giving back to those local communities they operate in.”
Okay, milk!
History
Dairy farms and farmers run deep in the United States of America.
Like, four centuries deep.
Historical records with the National Agriculture Library have it that dairy has been a part of American livelihood since the early 1600s. With all that ancestral dairying just waiting to be lived up to, what’s stopping us from supporting dairy farmers both down the road and across state lines?
Modern family farm legacies in the dairy industry run deep, too. Aren’t sure of the ones in your area? Do a quick internet search to discover what lasting legacies lie next door. Who knows—you might become inspired to start your own dairy operation.
(At the very least, we’ll bet you’ll be inspired to purchase a sweet or savory milk-based treat. Either way, we thank you for your support.)
Because of all these benefits dairy brings, and more, the food group and its producers can be celebrated every day of the week and every week of the month! (We aren’t biased...)
Join in on some final June Dairy Month celebrations this weekend, and share your favorite dairy-filled recipes with us by sending them to katiec@hoardscreamery.com.
Today’s Featured Cheese: Aged White Cheddar
This month, we’re proud to spotlight our 3-Month Aged Cheddar—a young, vibrant cheese that strikes the perfect balance between creamy and bold. Aged just long enough to develop a rich, nutty flavor with a subtle tang, this cheddar is a versatile favorite for snacking, melting, or pairing with fresh fruit and crisp lagers. Its smooth texture and approachable bite make it a standout on any cheese board. Order yours today and see why it’s earned its place as our featured cheese!
June Dairy Month celebrates dairy foods and farmers
For the month of June, it’s all about dairy, dairy, dairy. But why stop there?
How did you spend the month of June? If your answer isn’t eating as many dairy foods as possible, you missed out. (Kidding—kind of.)
But seriously: Dairy is so significant a food group that it gets its own month. Now that’s something to pay attention to.
According to The Dairy Alliance, National Dairy Month began as a way to distribute extra milk during the warm months of summer. This dairy-forward “National Milk Month” was established in 1937 by grocer organizations who saw the importance of promoting the nutritional and cultural value of milk.
By 1939, the National Dairy Council took over promotion of the cause, and the commemoration became National Dairy Month, with June serving as the annual honorarium’s home.
Each year, National Dairy Month has a theme. The very first National Milk Month’s theme was “Keep Youthful—Drink Milk.” This year, the theme is “Dairy Runs Deep,” an ode to the rich histories of American dairy farms everywhere, particularly family-owned farms whose stewardship reaches generations into the past. Check out some American dairy farm family stories here.
June Dairy Month is an annual opportunity to celebrate the dairy industry. It aims to promote the consumption of dairy products, recognize the contributions of dairy farmers, and accentuate the importance of dairy by educating the public about the role it plays in our nutrition, culture, economy, and history.
Sure, June Dairy Month is a fun and specified time to celebrate cows, dairy farmers, and your favorite mac and cheese rendition, but who’s to say we can’t do these things all year round? Pay tribute to your favorite local or far away dairy any day of the week however you see fit. Thanks to dairy farmers, we get ice cream. (I mean, come on!)
Read our next June Dairy Month piece to learn about some of dairy’s benefits in detail.
UK cheese roll race sends competitors hurtling
Last weekend, competitors from across the globe competed in Gloucestershire, England's annual cheese roll race down Cooper’s Hill.
A centuries-old tradition with largely unknown origins, the race is a rite of passage for audacious adventurers and diehard cheese lovers alike. If you aren’t willing to throw yourself down a 1:2 gradient hill (an incline whose rise in elevation is equal to half the horizontal distance covered) for an 8 pound wheel of double gloucester, are you really living?
The day consists of scheduled men’s, women’s, and kids’ downhill and uphill races and draws thousands of spectators. (The number of races by demographic depends on the number of participants who wish to compete.)
No longer an official competition (cancelled onward from 2010 for crowd size concerns), the event runs unofficially every May with the help of police-monitored road closures and volunteer rugby players stationed at the bottom of the hill to “catch” tumbling racers.
This year, the downhill winners included two-time champion Tom Kopke, first-time racer Ava Sender Logan, Gloucester local Luke Preece, and New Zealand native Byron Smith.
The cheese wheels in question have been provided by Rod and Diana Smart of Smart family farm for the past 25 years. An award-winning outfit producing traditional, handmade gloucester cheese, Smart’s is one of only four of its kind in the world.
For those wanting a taste of this historic cheese without the peril of a (maybe victorious) downhill tumble, Smart’s special Gloucester can be ordered and shipped directly from the farm or purchased at a local outlet.
Is it just us, or has all this talk of cheese roll racing made us hungry for...cheese? Head on over to Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery’s online store for your own slice of tradition.
And if you decide to hold an impromptu cheese chase, keep in mind record-setting 23-time cheese roll winner Chris Anderson’s remark: "If you’re not gonna commit, there’s no point in even doing it.”
Count us in.