Cabot Hand-Rubbed Chili-Lime Cheddar

Bonnie: The farmers of the Cabot Creamy Coop have had a place in my heart since my first taste of their delicious cheddar cheese many decades ago. It’s that good. (That, and I also like all the people who work there!)

We learned about Cabot’s new hand-rubbed cheddar through its partnered listing in our Bite of the Rest section of BiteoftheBest.com — the area itemizing new products and asking you (our community) to vote whether you’d purchase them. About 90 percent of you voted that you would purchase the rubbed cheddars. With that kind of response our Bite of the Best (BOTB) team decided that it must try them.

I served both the Chili-Lime and the Tuscan on a cheese board at a recent gathering of friends. The entire Chili-Lime disappeared almost instantly — but not before I’d tried a slice of this hand-rubbed cheese with a spicy coating. It’s delicious enough to be today’s FeaturedBite.

Bryan: So, you may have noticed that we mention Cabot Creamery products from time to time. One thing you might want to know about the Bite of the Best team is that, if asked, we all might reply that we could subsist on bread and cheese alone (okay, let’s also add wine to that list). Though this may sound a bit Francophile or European backpacker, the diet is truly universal and should not be taken lightly. There are few foodie delights in the world like a crusty piece of bread dripping with melted cheese! To this end, we mention the Cabot Creamery. Its rich array of cheeses is a constant source of culinary enjoyment.

Variations abound in a dish with only two main ingredients and no general guidelines. The world is full of breads and cheeses; crunchy baguettes topped with melted brie, toasted pita stuffed with diced cucumber and feta, bruschetta with buffalo mozzarella, bagels topped with juicy tomatoes and gooey cheddar cheese. Many cultures have their own combinations of these two very basic staples. Picking a favorite is impossible, but talking about your favorites is all too easy.

Cabot has been making flavored cheddar cheeses for ages. A few of their yummy combinations include horseradish, habenero and chipotle varieties — a true cavalcade of intense tastes. A flavored cheese generally has a very different feel from a normal cheddar. Flavorings are most often mixed into the basic cheddar cheeses, changing their essential cheese taste. Cabot’s newest line of flavoreds, like the Chili-Lime, puts the herbs and spices on the outside rather than mixed throughout. The result is quite different from the standard mixed variety. Hand-rubbing chili and lime on the exterior of this rich, creamy cheddar provides two unique experiences in a single bite; Spicy-citrus edges maintain their powerful punch, not dulled by mixture within the creamy cheese. The cheese, meanwhile, remains pure and sharp, familiar and biting. The sensation is almost like that of a “sugared” martini glass, the rim taking on a completely unique texture and taste from the actual drink.

Cheese connoisseur or not, Cabot’s hand-rubbed cheddars should make your list of favorites….

Eric: Who doesn’t love cheese? With so many varieties and so many flavors there is always an option for everyone. Let me digress. While growing up and attending college in Europe, I had the luxury of sampling a wide array of European cheeses, usually, with some crusty French bread, full-bodied wine and some great discussions with my family in Brussels. One of my favorite stories my aunt tells is that of my older cousin, Dirk, and his affinity for European cheeses. After my cousin had moved to the states, my aunt would bring a collection of his favorite cheeses every time she visited. Among his favorites was Belgian brie, but instead of spreading it on a piece of bread, he would pick it up and bite it as if it were a piece of bread. The funniest part of the story to me as a foodie is that after years of eating cheese like this, he never knew that it was fattening. Back to the point. Although I’m not able to have a sampling of my favorite European cheeses at hand, luckily I do have Cabot to produce some of the best-tasting cheddar in the market.