Oser Communications Group

GOURMET NEWS MAY 2016 www.gourmetnews.com Supplier Business SUPPLIER BUSINESS 1 2 BRIEFS Marin French Cheese's Triple Crème Brie with Black Truffles took the coveted Best of Class Award for flavored soft-ripened cheese at the World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, Wisconsin, March 7- 9, 2016. Made with fresh cow's milk and cream from neighboring Marin County dairies, Triple Crème Brie specked with Black Truf- fles lends itself to an irresistibly earthy aroma of mushrooms balanced with sweet cream, each year earning high distinctions in regional, national and international con- tests alike. Other honors conferred to the Marin French team of dedicated cheesemakers during this recent competition include third place in the soft- ripened category for Petite Supreme, a high butterfat, extra-crème cheese with an aroma of sweet milk, and fourth place for Traditional Brie in the brie category. Equally impressive, Sonoma-based sister com- pany, Laura Chenel's, re- ceived accolades once again this year for its creamy, fluffy-textured Original Chabis fresh goat cheese, garnering third place in the Soft Goat Milk Cheese cat- egory. The Orange Blossom Honey Log won its first award at the event, placing third in the Flavored Soft Goat Milk Cheese with Sweet Condiments cate- gory, while the Chabis Gar- lic took a fourth place prize in Soft Goat Milk Cheese category. Laura Chenel's Original Buchette was rec- ognized with a fifth place award. "Each year we are impressed by the in- creasing level of competition at this highly regarded competition," says General Man- ager Philippe Chevrollier. "We are very proud of our cheesemaking teams at both Marin French and Laura Chenel's for being such strong contenders where ingenuity, skill and know-how are key," he adds. The World Championship Cheese Con- test, established in 1957, is organized by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Associa- tion. This year, the organization saw a record 2,955 entries from 23 countries and 31 states. GN BY LORRIE BAUMANN Cabot Creamery's partnership with Cellars at Jasper Hill won an American Cheese Society first-place award for Cabot Clothbound Cheddar Select and another first place for Cabot Clothbound Cheddar last July and now is inspiring new Cabot Creamery cheeses created for distribution in main- stream grocers, says Craig Gile, New Product Manager for Cabot Creamery. The recipe for the clothbound cheddars was developed jointly by Cabot Creamery food scien- tists and Cellars at Jasper Hill Cheesemaker Mateo Kehler and was designed to make a cheese with a sweet, nutty finish. Cabot Cream- ery's large production capac- ity made it possible to produce large quantities of the cheese – as much as 5,000 pounds a month, de- pending on market demand, which peaks during the win- ter holiday season. The cheese is aged for a few months at Cabot Creamery and then sent over to The Cellars at Jasper Hill for affinage, packaging and eventual sale to specialty cheese shops, where it fetches around $25 a pound for wheels aged 12 to 14 months. The difference in scale between the two companies means that while Cabot Creamery can make massive amounts of cheddar cheese for the mass market and take advantages of the economies of scale that come with that kind of production, which de- pends a great deal on consistency, The Cellars at Jasper Hill can take a small percentage of that product and lavish a great deal of atten- tion on it to produce a product that com- mands a premium price for its uniqueness. Cabot Creamery also gains access to the arti- sanal cheese market as well as the cachet of having its name on award-win ning cheeses sought after by cheesemongers. "Not only do we get a link to that artisanal cheese world, it gives Cabot the reputation that we're able to make the artisanal cave-aged product as well," Gile said. As the partnership has prospered, though, it's had some additional effects as Gile, who moved over from managing Cabot's ware- housing and grading to new product devel- opment, has had the chance to share knowledge with Jasper Hill Cheesemakers Mateo and Andy Kehler. "We're each pursuing different areas of what we're trying to do, and we've learned a lot from them," Gile said. "We're getting a lot of insight into what the artisanal base is looking for and finding paths to the customers that shop at these cheese shops." "I really like what that whole cheese shop environ- ment brings to us," he contin- ued. "It's a place to launch new cheeses, to get honest feedback about what you're working on, to get their feedback from customers.... What I like about the cheesemonger role is that we have people selling it who have passion about the product and can tell the story about it. It's another challenge for us to come up with products that are exciting.... You have to convince cheesemongers that you have an exciting, in- teresting, and high-end product." That insight into the artisanal cheese mar- ket has inspired the cheesemakers at Cabot Creamery to apply that information as well as knowledge about new cheese cultures as they're figuring out how they can use their existing cheddaring equipment to make new cheeses with different taste profiles. Instead of just adding new flavoring ingredients to existing cheeses, they've begun developing the recipes to create entirely new cheeses that the company is able to produce in quantities large enough to target the lines at mainstream delis. These cheeses, which Cabot has dubbed its Founder's Collection, aren't intim- idatingly different from the mainstream, but they're definitely designed to appeal to the novice turophile who's ready to take a step up from the cheeses he's used to picking up at the supermarket. "These are aimed at the deli counter," Gile said. "We didn't want to launch four new cheddars, so we've got three cheddars and another unique cheese.... We were looking for a way to add genuine value to the product, not just to make it look pretty." The Cabot Creamery Founder's Collection includes Cabot Private Stock, which has the familiar tang of the New England-style ched- dar that consumers expect from Cabot Creamery but with a stronger Northeastern bite to it. Adirondack is made in the New York facil- ity acquired with the 2003 acquisition of Mc- Cadam Cheese Company by Agri-Mark, the dairy farmer cooperative behind Cabot Creamery. Aged 1.5 to two years, it's similar to Cabot Private Stock but made with the Mc- Cadam original stock cheese with its tangier citrus bite that lends a unique flavor profile compared to Cabot's Vermont cheddars. Lamberton is similar to Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, except that it's packaged in plastic rather than with cloth bindings. The name is a nod to one of Cabot's original founding farmers, and the cheese has a buttery sweet- ness overlaying the traditional flavors of a strong yankee cheddar. The last is Orne Meadows, which is com- pletely different from most milk cheddars. It has powerful nutty notes redolent of a Grana- style Alpine cheese with a subtle New Eng- land sharpness to it. "That one, we don't actually call it a cheddar on the package," Gile said. " We just say it's a unique Vermont cheese." GN Artisanal Cheese Partnership Springboards Creativity for Cabot Creamery happy egg co. Launches Hen Welfare Pledge The happy egg co. has exceeded its goal of inspiring 25,000 consumers to get #FlockingHappy, a campaign to encourage consumers to understand hen welfare and to make more humane purchasing decisions when buying eggs. Since its launch on February 11th, the happy egg co. has secured more than 25,000 signatures, and will continue their efforts throughout the year. The happy egg co. partnered with the worldwide leader in farm animal welfare, Compassion in World Farming, pledging that for every signature received in support of the campaign, the company would make a $1 donation to Compassion in World Farming up to $25,000. The happy egg co. has met its commitment and has contributed $25,000 to Compassion in World Farming. Strongbow Welcomes Spring With New Cherry Blossom Hard Apple Cider Strongbow Hard Apple Ciders, the number one selling global cider brand and best tasting hard cider at the 2015 World Cider Championships, has unveiled its newest flavor, Strongbow Cherry Blossom. The new flavor and recipe delivers a cut-through, refreshing taste with delicate cherry blossom and red fruit aromas and an underlying note of apple, in a sophisticated shade of red. Marin French Cheese Takes Best of Class Award at World Championship Cheese Contest R.W. Knudsen Family Launches Apple Ginger Juice Blend R.W. Knudsen Family ® announces the national launch of its Apple Ginger juice blend, a combination of real ginger puree and apple juice in a crisp, refreshing beverage. Apple Ginger juice blend is now available nationwide at select natural and conventional retailers.

• Cover