{"id":3958,"date":"2012-12-31T21:27:03","date_gmt":"2013-01-01T02:27:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cheeseloverca.wordpress.com\/?p=3958"},"modified":"2012-12-31T21:27:03","modified_gmt":"2013-01-01T02:27:03","slug":"best-bites-outstanding-cheeses-of-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/2012\/12\/31\/best-bites-outstanding-cheeses-of-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"Best bites: Outstanding cheeses of 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"This<\/a>
This is the third year in succession that Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar has been selected as one of the outstanding cheeses of the year at CheeseLover.ca.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We bring the curtain down on 2012 with friends in fromage recalling the memorable cheeses that crossed their palates this year. In alphabetical order, here are 20 outstanding cheeses of the year just ending\u2014and one terrific cinnamon butter:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Any cheese made by Gunn’s Hill Artisan Cheese<\/a><\/strong>
\nRegardless if I’m eating his curds or the harder aged cheeses Shep Ysselstein is best known for, his cheeses never disappoint, they’re always outstanding bites to remember. He is truly a talented cheesemaker to watch.
\n\u2014Wendy Furtenbacher, Blogger, CurdyGirl<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar, COWS Creamery<\/a><\/strong>
\nI was in P.E.I in the summer and finally got to meet Scott Linkletter,\u00a0 owner of COWS Creamery, and Armand Bernard, the cheesemaker. Ate Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar (still good everytime I have it) looking out over New London Bay as the sun was setting.
\n\u2014Sue Riedl<\/a>, Cheese Columnist, The Globe and Mail<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Bella Casara Mozzarella di Buffala, Quality Cheese<\/a><\/strong>
\nDiscovered shortly after my trip to Italy when I was experiencing serious fresh cheese withdrawals. Enjoy the fresh, mild, milky flavor and smooth silky texture of this oh-so-versatile cheese made from Ontario buffalo (Yes, water buffalo) milk.\u00a0 The small, soft, delicate hand-pulled rounds pair perfectly with both sweet and savory accoutrements. Click here<\/a> for more tasting notes.
\n\u2014Vanessa Simmons, Cheese Sommelier, Savvy Company<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Black River 8-Year Cheddar, Black River Cheese<\/a><\/strong>
\nWhile many Black River cheddars have a characteristic bitterness, the 8-year has lost this. It is incredibly thick and smooth in the mouth, rich and nutty, with a hint of caramel.
\n\u2014Andy Shay, Cheese Buyer, Sobeys Ontario<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Monforte<\/a>
Monforte Dairy’s Bliss makes our Best Bites list for the second time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bliss, Monforte Dairy<\/a><\/strong>
\nI had been waiting and waiting for Bliss to be available after trying a sample in 2011.\u00a0Finally, in May, I scored some at the Brickworks farmers’ market<\/a> in Toronto. Worth the wait!
\n\u2014Sue Riedl<\/a>, Cheese Columnist, The Globe and Mail<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Brebiou, Fromagerie de Chaumes<\/a><\/strong>
\nBrebiou is a pasteurized sheep’s milk bloomy rind from Fromagerie des Chaumes in southwest France that I thoroughly enjoyed discovering. Click here<\/a> for more tasting notes.
\n\u2014Jackie Armet, Cheese Co-ordinator , The Great Canadian Cheese Festival<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Brie Paysan, Fromagerie de la Presbytere<\/a><\/strong>
\nIt’s been consistently beautiful this year, especially when ripe. If purchased, folks should hold it for an extra while. This is my favourite example of “vegetal” notes in a cheese.
\n\u2014Vanessa Simmons, Cheese Sommelier, Savvy Company<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Downey’s Cinnamon Honey Butter<\/strong><\/a>
\nMy personal favourite this year is Downey’s cinnamon butter. It was a breakfast favourite of my youth, and I knew the family that made it in upstate New York. Through sleuthing with Gerry Albright<\/a> and Sue Riedl<\/a>, it turns out this is a heritage Canadian product! Many people remember McFeeter’s Honey Butter. The McFeeters licenced honey butter to the Downeys in Eastern Ontario. The Downeys later moved the company to New York. Whether you like the history or not, it is an awesome breakfast treat on toast. Sobeys is very happy to offer this heritage Ontario product<\/a> again\u2014now made in Pennsylvania.
\n\u2014Andy Shay, Cheese Buyer, Sobeys Ontario<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Figaro, Glengarry Fine Cheese<\/a><\/strong>
\nMy favourite Canadian cheese of late has been Figaro, by Glengarry Fine Cheese, because it is unique (though I believe modeled after a style of Robiola<\/a>) and risk-taking (very moist, difficult to package and transport) and absolutely delicious (yeasty aromas, complex texture, musky finish).
\n\u2014Julia Rogers, Cheese Educator, Cheese Culture<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"How<\/a>
How can a cheese that looks as good as Fleuron not be selected for the annual honour roll? Photo by Vanessa Simmons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fleuron, Les Fromagiers de la Table Ronde<\/a><\/strong>
\nA beautiful rustic creamy blue that is simply stunning. I think the photo speaks for itself. How could this not make the list<\/a>?
\n\u2014Vanessa Simmons, Cheese Sommelier, Savvy Company<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Fromagerie Du Champ a la Meule<\/strong><\/a>
\nLe Fetard, Les Metayeres and Le Victor et Berthold are three awesome cheese from Qu\u00e9bec made at Fromagerie Du Champ a la Meule that I hope we in Ontario can purchase really, really soon!
\n\u2014Jackie Armet, Cheese Co-ordinator , The Great Canadian Cheese Festival<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Golden Blyth, Blyth Farm<\/a><\/strong>
\nA delicious, mild goat’s milk Gouda produced by Paul van Dorp near Blyth, Ontario
\n\u2014Gurth Pretty<\/a>, Senior Category Manager, Deli Cheese, at Loblaws<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Grey Rush, Primeridge Pure<\/a><\/strong>
\nI’m a sucker for the plain as it is so versatile, but I find myself craving the chili, and this summer I was blown over by the frozen cheesecake made with their exceptional cream cheese.
\n\u2014Wendy Furtenbacher, Blogger, CurdyGirl<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Cheddar \u00cele-aux-Grues, <\/strong>Fromagerie Ile-aux-grues<\/a>
\nIt has a lovely sharp bite while maintaining a creamy crumby flavour.
\n\u2014Jackie Armet, Cheese Co-ordinator , The Great Canadian Cheese Festival<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Mascotte, Fromagerie Fritz Kaiser<\/a><\/strong>
\nA washed rind, semi-soft, goat’s milk cheese. Slight tang to it.
\n\u2014Gurth Pretty<\/a>, Senior Category Manager, Deli Cheese, at Loblaws<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Nostrala, Kootenay Alpine Cheese<\/a><\/strong>
\nAt The Great Canadian Cheese Festival, I sampled (and sampled) Nostrala and again was reminded how amazing it is and that I should buy it much more! Click here<\/a> for more tasting notes.
\n\u2014Sue Riedl<\/a>, Cheese Columnist, The Globe and Mail<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Sensations Applewood Smoked Cheddar, aged 2 years, Sobeys<\/a><\/strong>
\nA thermalized cheddar made in Qu\u00e9bec. Like a campfire, you can taste the nuance. Would be perfect with a single malt!
\n\u2014Andy Shay, Cheese Buyer, Sobeys Ontario<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Fromagerie<\/a>
Fromagerie Les Folies Berg\u00e8res deserves to be on the best-of-2012 list if only for the artistry of its packaging.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sorci\u00e8re Bien Aim\u00e9e, Fromagerie Les Folies Berg\u00e8res<\/a><\/strong>
\nA soft, unctuous goat’s milk cheese is new to the luxurious lineup of Fromagerie Les Folies Berg\u00e8res cheeses. Click here<\/a> for my tasting notes. Again, keep until it’s soft and ooey-gooey good.
\n\u2014Vanessa Simmons, Cheese Sommelier, Savvy Company<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Tuxedo Triple Creme<\/strong><\/a>
\nA delicious triple-cream from France.
\n\u2014Gurth Pretty<\/a>, Senior Category Manager, Deli Cheese, at Loblaws<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Wendy’s Own Camembert<\/strong>
\nA sheep’s milk Camembert that I made in a class at George Brown<\/a> taught by Ruth Klahsen<\/a>. I was not expecting success, but one out of the five cheeses I affineured actually turned out well. I was really proud of myself.
\n\u2014Wendy Furtenbacher, Blogger, CurdyGirl<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

See also:<\/p>\n

Outstanding cheeses of 2011<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Outstanding cheeses of 2010<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We bring the curtain down on 2012 with friends in fromage recalling the memorable cheeses that crossed their palates this year. In alphabetical order, here are 20 outstanding cheeses of the year just ending\u2014and one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,44,59,132,156,168,172,173,181,189,192,207,208,224,230,277,296,338,358,363,372,381,399,405],"tags":[],"brand":[],"class_list":["post-3958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-andy-shay","category-black-river-cheese","category-buffalo-milk","category-curdy-girl","category-figaro","category-fromagerie-du-presbytere","category-fromagerie-fritz-kaiser","category-fromagerie-isle-aux-grues","category-fromagerie-les-folie-bergeres","category-george-brown-college","category-glengarry-fine-cheese","category-gunns-hill-artisan-cheese","category-gurth-pretty","category-julia-rogers","category-kootenay-alpine-cheese","category-loblaws","category-monforte-dairy","category-quality-cheese","category-ruth-klahsen","category-savvy-company","category-sobeys","category-sue-riedl","category-vanessa-simmons","category-wendy-furtenbacher"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3958\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3958"},{"taxonomy":"brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/brand?post=3958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}