Cabot Aged Cheddar Cheeses
|
What it is: Aged Cheddar cheese made in Vermont
|
Bonnie: As Berta tells the story, I bounced (yes, that’s the word she uses) up to her at Cabot’s exhibition booth at the summer fancy food show in Manhattan, said “I love your cheese, have it delivered to the Good Morning America studios by 6 am tomorrow I want to use it on the show,” and bounced off. There was something about me that made her take me seriously. She got the cheese to the studio and it appeared on my GMA segment the next morning.
Berta’s been my champion—and friend—ever since. And I’ve been hers and Cabot’s. I love Cabot Cheddar.
Berta MacDonald, the face of Cabot, is recognizable at any event. What other grown woman walks around in black and white cow pants? She never stops working for the farmers in Cabot’s cooperative, always creating new ways to tout the merits of their dairy products.
Take her Calcium Crisis Challenge, for instance, an event that culminated at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. She challenged DC/Baltimore area kids, grade six to nine, to creatively teach their peers about the importance of calcium—a topic I’ve been writing about since the early '80s, or long enough to be dubbed the “Calcium Queen”. Those kids rose to her challenge producing clothing, computer programs, sculptures, humor skits, magazines and other teaching tools so incredible that I, and seven other judges, had difficulty selecting the winners from the seventy finalists.
Most important—with almost three-quarters of all kids not getting enough calcium in their diets— the students in the schools who took the challenge learned the importance of that nutrient for their health.
Calcium is an important nutrient. Research says it lowers blood pressure, prevents cavities, and reduces the risk of colon cancer and osteoporosis – the crippling bone disease that’s epidemic in the US. To paraphrase something I’ve said so often I forgot where I first read it, osteoporosis is a pediatric disease with geriatric consequences.
Whoa!
Enough about nutrition and disease.
Back to what got me on my calcium rant: Cabot’s Cheddar. It’s won almost every major award including The World’s Best Cheddar. I prefer their Vintage Choice, but like all the aged Cheddars. And of their flavored ones, my favorites include the horseradish (pungent) and the chipotle (smoky and spicy).
Bryan: Cheese is one of my life’s staples; a diet of wine, cheese and bread can get me through weeks of traveling and a hunk of Cheddar is always in my fridge… There is simply not a better topping to a tuna melt on an “everything’” bagel than a thick slice of Cabot Cheddar. Great as a snack, this textured flavorful cheese is a favorite, a welcome taste in a world of processed, bland cheese substitutes. Artisan in quality though reasonably priced, I thank the culinary gods that I can get it in Atlanta.
Eric: I never grew up as a cheese fan, and seldom did I ever open the refrigerator door in search of cheese as a treat. When I think back now, I thought the single slice of American cheese was a specialty when sandwiched between two pieces of bread; but then there was the day the black-wax covered block arrived. At first, the difficulty of getting the cheese open (similar to the frustration of first trying to open a coconut) deterred me from putting in the effort for just plain old cheese. I cannot think of a fonder food memory than breaking off the first piece of this vintage Cheddar and placing it in my mouth.This cheese has become the definition of Cheddar and was my “gateway” cheese.
Win 3-pound Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar Wheel
Click here to enter!
Posted in Fabulous Food | Tasteful tidbits | Past Bites
Trackback Link | Permalink | Email this Bite
14 Comments on “Cabot Aged Cheddar Cheeses”
Rate This Product
Mouseover the crowns to highlight your rating and then click to record your rating. The rating shown is the average of all the user votes. You can only rate each product once.
Leave a Comment or Write a Review
Posting Policy
Bite of the Best encourages our readers to comment on and review any products that we write about. Please express your opinions in a mature and civil tone of voice. We will not post rude or otherwise inappropriate material on Bite of the Best. We look forward to your comments and reviews!
Agree on the regular Cabot labels. Disagree on the Cabot low-fat. Anyone have a wonderful suggestion for low-fat cheese (which I realize is an oxymoron).
I do like Cabot lowfat cheese—especially the jalapeno one. Others I've tried and enjoyed include KerryGold Low Fat Cheddar and Roth Käse’s St. Orthos (you'll have to wait until fall to try this as it’s not yet on the market).
With any cheese be sure you're trying it at room temperature for the fullest flavor.
Lucky me - I won a wheel of Cabot cheddar in your May contest. But now I have a dilemma.
I brought it to a father's day gathering and it was a big hit, but we only made a small dent in it.
Now that the wax is off, how should I wrap it to preserve it? (plastic? foil?) How long can I expect it to last without getting moldy? Would it last longer if I cut it in small pieces so I only unwrap the section I'm working on? I'd hate to have it spoil and go to waste. (And since I'm taking cholesterol medication I don't think I should try to eat it very fast.)
RJ, Lucky you winning that fabulous cheese! Hope you signed up to win all the other goodies this month.
To keep my Cabot fresh, I generally wrap it tightly in plastic — removing it from the frig long enough before I serve it to bring it to room temperature. Instead of ranting on about the cheese, I've contacted the folks at Cabot and asked them to post their two cents. Stay tuned.
The following are some storage hints: Open the cheese, remove the cheese from its original package, throw away the package wrapper, seal the cheese in fresh plastic wrap and store it in your refrigerator. Every time you use the cheddar, replace the old plastic wrap with fresh plastic wrap. Aluminum does not work. While holding the cheese for slicing, use a clean towel or plastic wrap to hold the cheese. We recommend you do not store your cheddar in a zip lock bag only. This encloses air around the cheese which promotes surface mold growth. The surface Mold that grows on cheese is harmless, but that doesn't mean it is attractive. If a small amount of surface mold does happen to present itself on the cheese, simply cut of the moldy portion and use the rest. It should be fine for cooking and eating. If you are going to store your cheese for a long period of time, using a vaccum sealer works fantastically. Personally, I have found that if you place the cheese in the back of the refrigerator, the unopened bars or large portion seem to keep longer. I don't know why, it just seems to work for me. I am currently working on a case I purchased last year and the cheeses are all pretty yummy. But then they are Cabot Cheese!
I had this cheese at a party, and it turned out to be my favorite hors doerve.
I was so fortunate to win one of these wheels. Cabot cheese is not new to me and the cheeses are absolutely wonderful.If you decide to order online do so with no fear. My cheese arrived in a little cooler with reusable ice packs and was cold when I got it. I also received some great new recipes and an adorable little Cabot cow.
Thank you so much Bite of the Best for a terrific contest!
PS Never touch the cheese with your hands, no matter how clean before storing and you should not have a mold problem.Plastic wrap only.
So excited - I just learned that won a Cabot cheese wheel. I am sure we will love, love, love it.
Thank you for this wonderful prize.
Jo Fuller
Dear Sponsors of the Contest,
What a great treat! A large wheel of Cabot cheese was waiting for me upon returning from an exhausting day of teaching (we went on a field trip today on foot and took 80 4th graders to Mt. Vernon). So, I was ready for a reward upon reaching home!
I quickly ripped open the Cabot box and sliced a chunk of aged cheese for myself. The texture is so creamy and smooth. The "bite" of the cheddar is perfect - not a wimpy mild and not an overwhelmingly pungent taste.
I look forward to sharing this prize with friends - if there is any left by the weekend!
Thank you so much for your generosity. Plus the cow pen is cute and I am going to use the rubber cow with my students for class meetings.
Sincerely,
Jo Fuller
I am so excited - I just learned that won a Cabot cheese wheel and I can't wait to try it, because I love love love cheese! Thank you very much!
You are quite welcome. We, too, love Cabot cheese!
Awesome! My husband is from Essex and WE LOVE CABOT!!! How exciting to get a taste of home (of course we also buy aged cabot at costco). We will be sharing this with our California friends who aren't so lucky as us!
Does anyone know where I can buy Cabot French Onion dip? It's the best
So glad to hear that you're a fan of Cabot French Onion Dip! It is available in the Northeast - primarily in VT, NH, MA & ME. We do have a "Store Finder" tool on our website, www.cabotcheese.coop, that you can use to see where you can find our cheese. We do not currently have the cultured items (such as dip, etc.) listed but you can click on the "Contact Us" link to email us and our great Customer Satisfacation team will let you know if and where you can find any of our products.