Fonterra Sharp Cheddar - Your dad's favourite cheese!

A lively customer walked straight for me this week, extremely eager to tell me something. He had a manic look in his otherwise friendly eyes and I waited with trepidation for what was coming next. 'I'm 42 and I never knew' he exclaimed. He waited impatiently, anticipating my reaction. On realizing that he wasn't going to kill me with the block of cheese that he was holding aloft I offered a reply. 'You're 42?' I said. The man was looking positively radiant and not a day over 30. This was not the answer he wanted and he brushed it aside immediately. 'I just never knew' he repeated, a bemused look on his face somewhere between concern and awe. I finally ventured with the response he was waiting for. 'Never knew what?' I said. 'I'm 42 and I never realized that cheddar could actually taste so good. I never believed the hype. I thought that ordinary cheddar, cheap cheddar that I usually buy was worth the price and that there was no difference. I've literally spent my whole life EATING BORING CHEDDAR' he said animatedly.

Cheddar Mountain; the highest peak in New Zealand

The piece of cheese that he was holding above his head like a caveman wielding a prehistoric tool was Fonterra, New Zealand Sharp Cheddar. If you put hundreds of cheddar's in a line, it is pretty good. Not the best, but nowhere near the bottom of the pile either. This gentleman with the secret aging cream was amazed at the price as well as the taste and on comparison he realized he was actually getting more 'better cheddar' per pound than his 'usual cheap cheddar.' Once he had made his point we exchanged pleasantries and off he went on his merry way. I never did find out what cheap cheddar he had been eating all those years!

As a company, Fonterra is pretty big. However, big doesn't necessarily mean bad. They are committed to responsible dairy farming and they have projects in place to promote sustainable farming, preserving wetlands and taking care of cattle. The cheese is made with milk from grass-fed cows. It pretty much melts in your mouth, it's incredibly flavorful and it leaves you thinking 'I'm just going to have to have another piece!'

Cheese-o-meter rating: 7/10

Maggie's Round - Even Dog's can't Resist it!

I live in Massachusetts. Massachusetts is a state with two faces and a spindly beard named Cape Cod. Eastern Massachusetts is centered around the bustling, widening hub of Boston with it's forever increasing population and insane traffic jams. I live in the east. People say it's beautiful in summer. It's definitely fun. Western Massachusetts is beautiful. The rolling greenery, the state reservations, the tree-filled mountains, the wildlife. In the very top corner of MA you will find Williamstown, the prettiest town you ever did see. I was there in 2012 before I became interested in cheese. What I didn't know at the time was that some of the best cheese you could imagine was being produced just south of the town at a place called 'Cricket Creek Farm.'
   Cricket Creek Farm produces a variety of cheeses amongst other products and the milk that is used for cheese-making is taken from a mixture of Swiss and Jersey cows. Therefore the milk is robust with good amounts of fat and protein. In their own words, handmade cheese has been a priority for the farm since transitioning to grass-based farming in 2001. The cheese of the day today is a raw milk cheese which tries to encapsulate the alpine style of cheeses that come from the Alps in the Italian region of Europe. It is called 'Maggie's Round.' The rind is a hard, mottled structure which almost has the look of some ancient Egyptian design encompassing it. On cutting it open, a bright and smooth looking interior is revealed and the citrus notes almost fly straight up your nose! It tastes amazing. There are no other words for it.
   The story behind the naming of the cheese is also good. On meeting a girl from the farm she informed me that Maggie was a dog who lived on the farm and she was partial to the odd piece of cheese. One day Maggie managed to get hold of a whole wheel of cheese and devoured the whole lot, hence, Maggie's Round!

Cheese-o-meter Rating: 9.5/10