In our minds, the best cheddars aren't aged in plastic. Real cheddar is carefully wrapped in layers of cloth and aged in a cave so that it releases moisture and develops a deep concentration of flavor. Cabot Clothbound Cheddar from Vermont is one of those cheddars.
The seed for the idea of creating Cabot Clothbound Cheddar was actually planted at Formaggio Kitchen. Someone who worked for Cabot Creamery was visiting the shop and commented to one of our cheesemongers that they were seeking to create a new style of cheese. The monger suggested, "Why not make a clothbound cheddar?"
Fast forward a few years to 2003, when Cabot Creamery approached Jasper Hill Farm about aging a special batch of cheddar. The two teams decided on a few key things to craft this new cheese:
- It would be made from pasteurized cow's milk from Cabot Cooperative’s Family Farms.
- The cheese would be made at Cabot Creamery, and then the young wheels would be sent to Jasper Hill Farm, where they would be coated with lard, wrapped in cloth, cared for, and aged for 9-14 months in a specially calibrated vault in their Cellars.
Formaggio Kitchen's Role
In the early days, when Jasper Hill Farm was trying to get the word out about this new cheese and needed help selling it, Formaggio Kitchen's previous owner, Ihsan Gurdal, paid them a visit in Vermont. He loaded 20 of the 35-pound wheels into the trunk of his car and said he'd be back in 2 months. True to his word, he returned 2 months later, ready to load up on a new batch.
Fast-forward to today, twice a year, we send our cheese buyers up to Jasper Hill Farm's Cellars to taste 3-5 different batches of Cabot Clothbound Cheddar and make our selection of wheels for our customers. We get these wheels shipped directly to us from Jasper Hill; there is no distributor involved.
Fun fact: The sensory team at Jasper Hill Farm has nicknamed the flavor profile that we prefer "chicken and biscuits" since we tend to favor batches with more brothy, savory notes.
Cabot Clothbound Cheddar has become one of our three top-selling cheeses every year. It's popular with our customers for good reason: This cheddar is complex enough to hold its own on a cheese board, its flavors are approachable enough to please almost anyone, and it is versatile in that it can be used in a variety of culinary applications as well.
