While we were able to meet several cheesemakers at the New Amsterdam Cheese Market & Dairy Fair, others were represented by NYC’s top cheese shops. Such was the case with Keeley’s Cheese from the Finger Lakes, introduced to us by Amy of Lucy’s Whey. It wasn’t a tough sell — just look at the pudgy, beautiful cheese — but it’s always nice to talk with mongers as passionate about cheese as we are.
Keeley’s Cheese is a young company helmed by a young cheesemaker, Keeley McGarr, who grew up on a family dairy farm. Following college in Vermont — where she took a work-study job making cheese at Shelburne Farms — she studied cheesemaking in Ireland and at the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese. She then returned to the family farm in King Ferry, NY, and began making cheese with raw milk from her parents’ Holstein and Jersey cows.
Across the Pond is a semi-soft, washed-rind cheese that comes in two sized wheels. If you enjoy a good rind, choose the smaller version for a higher rind-to-interior ratio. This pudgy, rich cheese was so delicious I nearly polished off my wedge during my quick photo shoot. Buttery, a little earthy and yeasty, I’d pair this with a pale ale.
You can find Across the Pond at Lucy’s Whey and other NYC retailers, farmers markets in upstate NY, or hit the road and visit Keeley’s along the Finger Lakes Cheese Trail.
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I absolutely love this cheese, and I never hear enough about it. Last Thanksgiving, it was the star of a Big Apple cheese board I put together for some friends in Manhattan. Thanks for reminding me of just how damn good it is/was/will be when I eat it again!
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