Finger Lakes Cheese Trail
The weather is finally warm enough for a fun day cruising the wine trail–but don’t forget about the cheese trail! Check out this handy guide of local cheese makers to visit on your next venture out.
COW’S MILK CHEESE
Finger Lakes Farmstead Cheese Company, Mecklenburg
PRODUCTS: Schuyler: The basic Gouda Style. Also available with herbed. Red Meck: A Gouda style, with a washed rind using an aromatic culture. Bier Meck: Another Gouda Style aged, and washed with Ithaca Beer Company’s Smoked Porter.
Wake Robin Creamery, Jordan
PRODUCTS: Bailiwick Cheddar; Mona Lisa- an Italian style cheese; Caerffili- a salty, tangy, semi-soft cheese aged less than a month; Opus-Creamy and crumbly with a pungent, rustic, natural rind; Jordan Jack- a tangy Monterey Jack style cheese; Brutus Blue; Trillum – a seasonal, creamy soft cheese aged 6 weeks; Fresh Cheddar Cheese Curds.
Hoffman’s Sunset View Creamery, Odessa
PRODUCTS: Cheese Curds: Plain, Buffalo, Mama Mia (Garlic and Onion), Jack Radish, Dill and Tomato Basil. Semi-hard Aged Cheese: Mild all the way to 7 Year Aged Sharp
Monterey Jack Style: Flavors include Chive n’ Dill, Ba- con/Ranch, Mama Mia, Jumpin’ Jack and Jalapeno.
Da’Motz: Fresh Mozzarella
Finger Lakes Dexter Creamery, King Ferry
PRODUCTS: Handcrafted artisanal, farmstead raw milk kefir cheese, cultured with authentic living kefir grains
Shtayburne Farms, Rock Stream
PRODUCTS: Cheddar Curds: Plain, Roasted Garlic, Tomato Basil, Blazin’ Buffalo Wing; Cheddars: Mild, Chilipepper, Sharp, Smoked, Horseradish to Sharp Monterey Jack Style: Flavors include Jalapeño, Peppercorn, Italian Herb, Garlic & Herb, Blueberry.
Keeley’s Cheese Company, King Ferry
PRODUCTS: Across the Pond: A semi-soft, washed rind cheese. Made from raw milk of Holstein and Jersey cows. Cave-aged over 60 days. Across the Pond Reserve: A slightly firmer semi- soft cheese reminiscent of the tomme style, with a dry, brushed rind.
Engelbert Farms, Nichols
PRODUCTS: Certified Organic Cheddars, Colby, Gouda, Swiss, Jacks and Mozzarellas
Muranda Cheese Company, Waterloo
PRODUCTS: 15 Varieties of Cheddar-based artisan cheeses including: Colby, Asiago/Provolone, British Raw Milk Cheddar, Horseradish, Crazy Charlie, Fiesta, Checkerboard, British Garlic Cheddar Cheese and our best seller Red Buddy, a Swiss/Cheddar blend. A blue cheese was recently released.
Hillcrest Dairy, Moravia
PRODUCTS: Swiss and Old Fashioned Raw Milk Cheddars.
Kenton’s Cheese Company, Trumansburg
PRODUCTS: Bianco, a brie-style soft cheese.
Sno Farm Creamery, Brooktondale
PRODUCTS: Artisanal, Seasonal Aged Raw Milk Cheeses. Currently making Gouda, Feta and Provolone.
Vanillen Dairy, Ovid
PRODUCTS: Morning Glory: A soft, fresh pas- teurized cows’ milk cheese with a rich texture and tangy flavor in plain and chive.
Cowlick Farm, Lodi
PRODUCTS: Gouda, Cheddar (also with garlic), Colby.
Jerry Dell Farm & Farm Store, Freeville
PRODUCTS: Jerry Dell Farm Raw Milk Cheddar: A smooth, velvety texture organic raw milk cheese.
GOAT’S MILK CHEESE
Lively Run Goat Dairy, Interlaken
PRODUCTS: Chèvre: Classic French style Chèvre, made plain or with a variety of herbs; Cayuga Blue-with a flavor as deep and rich as the lake that it is named after; Feta; Seneca Blue-a tangy blue Chèvre.
4 Tin Fish Farm, Conquest
PRODUCTS: Chèvre-A fresh mild and creamy cheese. Seasonally selling three varieties of Chèvre-Plain, Peppercorn, and Herb; Feta- a tangy and salty cheese with a crumbly texture.
Side Hill Acres Goat Dairy, Candor
PRODUCTS: Goat Cheese: Goat Cheese Logs: plain & herbed; Feta Logs, Raw Goat Milk Cheddar; Goat Cheese Pinwheels; Crumbled Feta: plain, herbed, and sun-dried tomato
Other Goat Cheese Products: Cream Cheese, Cheese Spreads, Kefir Goat Cheese, and Yogurt.
SHEEP’S MILK CHEESE
Northland Sheep Dairy, Marathon
PRODUCTS: Sheep Cheeses: Bergère Bleue – a creamy, roquefort-style blue cheese with a light blue vein. Aged 4-12 months. Folie Bergère – a firm, nutty washed curd sheep cheese with a natural rind. Aged 12-15 months. Tomme Bergère – a rustic, Alpine-style sharp cheese with a natural rind. Aged 4-12 months. Bergerino – an Italian-style hard cheese with a natural rind. Aged 12- 24 months. Cardonbert- a soft sheep cheese in the Portuguese or Spanish style, coagulated with homegrown cardoon flowers. Aged 2-4 months (limited availability).
Meadowood Farms, Cazenovia
PRODUCTS: A range of sheep’s milk dairy products, including yogurt, and a variety of washed rind and semi ripened cheese. Because our sheep all have lambs at the same time in the spring, our dairy products are seasonal, usually first becoming available in May. Our yogurts and fresh cheeses are available through the fall and our aged cheeses are generally available throughout the year.
A version of this article originally appeared in our Fall 2012 Cheese Issue.
The post Finger Lakes Cheese Trail appeared first on Edible Finger Lakes.