Midnight Moon & Harpersfield Tilset

If you are of a certain age, you might remember when American cheese usually meant a slice of orange cheese, individually wrapped. You could buy goat cheese from France if you lived near an excellent shop. Blue cheese was an exotic choice and considered a little sharp for the American palate.

But that has all changed. Artisanal cheesemakers have been at work for some time now, and not just in the traditional states of Vermont, Wisconsin and northern California. Small, but serious cheesermakers can now be found in Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Texas, Colorado and many other states.

The country’s cheesemaking has come far enough that old Europe has taken notice. An Associated Press report posted on MSNBC says that, “American artisanal cheeses are demanding — and earning — respect here and abroad, showing American cheese is not just for cheeseburgers any more.” The article compares the lengthy time needed for acceptance by Europeans to that required for California’s wines.

The AP article quotes Mike Gingrich, owner and cheesemaker at Uplands Cheese, in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, comparing his Pleasant Ridge cheese and the Beaufort cheese from the French Alps it is modeled after:

They are really tasting the terroire. The cheese is made the same. It's made from cow's milk. But it's from a different part of the country, a different climate, different forages. That's the difference they are tasting when they compare our cheese to Beaufort.

Pleasant Ridge Reserve Cheese

Randolph Hodgson, owner of the Neal's Yard Dairy cheese shops in London, said from England, "My customers are just staggered that there is a cheese of that quality being made in the United States."

So support your local cheesemaker. She might just be reducing America's trade deficit!

If you’d like to read the Associated Press report on MSNBC cited above go to: Rogue Creamery leads American cheeses to Europe

To view a selection of fine American cheeses go to: Artisanal & Crafted Cheeses