Canadians produce 30 of the best cheeses in the Americas

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Quality Cheese of Vaughan, Ontario, which won the Canadian Cheese Grand Prix with its cow’s milk Ricotta, won the category of fresh unripened cheese made from sheep or mixed milk with its Bella Casara Buffalo Ricotta.

Canadian cheesemakers won 30 ribbons in the 2013 American Cheese Society Judging & Competition in Madison, Wisconsin, in early August, competing against 1,794 cheeses submitted by 257 producers in the Americas—the largest competition in the history of the ACS.

Twenty-three of the 30 ribbons were won by 10 Québec cheesemakers, four being first-place ribbons, two for Agropur Fine Cheese and one each for Fromagerie Fritz Kaiser, represented by Fromages CDA, and La Moutonnière.

Two Ontario producers, Mariposa Dairy, represented by Finica Food Specialties, and Quality Cheese, won first-place ribbons as well.

Best of Show was won by Cellars at Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont with the Winnimere, an extraordinary take on the French mountain classic Vachering Mont d’Or. Made with raw milk from the farm’s Ayrshire cows, Winnimere is wrapped in cambium cut from the spruce trees on the farm and washed in a beer from a neighbouring brewery. It’s available only January through June.

2013-Winner-Low-Res

Here are the Canadian winners:

OPEN CATEGORY – FRESH UNRIPENED CHEESES – MADE FROM SHEEP’S MILK OR MIXED MILKS

1st    Quality Cheese, Ontario
Buffalo Ricotta Bella Casara

3rd    La Maison Alexis de Portneuf (Saputo), Québec
Chèvre des Neiges plain

BRIE – MADE FROM COW’S MILK

2nd   Agropur Fine Cheese, Québec
Brie Normandie

CAMEMBERT – MADE FROM COW’S MILK

1st    Agropur Fine Cheese, Québec
Camembert l’Extra

2nd   Agropur Fine Cheese, Québec
Camembert Vaudreuil

TRIPLE CRÈME – SOFT RIPENED/CREAM ADDED – ALL MILKS

2nd   Agropur Fine Cheese, Québec
Chevalier Triple Creme

3rd    La Maison Alexis de Portneuf (Saputo), Québec
Saint-Honoré

OPEN CATEGORY – SOFT-RIPENED CHEESES – MADE FROM COW’S MILK

2nd   Agropur Fine Cheese, Québec
Rondoux Double Crème

OPEN CATEGORY – SOFT-RIPENED CHEESES – MADE FROM GOAT’S MILK

3rd    Upper Canada Cheese, Ontario
Nanny Noire

EMMENTAL-STYLE WITH EYE FORMATION (SWISS, BABY SWISS, BLOCKS, WHEELS) – MADE FROM COW’S MILK

1st    Agropur Fine Cheese, Québec
Oka l’Artisan

3rd    Fromagerie Abbaye Saint-Benoît-du-Lac (Fromages CDA), Québec
Le Frère Jacques

OPEN CATEGORY – AMERICAN MADE/INTERNATIONAL STYLE – MADE FROM GOAT’S MILK

3rd    Fromagerie Bergeron, Québec
Patte Blanche

FRESH MOZZARELLA – 8 OZ. OR MORE (BALLS OR SHAPES) – ALL MILKS

2nd   Quality Cheese, Ontario
Bella Casara Fior de Latte

3rd    Quality Cheese, Ontario
Fresh Mozzarella Zerto

FETA – MADE FROM SHEEP’S MILK OR MIXED MILKS

 2nd   La Moutonniere, Québec
Feta

FAT FREE AND LOW FAT CHEESES

2nd   Fromagerie Le Détour, Québec
La Dame du Lac

LIGHT/LITE AND REDUCED FAT CHEESES

1st    Fromagerie Fritz Kaiser (Fromages CDA), Québec 
L’Empereur Léger 

FRESH UNRIPENED CHEESE WITH FLAVOR ADDED – ALL MILKS

3rd    La Maison Alexis de Portneuf (Saputo), Québec
Chèvre des Neiges Fig and Orange

INTERNATIONAL-STYLE WITH FLAVOR ADDED – ALL MILKS

2nd   Fromagerie Bergeron, Québec
Le Coureur des bois

HAVARTI WITH FLAVOR ADDED – ALL MILKS

2nd   Agropur Fine Cheese, Québec
Havarti Jalapeno

REDUCED FAT CHEESE WITH FLAVOR ADDED – ALL MILKS

2nd   Woolwich Dairy, Ontario
Woolwich Dairy Fresh Chèvre – Big Kick Herb & Garlic

SMOKED CHEDDARS – ALL MILKS

2nd   COWS CREAMERY, Prince Edward Island
Applewood Smoked Cheddar

FRESH RINDLESS GOAT’S MILK CHEESE AGED 0 TO 30 DAYS (BLACK ASH COATING PERMITTED)

3rd    Mariposa Dairy (Finica Food Specialties), Ontario
Celebrity International Goat Cheese Original

SHEEP’S MILK CHEESE AGED OVER 60 DAYS

1st    Mariposa Dairy (Finica Food Specialties), Ontario
Tania

3rd    Fromagerie Nouvelle France, Québec
Zacharie Cloutier

YOGURTS – PLAIN WITH NO ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS –MADE FROM COW’S MILK

3rd    Beurrerie du Patrimoine, Québec
Plain Yogourt

BUTTER WITH OR WITHOUT CULTURES – MADE FROM GOAT’S, SHEEP’S OR MIXED MILKS

1st    La Moutonniere, Québec
Ewes Butter

OPEN CATEGORY – WASHED RIND CHEESES – MADE FROM COW’S MILK

2nd   La Fromagerie 1860 DuVillage (Saputo), Québec
Vacherin

3rd    La Maison Alexis de Portneuf (Saputo), Québec
Le Reflet de Portneuf

OPEN CATEGORY – WASHED RIND CHEESES – MADE FROM GOAT’S MILK

2nd   Fromagerie Le Détour, Québec
Sentinelle

Congratulations to all Canadian winners! They are shown below in alphabetical order with a summary of their winnings which accounted for 30 ribbons.

Agropur Fine Cheese
First-place  – 2
Second-place  – 5

Beurrerie du Patrimoine
Third-place  – 1

Cows Creamery
Second-place  – 1

Mariposa Dairty (Finica Food Specialties)
First-place  – 1
Third-place  – 1

Fromagerie Abbaye Saint-Benoît-du-Lac (Fromages CDA)

Third-place  – 1

Fromagerie Bergeron
Second-place  – 1
Third-place  – 1

Fromagerie Fritz Kaiser (Fromages CDA)
First-place  – 1

Fromagerie Le Détour
Second-place  – 2

Fromagerie Nouvelle France
Third-place  – 1

La Fromagerie 1860 DuVillage (Saputo)
Second-place  – 1

La Maison Alexis de Portneuf (Saputo)
Third-place  – 4

La Moutonniere
First-place  – 1
Second-place  – 1

Quality Cheese
First-place  – 1
Second-place  – 1
Third-place  – 1

Upper Canada Cheese
Third-place  – 1

Woolwich Dairy
Second-place  – 1

The 2014 American Cheese Society Judging & Competition will be held in Sacramento, California.

Give me Riopelle or Laliberté or give me death!

Riopelle de l'Isle: A world-class triple-cream made in Canada.
Riopelle de l’Isle: A world-class triple-cream—made in Canada.

I enjoy eating cheese from around the world but my passion is for fromages fins, artisan cheese made in Canada. When I hear someone praising an imported cheese to high heaven, my immediate reaction is: What do Canadian cheesemakers produce that is just as tasty, if not superior?

Chateau de Bourgogne, a classic triplecrème made in France, was recently selected by Kelsie Parsons, a guest blogger at Cheese & Toast, as the one cheese he wanted to savour if the world were to end.

Call me chauvinistic, but I’d rather go with Riopelle de l’Isle, the first triple-cream artisanal cheese produced in Canada. It was launched in 2001 by Société Coopérative Agricole de l’Île-aux-Grues, located on an island in the St. Lawrence River northeast of Québec City, and quickly became a huge success.

A wedge of Riopelle reveals a creamy and incredibly smooth centre beneath a thin, bloomy rind. Leaving an exquisite hint of butter, it is absolutely enchanting.

Named for Jean-Pierre Riopelle, a world-renowned Canadian artist.
Named for Jean-Paul Riopelle, a world-renowned Canadian artist.

Jean-Paul Riopelle, the world-renowned painter who spent the last years of his life on l’Île-aux-Grues, gave his name and the image of one of his best-known paintings to the cheese. In return, part of the profits financially help students of the island who wish to attend high school or university.

Laliberté: a triple-cream created by award-winning chessemaker Jean Morin.
Laliberté: a triple-cream created by award-winning chessemaker Jean Morin.

If there were no Riopelle to be had, I’d select a another Québec beauty, this one created by Jean Morin at Fromagerie du Presbytère in Sainte-Élizabeth de Warwick, Québec:

Laliberté, a triple-cream cheese made with whole organic cow’s milk from the family dairy farm across the road from the creamery. It’s such a rich dairy delight!

Given the critical and commercial success of Riopelle over the last decade, Canadian producers of cheese on an industrial scale now also offer triple-creams:

The factory cheeses are OK, if you can get past the modified milk ingredients used in their manufacture, but the artisanal producers who use pure milk are the ones who deserve and need the support of Canadian cheese lovers.

Especially with recent rumblings from Ottawa that Canada’s producers of artisan cheeses may face greater challenges in the future. A report in the Ottawa Citizen indicates the Canadian government and European Union are close to a deal that would see a substantial increase in exports of European dairy products—mainly cheese—to Canada in exchange for greater access to European customers for Canadian beef, pork and canola.

—Georgs Kolesnikovs

Georgs Kolesnikovs is Cheese-Head-in-Chief at CheeseLover.ca and founder of The Great Canadian Cheese Festival.

Canadian winners at American Cheese Society

Lori Legacey, cheesemaker at Mariposa Dairy, has a sniff of a 19-kilo wheel of Lindsay Bandaged Goat Cheddar which was named first runner-up in Best of Show at the American Cheese Society competition. Photo by Lisa Gervais/The Lindsay Post.

Canadian cheesemakers did remarkably well at the 2011 American Cheese Society Conference and Competition in Montreal this week, winning close to one-quarter of ribbons up for grabs. Best of all, Mariposa Dairy with Lindsay Bandaged Goat Cheddar and Fromagerie du Presbytère with Louis d’Or won Best of Show honors.

BEST OF SHOW

Rogue Creamery, OR
Rogue River Blue

BEST OF SHOW 2nd PLACE (TIE)

Mariposa Dairy, ON
Lindsay Bandaged Goat Cheddar

Carr Valley Cheese, WI
Cave Aged Marisa

BEST OF SHOW 3rd PLACE

Fromagerie Du Presbytère, QC
Louis d’Or

Louis d'Or, created by Jean Morin at Fromagerie Du Presbytère (photo), was named second runner-up in Best of Show at the annual ACS competition held in Canada for the first time.

HERE ARE ALL 69 CANADIAN RECIPIENTS OF RIBBONS BY CATEGORY

B. SOFT RIPENED CHEESES
White surface mold ripened cheeses – Brie, Camembert, Coulommiers, etc.

BA: Open Category made from cow’s milk

1st Agropur Fine Cheese, QC
Rondoux Double Crème

2nd Domaine Feodal, QC
Inspire

3rd Domaine Feodal, QC
Cendre des Priés

BB: Brie made from cow’s milk

1st Brazos Valley Cheese, TX
Eden

2nd Brazos Valley Cheese, TX
Brie

3rd La Maison Alexis de Portneuf, QC
Brie de Portneuf Double Crème

BC: Camembert made from cow’s milk

1st No Award Given

2nd Old Europe Cheese, Inc., MI
Camembert Fermier

3rd Alemar Cheese Company, MN
Bent River Camembert – Style Cheese

3rd Upper Canada Cheese, ON
Comfort Cream

BG: Open Category made from goat’s milk

1st Fromagerie Le Détour, QC
Grey Owl

2nd Damafro, QC
La Bûchette

3rd Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy, CO
Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy Camembert

BS: Open Category made from sheep’s or mixed milks

1st Fromagerie Fritz Kaiser, QC
Le Soeur Angele

2nd Les Bergeries du Fjord, QC
Le Blanche du Fjord

2nd Old Chatham Sheepherding Company, NY
Hudson Valley Camembert Square

3rd Marin French Cheese Co, CA
Melange Brie

BF: Flavor Added – spices, herbs, seasoning, fruits, etc.

1st Marin French Cheese Co, CA
Peppercorn Brie – Garlic

2nd Agropur Fine Cheese, QC
Chevalier Fines Herbs

3rd Old Europe Cheese, Inc., MI
Brie with Herbs

BT: Triple Crème – soft ripened / cream added – all milks

1st Agropur Fine Cheese, QC
Rondoux Triple Crème

2nd Old Europe Cheese, Inc., MI
Brie Triple Créme

3rd Agropur Fine Cheese, QC
Chevalier Triple Crème

CC: Original Recipe / Open Category made from cow’s milk

1st Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, CA
Point Reyes Toma

2nd Cowgirl Creamery, CA
Mt. Tam

3rd Les Fromages de l’île d’Orléans, QC
Le Paillasson de l’isle d’Orléans

D. AMERICAN MADE / INTERNATIONAL STYLE
Cheeses modeled after or based on recipes for established European or other international types or styles – Beaufort, Abondance, Gruyère, Juustoleipa, Caerphilly, English Territorials, Leyden, Butterkäse, Monastery styles, etc.

DD: Dutch style – all milks (Gouda, Edam etc.)

1st Glengarry Fine Cheese, ON
Lankaaster Aged

2nd Oakdale Cheese & Specialties, CA
Gouda

3rd Edelweiss Creamery, WI
Gouda Cellar Aged Grass Based

3rd Old Europe Cheese, Inc., MI
Edam Ball

DC: Open Category made from cow’s milk

1st Eagle Mountain Farmhouse Cheese Co., TX
Birdville Reserve

2nd Monforte Dairy, ON
Abondance

3rd Hahn’s End, ME
Petit Poulet

3rd Sartori Company, WI
Sartori Reserve BellaVitano Gold

DE: Emmental style made from cow’s milk with eye formation (Swiss, Baby Swiss, Blocks, Wheels etc.)

1st No Award Given

2nd Agropur Fine Cheese, QC
OKA L’Artisan

3rd Farmers Cooperative Dairy, NL
Farmers Swiss

DG: Open Category made from goat’s milk

1st Fromagerie Fritz Kaiser, QC
Tomme Haut Richelieu

2nd Baetje Farms LLC., MO
Sainte Genevieve

2nd Consider Bardwell Farm, VT
Manchester

3rd Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy, CO
Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy Queso De Mano

DS: Open Category made from sheep’s milk or mixed milks

1st Carr Valley Cheese Co, Inc., WI
Caso Bolo Mellage

2nd Fifth Town Artisan Cheese, ON
Fellowship

2nd Tumalo Farms, OR
Rimrocker

3rd Sartori Company, WI
Sartori Limited Edition Pastorale Blend

E. CHEDDARS
All Cheddars – all milks

EA: Aged Cheddar, all milks (aged between 12 and 24 months)

1st Milton Creamery LLC, IA
Prairie Breeze

2nd Fifth Town Artisan Cheese, ON
Premium Goat Cheddar, 12 to 24 months

3rd Kraft Foods, WI
Aged Extra Sharp Cheddar

EG: Cheddar from goat’s milk, aged less than 12 months

1st Central Coast Creamery, CA
Goat Cheddar

2nd Meyenberg Goat Milk Products, CA
Meyenberg Valley Goat Cheddar

3rd Fifth Town Artisan Cheese, ON
Premium Goat Cheddar, <12 months

3rd Mt. Sterling Co-Op Creamery, WI
Sterling Reserve / Raw Goat Milk Cave Aged Cheddar

EX: Mature Cheddar aged between 25 and 48 months

1st Agropur Fine Cheese, QC
Agropur Grand Cheddar aged 3 years

2nd Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, WA
Four Year Flagship

3rd Cabot Creamery Cooperative, VT
Cabot Vintage Choice Cheddar

3rd Tillamook County Creamery Association, OR
Tillamook Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar

EE: Mature Cheddar aged longer than 48 months

1st Agropur Fine Cheese, QC
Agropur Grand Cheddar aged 5 years

2nd DCI Cheese Company, WI
Black Diamond 5 Year Cheddar

3rd Fromagerie Perron, QC
Doyen

EW: Cheddar wrapped in cloth, linen, aged up to 12 months

1st Cows Creamery, PEI
Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar Aged Up To 12 Months

2nd Bleu Mont Dairy, WI
Bandaged Cheddar – Wrapped and Aged up to 12 Months

3rd Avalanche Cheese Co., CO
Hand Bandaged Goat Cheddar

3rd Brazos Valley Cheese, TX
Cheddar

EB: Cheddar wrapped in cloth, linen, aged over 12 months

1st Mariposa Dairy, ON
Lindsay Bandaged Goat Cheddar

2nd Bleu Mont Dairy, WI
Bandaged Cheddar – Wrapped and Aged Over 12 Months

3rd Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, WA
Flagship Reserve

F. BLUE MOLD CHEESES

All cheeses ripened with Roqueforti or Glaucum Penicillium (Excluded: Colorless Mycelia)
FK: Blue-veined made from cow’s milk with a rind or external coating

1st Rogue Creamery, OR
Rogue River Blue

2nd Spring Day Creamery, ME
Spring Day Blues

3rd Glengarry Fine Cheese, ON
Celtic Blue

FM: Blue-veined made from sheep’s or mixed milk with a rind or external coating

1st La Maison d’affinage Maurice Dufour, QC
Le Bleu de Brebis de Charlevoix

2nd La Moutonniere, QC
Bleu La Moutonnière

3rd Valley Shepherd Creamery, NJ
Crema De Blue

H. ITALIAN TYPE CHEESES
Excluded: Mascarpone and Ricotta
HP: Pasta Filata types – Provolone, Caciocavallo – all milks

1st Saputo Dairy Products, QC
Provolone

2nd Sorrento Lactalis, ID
Whole Milk Low Moisture Pasta Filata

3rd BelGioioso Cheese Inc., WI
Sharp Provolone Mandarino

HY: Fresh Mozzarella – 8 oz. or more (Balls or Shapes) – all milks

1st BelGioioso Cheese Inc., WI
Fresh Mozzarella Thermoform

2nd Calabro Cheese, CT
Fior Di Latte

2nd Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, CA
Fresh Mozzarella

3rd International Cheese, ON
Santa Lucia Buffalo Mozzarella

I. FETA CHEESES

IC: Feta made from cow’s milk

1st No Award Given

2nd Karoun Dairies Inc., CA
Basket Feta

3rd Parmalat Canada, ON
Black Diamond Feta

IG: Feta made from goat’s milk

1st Karoun Dairies Inc., CA
Basket Goat Feta

2nd Shepherds Dairy Products, UT
Fine Feta-Plain

3rd Goat’s Pride Dairy at McLennan Creek, BC
Feta

3rd Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery, VT
Vermont Feta

3rd Willow Moon Farm, VT
Feta

IS: Feta made from sheep’s milk or mixed milks

1st Hidden Springs Creamery, WI
Farmstead Feta

2nd La Moutonniere, QC
Feta

3rd Meadowood Farms, NY
Meadowood Farms Sheep’s Milk Feta

IF: Flavor added – spices, herbs, seasoning, fruits – all milks

1st Klondike Cheese Co., WI
Tomato & Basil Feta

2nd Neighborly Farms of Vermont, VT
Organic Pepper Feta

3rd Goat’s Pride Dairy at McLennan Creek, BC
Cranberry Caprabella

3rd La Moutonniere, QC
Feta with Herbs

J. LOW FAT / LOW SALT CHEESES
JL: Fat Free and Low Fat cheeses

1st No Award Given

2nd Fromagerie Le Détour, QC
La Dame du Lac

3rd Fromagerie Bergeron, QC
6% Pourcent

JR: Light/Lite and Reduced Fat cheeses

1st Fromagerie Fritz Kaiser, QC
Empereur Light

2nd Cabot Creamery Cooperative, VT
Cabot 50% Reduced Fat Cheddar

3rd Tillamook County Creamery Association, OR
Tillamook Reduced Fat Monterey Jack

K. FLAVORED CHEESES
Entries are limited to cheeses not included in categories with “Flavor Added” subcategories

KC: Cheeses flavored with all peppers (chipotle, jalapeno, chili, etc.) – all milks

1st No Award Given

2nd Damafro, QC
Les Bouchées Saveur Mexicaine

3rd Brunkow Cheese of Wisconsin, WI
Brun-uusto with Jalapeno

KP: Cheeses flavored with crushed or whole peppercorns or savory spices – all milks

1st Sartori Company, WI
Sartori Reserve Black Pepper BellaVitano

2nd Fromagerie Bergeron, QC
Coureur des Bois

3rd Formaggio Italian Cheese Specialties, LLC, NY
Prosciutto Roll

KH: Flavor Added Havarti – spices, herbs, seasonings, fruits – all milks

1st No Award Given

2nd Klondike Cheese Co., WI
Dill Havarti

3rd Agropur Fine Cheese, QC
Havarti Jalapeno

3rd Edelweiss Creamery, WI
Onion Havarti

L. SMOKED CHEESES
LD: Smoked Cheddars

1st Parmalat Canada, ON
Balderson Double Smoked Cheddar

2nd Gold Creek Farms, UT
Smoked Cheddar

3rd Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, WA
Smoked Flagship

M. FARMSTEAD CHEESES
Limited to cheeses and fermented milk products made with milk from herds on the farm where the cheeses are produced

MA: Open Category for all milks – Soft (Aged up to 60 days – over 50% moisture)

1st Doe Run Dairy, PA
Hummingbird

2nd Fromagerie Au Gré Des Champs, QC
Le Pont-Blanc

3rd Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, LLC, WI
Petit Frere Reserve

ME: Open Category cow’s milk cheeses – Hard (Aged over 60 days – Less than 39% moisture)

1st Fromagerie Du Presbytère, QC
Louis d’Or

2nd Farms For City Kids Foundation, VT
Tarentaise

3rd Shatto Milk Company, MO
Gouda

MG: Open Category Goat’s Milk Cheeses aged over 60 days

1st Tumalo Farms, OR
Classico

2nd Chèvrerie Fruit d’une Passion, QC
Tomme des Joyeux Fromagers

2nd Yellow Springs Farm LLC, PA
Fieldstone

3rd Capriole, IN
Mont St. Francis

MF: Open Category for all Cheeses with Flavorings Added – all milks

1st Ruggles Hill Creamery, MA
Lea’s Great Meadow

2nd Valley Shepherd Creamery, NJ
Pepato Shepherd

3rd Coach Farm, NY
Coach Farm Fresh Goat Cheese Log with Dill

3rd Fromagerie La Station, QC
Raclette de Compton au Poivre

N. FRESH GOAT’S MILK CHEESES
NO: Fresh Goat Rindless (black ash coating permitted, extruded or in containers, cups, tubs, cryovac)

1st Laura Chenel’s Chevre, CA
Laura Chenel’s

2nd Montchevre-Betin, INC., WI
Crumbled Goat Cheese

3rd Mariposa Dairy, ON
Celebrity International Goat Cheese Original

3rd Woolwich Dairy, ON
Woolwich Dairy Chevrai Original

NP: Flavor Added – Peppers / Spice

1st Baetje Farms LLC., MO
Coeur de la Crème Three Pepper

2nd Mariposa Dairy, ON
Celebrity International Chevre Pesto

3rd Baetje Farms LLC., MO
Coeur de la Crème Garlic and Chives

O. FRESH SHEEP’S MILK CHEESES
Open to all shapes and styles of rindless, unaged, fresh sheep’s milk cheeses

OO: Open Category

1st Les Fromages du Verger, QC
Le Louché

2nd La Moutonniere, QC
Cabanon

3rd Shepherd’s Way Farms, MN
Shepherd’s Hope Original

P. MARINATED CHEESES
Entries include cheeses marinated in oil, vinegar, wine, etc.

PG: Open Category made from goat’s milk marinated in liquids and ingredients

1st Laura Chenel’s Chevre, CA
Laura Chenel’s Cabecou

2nd Happy Days Dairies, BC
Goat Cheese Balls in Herb and Oil 100g

3rd Carr Valley Cheese Co, Inc., WI
Sweet Vanilla Cardona

Q. CULTURED MILK PRODUCTS
Limited to Yogurt, Crème Fraiche, Kefir, Labne, etc.

QG: Cultured products made from goat’s milk

1st No Award Given

2nd Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery, Inc., CA
Traditional Plain Kefir

3rd Happy Days Dairies, BC
Goat Milk Kefir 500ML

QY: Yogurts, Plain – made from cow’s milk with NO additional ingredients

1st No Award Given

2nd Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery, Inc., CA
Lactose Free Lowfat Plain Yogurt

3rd Beurrerie du Patrimoine, QC
Plain Cow Yogurt

QD: Yogurts, Plain – made from goat’s milk with NO additional ingredients

1st Sierra Nevada Cheese, CA
Capretta Goat Yogurt Rich & Creamy, Plain

2nd Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery, Inc., CA
Plain Yogurt

3rd Beurrerie du Patrimoine, QC
Plain Goat Yogurt

3rd Coach Farm, NY
Coach Farm Goat Milk Yogurt, Plain

QE: Yogurts, Plain – made from sheep’s milk with NO additional ingredients

1st Best Baa Dairy, ON
Sheepmilk Yogourt

2nd La Moutonniere, QC
Royogourt

3rd Appleton Creamery, ME
Yogurt

3rd Valley Shepherd Creamery, NJ
Ewegurt

R. BUTTERS
Whey Butter, Salted Butter, Sweet Butter, Cultured Butter, etc.

RC: Salted Butter made from cow’s milk with or without cultures

1st Fromagerie L’Ancêtre, QC
L’Ancêtre Organic Salted Butter

2nd Parmalat Canada, ON
Lactantia Salted Butter

3rd Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery, VT
Vermont Cultured Butter – lightly salted

RO: Unsalted Butter made from cow’s milk with or without cultures

1st No Award Given

2nd CROPP Cooperative/ Organic Valley, WI
Organic European Style Cultured Butter

2nd Parmalat Canada, ON
Lactantia Unsalted Butter

3rd Cabot Creamery Cooperative, MA
Cabot Unsalted Butter

S. CHEESE SPREADS

Spreads produced by grinding and mixing, without the aid of heat and/or emulsifying salts, one or more natural cheeses
SA: Open Category made from all milks – Spreads with flavors using a base with moisture higher than 44%

1st Kraft Foods, NY
Garden Vegetable Spread

2nd Kraft Foods, NY
Spinach Artichoke Spread

3rd Happy Days Dairies, BC
Probiotic Goat Cheese Spread 280G

T. AGED SHEEP’S MILK CHEESES
Caciotta, Romano, Manchego, Table Cheeses, etc.

TO: Open Category

1st Carr Valley Cheese Co, Inc., WI
Cave Aged Marisa

2nd Fromagerie Nouvelle France, QC
Zacharie Cloutier

2nd Hidden Springs Creamery, WI
Ocooch Reserve

3rd Lark’s Meadow Farms, ID
Dulcinea Extra Reserve

U. AGED GOAT’S MILK CHEESES
Taupinière, Rinded Log and Pyramid Types, etc.

UG: Open Category

1st LaClare Farms Specialties LLC, WI
Evalon

2nd Chèvrerie du Buckland, QC
Tomme du Maréchal

3rd Appleton Creamery, ME
Chevre Wrapped in Brandied Grape Leaf

V. WASHED RIND CHEESES
Cheeses with a rind or crust washed in salted brine, whey, beer, wine, other alcohol, or grape lees that exhibit an obvious, smeared or sticky rind and/or crust  – Limburger, Pont l’Evêque, Chimay, Raclette, Swiss Appenzeller or Vignerons-style, etc.

VC: Open Category made from cow’s milk

1st La fromagerie 1860 DuVillage, QC
La Tentation de Laurier

2nd Agropur Fine Cheese, QC
Champfleury

3rd Fifth Town Artisan Cheese, ON
Rose Haus

3rd Upper Canada Cheese, ON
Niagara Gold

VG: Open Category made from goat’s milk

1st Baetje Farms LLC., MO
Fleur de la Vallee

2nd Carr Valley Cheese Co, Inc., WI
River Bend Goat

3rd Fifth Town Artisan Cheese, ON
Cape Vessey

VS: Open Category made from sheep’s milk or mixed milks

1st La Maison d’affinage Maurice Dufour, QC
La Tomme d’Elles

2nd Best Baa Dairy, ON
Mouton Rouge

2nd Hidden Springs Creamery, WI
Ocooch

3rd Hidden Springs Creamery, WI
Meadow Melody

Elisabeth Bzikot of Best Baa Dairy receives a first-place ribbon for her Sheepmilk Yogurt while Lucille Giroux of La Moutonniere waits for a second-place ribbon for Royogourt.

Congratulations to all Canadian winners! They are shown below in alphabetical order with a summary of their winnings which accounted for 22.5 percent of ribbons awarded.

Agropur Fine Cheese
First-place ribbons – 4
Second-place ribbons – 3
Third-place ribbons – 2

Best Baa Dairy
First-place ribbons – 1
Second-place ribbons – 1

Beurrerie du Patrimoine
Third-place ribbons – 2

Chèvrerie du Buckland
Second-place ribbons – 1

Chèvrerie Fruit d’une Passion
Second-place ribbons – 1

Cows Creamery
First-place ribbons – 1

Damafro
Second-place ribbons – 2

Domaine Feodal
Second-place ribbons – 1
Third-place ribbons – 1

Farmers Cooperative Dairy
Third-place ribbons – 1

Fifth Town Artisan Cheese
Second-place ribbons – 2
Third-place ribbons – 3

Fromagerie Au Gré Des Champs
Second-place ribbons – 1

Fromagerie Bergeron
Second-place ribbons – 1
Third-place ribbons – 1

Fromagerie Du Presbytère
Best of Show – 3rd place
First-place ribbons – 1

Fromagerie Fritz Kaiser
First-place ribbons – 3

Fromagerie L’Ancêtre
First-place ribbons – 1

Fromagerie La Station
Third-place ribbons – 1

Fromagerie Le Détour
First-place ribbons – 1
Second-place ribbons – 1

Fromagerie Nouvelle France
Second-place ribbons – 1

Fromagerie Perron
Third-place ribbons – 1

Glengarry Fine Cheese
First-place ribbons – 1
Third-place ribbons – 1

Goat’s Pride Dairy at McLennan Creek
Third-place ribbons – 2

Happy Days Dairies
Second-place ribbons – 1
Third-place ribbons – 2

International Cheese
Third-place ribbons – 1

La fromagerie 1860 DuVillage
First-place ribbons – 1

La Maison Alexis de Portneuf
Third-place ribbons – 1

La Maison d’affinage Maurice Dufour
First-place ribbons – 2

La Moutonniere
Second-place ribbons – 4
Third-place ribbons – 1

Les Bergeries du Fjord
Second-place ribbons – 1

Les Fromages de l’île d’Orléans
Third-place ribbons – 1

Les Fromages du Verger
First-place ribbons – 1

Mariposa Dairy
Best of Show – 2rd place
First-place ribbons – 1
Second-place ribbons – 1
Third-place ribbons – 1

Monforte Dairy
Second-place ribbons – 1

Parmalat Canada
First-place ribbons – 1
Second-place ribbons – 2
Third-place ribbons – 1

Rogue Creamery
Best of Show

Saputo Dairy Products
First-place ribbons – 1

Upper Canada Cheese
Third-place ribbons – 2

Woolwich Dairy
Third-place ribbons – 1

For additional photos from ACS 2011 in Montreal, click here.

Canadian James Kraft churned out a giant, and other cheese news

 

Canadian James Kraft founded the second largest food conglomerate in the world.

Cheese makes news every day. That’s why we’ve started collecting links to the most interesting news reports of the week on a special page under the News tab at the top of the blog. Check it whenever you visit CheeseLover.ca.

Canadian James Kraft churned out a cheese giant

Agropur to make Boursin cheeses in Canada

Far Flung Foods: Cheesemonger to Windsor

A cheesy ad campaign in Portugal

Kraft launches an eBook to promote its Philadelphia cream cheese

An ode to Alberta cheese

Kraft strengthens Mac & Cheese brand with unified packaging

Madame Fromage: Monastic Cheese Board Redux

Natural Pastures Cheese in B.C. gets a loan from Ottawa

Springbank Cheese stars in Taste of Alberta

The secret to great fudge is . . . Kaft Velveeta?

Feds help New Brunswick dairy farmers explore specialty cheese

Brits introduce Blue Brew made with Stilton whey

Sue Riedl: Become a chairman of the (cheese) board

Video: Making mozzarella on an industrial scale

How an ex-policeman became a cheese man

U.S. cheesemakers may face more onerous safety regulations

Eating cheese helps combat dental problems

Video: How to build the perfect cheese board

Asian demand for cream cheese skyrockets

Grilled cheese: Slices of childhood, melted and mobile

Shrimp and grilled-cheese sandwiches make great gourmet fare for Grey Cup

Quebec cheesemakers score at World Cheese Awards

Cornish Blue: Judged the best cheese in the world in 2010.

Four artisan cheesemakers from Quebec as well as Canadian cheese giants Saputo and Agropur medalled in the World Cheese Awards last week, the largest cheese competition on the planet. Hosted at the BBC Good Food Show in the U.K., 201 judges from 19 different countries judged 2,629 cheeses from 29 countries. Louis Aird of Saputo was the sole Canadian judge.

Louis Aird of Saputo: Judge at the World Cheese Awards.

Cornish Blue brought the World Champion Cheese title back to the U.K., being the first British cheese honoured in more than a decade. Here are the Canadian winners, starting with the four Quebec artisan cheesemakers entered by their distributor, Fromages CDA:

 

Le Moutier

Hard goats’ milk cheese plain
Gold medal: Le Moutier ~ Fromagerie de L’Abbaye St Benoit

Rind washed cheese not in any other class
Silver Medal: La Mont Jacob ~ Fromagerie Blackburn

Rind washed cheese not in any other class
Bronze medal: Guillaume Tell ~ Fromagerie Féodal

Cheese made with the milk of more than one animal
Bronze medal: Soeur Angéle ~ Fromagerie Kaiser

 

La Sauvagine

Rind washed cheese not in any other class
Super Gold medal: La Sauvagine ~ Saputo/Alexis de Portneuf

Brie made from pasteurized milk
Silver medal: Cendré de Lune ~ Saputo/duVillage 1860

All other new cheeses. Open to any new cheese first marketed after 01/10/09
Bronze medal: Tentation de Laurier ~ Saputo

White mold ripened soft or unpressed cows’ milk cheese with savoury additives
Bronze medal: Lady Laurier d’Arthabaska ~ Saputo/du Village 1860

Soft goats’ milk cheese plain – mold-ripened
Bronze medal: Le Cendrillon ~ Saputo/Alexis de Portneuf

Brie made from pasteurized milk
Bronze medal: Saint-Honoré ~ Saputo/Alexis de Portneuf

Blue vein cheese any variety, uncut, natural rind
Bronze medal: Bleubry ~ Saputo/Alexis de Portneuf


 

Camembert L'Extra

Camembert made from pasteurized milk
Gold medal: Camembert l’Extra ~ Agropur

Cheese made with the milk of more than one animal
Silver medal: Vaudreuil mi-vache/mi-chêvre ~ Agropur

New Cheese – hard or semi-hard. Open to any new cheese first marketed after 01/10/09
Silver medal: Rivière Rouge ~Agropur

Ricotta
Bronze medal: Ricotta Prestigio ~ Agropur

For a list of U.S. winners, visit Cheesemonger’s Weblog.

The World Cheese Awards has been bringing together buyers and sellers from the dairy industry worldwide for 20 years. The BBC Good Food Show is the biggest and most cosmopolitan cheese festival ever staged in the U.K.,, with almost 100,000 consumers tasting cheese after the international panel of experts completed their judging.

—Rebecca Crosgrey

Rebecca Crosgrey is Event Co-Ordinator at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival. She patrols the Web for cheese news for CheeseLover.ca.

Grilled cheese at Clinton wedding and other cheese news

Chelsea Clinton

Cheese makes news every day. That’s why we’ve started collecting links to the most interesting news reports of the week on a special page under the News tab at the top of the blog. Check it whenever you visit CheeseLover.ca.


Little Rove des Garrigues makes big mark

Cheese for vegans

Saputo cheese factory sale looms in Vermont

Mangos lighten up grilled cheese

Microbes help make raw-milk cheese safe

Cloak and dairy grilled cheese in Manhattan

Jessica Biel loves her cheese

Cheese washed with beer makes big stink

First breast-milk cheese, now he shows us sausage

How to make giant cheese popovers

Fried cheese curds popular but unhealthy

Cheese booms in Britain

The raw-milk debate Down Under

World Championship Cheese Curd Throw in Wisconsin

African cheese aims for U.S. market

Cheese and the kosher palate

Cooler cheeses for hotter weather

Wine and cheese and blood pressure

Lady Gaga admits she has cottage-cheese thighs

Milk: How much should you drink?

Good cheese hunting: Day 15, paradise found in Warwick

For a cheese lover, Le Festival des Fromages de Warwick certainly isn’t formidable but it sure is fromidable—as the signs all over town proclaim. (Fromage, fromidable, get it?)

In its 16th year, the festival, the largest cheese event in Canada, generally welcomes more than 40,000 people to Warwick, a town of 3,500 two hours east of Montreal, in mid-June. This year, for reasons that are puzzling, attendance dropped to 28,000.

Thirty Quebec cheesemakers offered more than 100 varieties of cheese for tasting. It was impossible to taste them all, as much as one might want to. We focused exclusively on cheeses we did not know but managed to sample barely 20 cheeses over two days. Among the most memorable:

  • Louis d’Or, a flavourful, complex Gruyere-like washed rind, firm cheese made with the raw milk of the cheesemaker’s own Holstein and Jersey cows. Fromagerie du Presbytère, Sainte-Élizabeth de Warwick, Central Quebec.

  • Mont Jacob, a semi-soft, interior-ripened cheese, with a pronounced flavour and fruity aroma. Fromagerie Blackburn, Jonquière, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.
  • Tomme des Cantons also caught our fancy but there is no information available on the La Fromagerie 1860 DuVillage site. Perhaps it has been discontinued.

Saturday and Sunday are the busiest days at le Salon des fromages d’ici, the cheese show that is the heart of the Warwick festival. We’d recommend Friday as your primary day at the event. In addition to cheese, the 2010 festival featured 14 producers of artisan foods, eight vintners, three producers of ciders, one microbrewer, one beekeeper and two grocery-store chains, plus non-stop entertainment in the festival theatre, a children’s activity park, a farm yard complete with sheep, goats and chickens, a spectacular fireworks display on opening night, and popular Quebec bands and singers in concert every evening.

For lunch, supper or anytime, one could withdraw from all the goings-on to the 750-seat festival bistro under a big-top tent and enjoy a cheese and salad plate like the one pictured. There were six choices on the menu, each one with its own assortment of four cheeses, one pâté, one condiment, grapes, crudité, crisp greens and fresh bread.

Click on this or any other image for a larger view.

Down the street from the festival is La Fromagerie 1860 DuVillage, now owned by giant Saputo, which has a cheese boutique and a restaurant that features, among other dishes, 15—Yes, 15!—different ways to serve poutine, the cheese-curd-gravy-with-fries Quebec delicacy that was invented in Warwick.

Quite frankly, it was distressing, on account of all the fabulous cheese already in the belly, not to be able to dive into a plate of poutine in its birthplace.

—Georgs Kolesnikovs

Georgs Kolesnikovs, Cheese-Head-in-Chief at CheeseLover.ca, has returned home to Frenchman’s Bay east of Toronto with a cooler full of Quebec and Eastern Ontario cheese.

Good cheese hunting: Day 14, arrival in Warwick

In 2007, Warwick convinced the Quebec government to declare it as la Capitale des fromages fins du Québec, the Specialty Cheese Capital of Quebec. Le Festival des Fromages de Warwick that starts tomorrow is the 16th version of the huge cheese event that attracts 40,000 to 80,000 visitors, depending upon who is counting.

This evening, it’s still a small rural community in central Quebec some two hours east of Montreal. The most exciting thing happening is the occasional roar of a hot rod on the main drag, which we overlook from Gite du Champayeur.

A delicious baked-to-order pizza—vegetarian except for two cheeses—is our first meal in Warwick.

At La Maison des Fromages, a bistro and cheese boutique in the centre of town, we enjoy a thin-crust Pizza Bénite loaded with pesto, zucchini, tomato, black bean, artichoke and green onion and laced with Bleu Bénédictin and a mozzarella the waitress said came from Saputo.

We look over the exhibitor list: 30 cheesemakers, 14 producers of artisan specialties, eight winemakers, 3 producers of ciders, 1 microbrewer, 1 beekeeper and 2 grocery stores. Bring it on!


Swiss Gruyere named best-of-show at World Championship

And the winner is . . . Gruyere AOC from Switzerland!

The two largest Canadian cheese producers won all five of Canada’s gold medals in the 2010 World Championship Cheese Contest held in Madison, Wisconsin.

Saputo Dairy Products Canada won three golds while Agropur Cooperative garnered a pair.

Twenty countries entered 2,318 cheeses in the competition. The U.S. swept the lion’s share of gold medals. Canada and the Netherlands tied for second with five golds apiece. Best-of-show honors went to a Gruyere made by Fromagerie de La Brévine in Switzerland.

The Canadian cheeses awarded golds are:

Rindless Swiss-style cheese – La Fromagerie, Saputo Dairy Products Canada of Saint-Laurent, Quebec. The Cogruet scored 99.15 out of a possible 100 points.

Camembert and other surface-ripened cheeses – La Maison Alexis de Portneuf, Saputo Dairy Products Canada, Saint-Laurent, Quebec. The Saint-Honore scored 98.95.

Smear-ripened soft cheese – La Maison Alexis de Portneuf, Saputo Dairy Products Canada won again for it’s Le Sauvagine scoring 99.45.

Cheddar, Mild – Agropur Cooperative of Bon-Conseil, Quebec. Its cheddar scored a 99.45.

Cheddar, Sharp – Agropur Cooperative, Bon-Conseil, Quebec. An older cheddar scored 99.5.

Judges at work at the Worlds.

Saputo Dairy Products Canada was founded in 1954 in Montreal by an immigrant Italian family headed by cheesemaker Giuseppe Saputo. It processes 6 billion litres of milk annually in 46 plants in Canada, the U.S., Argentina, Germany and the United Kingdom, with 26 plants in Canada. Saputo products are sold in more than 40 countries under brand names such as Saputo, Alexis de Portneuf, Armstrong, Baxter, Dairyland, Danscorella, De Lucia, Dragone, DuVillage 1860, Frigo Cheese Heads, Kingsey, La Paulina, Neilson, Nutrilait, Ricrem, Stella, Treasure Cave, HOP&GO!, Rondeau and Vachon.

Founded in Quebec in 1938, Agropur Cooperative has 3,533 members and 5,225 employees at 27 plants and distribution centres and offices across Canada, the U.S. and Argentina. It processes 3.1 billion litres of milk on an annualized basis and offers products such as Québon, Oka, Sealtest, Natrel, Island Farms, Yoplait, La Lacteo, Trega and Schroeder.