I’m a New Yorker by marriage — married to the New Yorker-type for whom “New York” means only the City. In the dozen or more years we’ve been visiting the in-laws in the city, I’ve only been upstate on two brief occasions. Of course, I’m fully aware of New York’s finer cheesemakers that hail from the state’s dairyland: Nettle Meadow is mentioned often here on C+C and Nancy’s Hudson Valley Camembert was one of the first cheeses we reviewed, way back in 2008. I lucked out on my most recent trip to the city as the New Amsterdam Market was kind enough to gather the region’s cheesemakers for a one-day Cheese Market & Dairy Fair.
This provided the perfect opportunity to sample some new and new-to-the-blog cheeses. First up, Cooperstown Cheese Company, whose website directs visitors to “the red barn roof six miles south of Cooperstown,” in Milford, NY.
Cooperstown Cheese Co. produces several European-inspired cheeses from Jersey and Brown Swiss cows-milk from local family farms and aged in their caves. The big seller at the market seemed to be the impressive Toma Celena, a nutty, alpine-style cheese. The smaller, more grooved Toma Primo won my heart though, a slightly sweet washed rind. This is a robust cheese made for seasonal beer pairings this fall — perhaps something from nearby Brewery Ommegang.
A third Toma, Duro, and Jersey Girl, a lighter-bodied Colby-style cheese rounded out the selections at the market. I hope to run into Cooperstown cheeses in the city again. If not, at least I now have something to look forward to on the baseball hall of fame pilgrimage to Cooperstown my husband has long been planning.
(Psst: Rumor has it that the Beekman Boy’s much-hyped Beekman Blaak is aged at Cooperstown.)
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