Celebrate Independence with a Homemade Beauty!

Consider Bardwell Farm is just one of those farms I really want to visit. Located in beautiful Vermont (and partly in New York) it is a 300-acre farm which boasts the title of becoming the first cheese-making coop in Vermont back in 1864. The farm produces a range of cheeses with milk from goats and cows. The goats that live on the farm are called Oberhaslis goats. If goats could have opinions on how other goats look then most goats would be jealous of Oberhaslis goats. But that's a story for a different day. The cheese held up with the task of flying the flag for independence today is one made with cows milk. Specifically, Jersey cows.

Freshly cut Dorset!

Dorset is her name. She's a washed rind cheese and she's got such depth in flavor that if you close your eyes then you can realize yourself amongst the rolling hills and fresh air that is in such large supply in the first state to be formed in the USA that WASN'T an original colony. The washed rind gives the cheese a pink and almost crystallized aesthetic and when it is cut a pretty, yellow interior is revealed. It has a good degree of pungency too which is said to be seasonally influenced. Yesterday, I suggested a customer should try a piece as it would look great on a 'July 4th cheeseboard.' I handed her the piece and when she tried it she almost melted into the counter. It was quite a sight to see. Suffice to say she bought a large piece!

The wheels are small and only come in 2.5lb sizes which is kind of cute. It's size does not affect it's status in the cheese case; it is the winner of so many awards that it stares up at some of the larger local cheeses and they treat it equally! The personification of cheese!

Consider Bardwell Farm is committed to pesticide-free grazing on land that does not use fertilizer. It's great for vegetarians as only vegetarian rennet is added to the cheese and there is no antibiotic or hormone rubbish added at any point from farm to table. Dorset, VT is an historic town and Dorset cheese is well on it's way to become historic in it's own right! I'll support a flag with a piece of Dorset on it today for Independence!