Cabot Clothbound Cheddar. Go Vermont!

I went to Vermont once. It was the middle of winter, and the icicles were beautiful, and I didn't feel my toes for a week. It was absolutely beautiful. I remember waking up with my aunt's dog's big cold nose in my face, and visiting the Ben & Jerry's outlet store. (When the machine doesn't mix the Heath Bar in very well, and you get a tunnel of Heath Bar down the middle of your ice cream, it gets discounted and you can buy it for half price. O.M.G.)

At the time, I wasn't cheesedreaming, and didn't realize that I should have been visiting creamerys, and learning how to make cheese the Vermont way. I'm sure I could have gone to Cabot Creamery. It's OK though. Because now I've tried Cabot Clothbound Cheddar. Made from a herd of Holsteins, formed into 35 pound rounds, wrapped and coated in lard to keep in moisture, housed at Jasper Hill Farm (gotta try their cheese too!!) and turned every day for three weeks before being turned monthly for 10-14 months. That's love.

Anyway, this is one tasty cheddar. Its beautiful straw color, and delightful scent of lemon is just the start. It is crumbly, but not dry. In fact, in your mouth, it practically oozes butter fat! Yum. It has an amazing nutty-ness, and actually reminded me a little bit of Parmesan. There is even a little bit of the Parmesan crunch.

If it lasts, I think I might try grating it into some savory muffins. If I was a real baker, I'd even try that cheddar on apple pie thing.

There's a nice dream!