On Saturday, as we ventured north to Montreal, we stopped at Shelburne Farms in VT, a working farm on Lake Champlain that was started by some Vanderbilt in 1886 as a “model agricultural estate,” and now espouses conservation, sustainability, education, and razor-sharp cheddar.
The Vermont Cheese Council maintains a directory of cheese-makers that are open to the public and a handy “cheese map.” With public enthusiasm for Vermont diary primed by Ben and Jerry’s, Stonyfield Farms, and Cabot, it’s only natural that cheddar gets its fair share of tourist marketing. Vermont cheddar is America’s best contribution to the global cheese cache. I mean, there’s no competition. Colby? Monterey Jack? Muenster? American? None approaches the complexity of cheddar’s vaguely sweet, bacterial flavors.
Shelburne Farms seemed inviting to visit during a longish road trip. It has over 4.5 miles of walking trails through the property, as well as animals, gardens, a bakery, and an opportunity to view the cheese-making. This held particular interest after visiting a Beaufort cheese farm in the French Alps last year, where our tour group got to mingle in the barn before heading into the kitchen to witness the cheese production while eating, drinking, getting sprayed with distilled milk whey, and petting the dogs. Perhaps it’s that nonchalance about hygiene that gives Beaufort its pungent yumminess.
As one would expect from America, Shelburne Farms had more exacting sanitation standards, and glass kept us from sticking our dirty, farmyard hands into the shiny, modern separation vat. Too bad. Less bacteria for the cheese.
Still, Shelburne Farms produces raw milk cheddar, a rarity for a bigger producer, and it was tasty enough to enjoy for lunch with a baguette. After waiting in vain for some cheese action in the kitchen, we paid a quick visit to Lake Champlain then headed to Montreal. It’s a good thing we had our fill of cheese, because we went for dinner with friends to an Armenian restaurant. And Armenia has lots of piquant food, but cheese is not one of them.
