Farmers market season is beginning (in DC, at least) and spring and summer’s fresh produce often calls for fresh cheese, like chevre, mozzarella and feta. I noted last summer that I had had the chance to sample some new-to-me cheeses from Maine — and the good folks at Pineland Farms were kind enough to send a box full of samples for my budding cheese snobs and I to taste. (Proof that you reap what you sow: my five-year-old has recently sworn off string cheese, instead asking me, peering into the cheese drawer, “Do you have any of those cheeses I like?”)
Pineland Farms Creamery in New Gloucester, Maine, is part of a 5,000 acre educational farm and cross-country ski facility (among other outdoor recreational offerings). The farmstead creamery uses milk from the farm’s grass-fed (and artificial hormone-free) Holstein cows to produce cheddars, flavored Jacks, Swiss, feta and more. The two-year aged cheddar was nicely sharp. This may come as a surprise, but the cheese that really caught my attention was their Monterey Jack. A cheese I rarely give a second thought to, Pineland Farms’ version is just so milky and creamy that I hardly wanted to share it with the kids. (They enjoyed it in quesadillas, while I nibbled on those crispy bits of cheese that ooze out of the tortilla in the pan.)
We were also smitten with the feta, pictured below. It may not be a traditional feta in that it’s neither made from sheeps milk nor a product of Greece, but cows milk feta is often well-suited for cooking and can be a stepping stone for people who don’t (yet) appreciate a briny feta. This feta was, like the Jack, notably creamy and clean-tasting with a not-too-salty tang. I used it in a Corn and Feta Quiche that was a hit with the whole family.
You can find Pineland Farms cheeses in Whole Foods in the Northeast or Bloom/Food Lion stores along the East Coast.
(Feta is so in fashion that Culture magazine placed it on the cover of its spring issue; pick up a copy at your local cheese shop. We’ll surely be cooking with it more as summer approaches.)
What’s your feta style? Sheepy or bovine? Salty or creamy?
Disclosure: I received cheeses from Pineland Farms for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received and all opinions are our own.
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Great to see a local cheese getting some press far outside of Maine. The farm at Pineland is beautiful (I’ve been twice) and the people are extremely passionate about what they do. My personal favorite is their 2yr cheddar for every day nibbling.
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