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GOURMET NEWS SEPTEMBER 2016 www.gourmetnews.com NEWS & NOTES 8 ACS Contest Continued from PAGE 1 the cheese is now named, after a working name for the project became the cheese's official name when it was submitted for the contest. Greensward by Murray's Cheese shares the third-place honors. Murray's aged Jasper Hill's Harbison, washing it with cider, to make this cheese, which was orig- inally created four years ago exclusively for Eleven Madison Park restaurant. "It's been a project we've been collaborating on for four years, and they are dialing it in," com- mented Jasper Hill Cheesemaker Mateo Kehler. Under the ACS competition rules, each cheese may be entered only once per calen- dar year, even if it's sold under different la- bels, so for the collaboration cheeses to be entered separately, the aging by a separate affineur must have changed the cheese's character so signficantly that it requires a separate identity. That's a judgment call that's made by the original cheesemaker and affineur on the honor system. For a first in the competition's history, there were two first-place ties for subcate- gory winners. Under the contest's rules, ties are allowed for second- and third-place awards but not for first-place awards. Each cheese is judged by a pair of judges: one looking at technical criteria who subtracts from a starting point of 50 points for any defects in the cheese, and the other looking at aesthetic criteria who awards points from a starting point of zero for characteristics just as flavor, aroma and visual beauty for a possible total score of 100 points. In the past, a tied score for first place has been broken by asking the aesthetic judge to go back to two best cheeses to see if there's anything that elevates one over the other for a possible addition to the aesthetic score. Points are never deducted from the technical score once that judge has spoken. This year, though, six cheeses in two dif- ferent categories earned perfect 100-point scores. Two of those were Lenberg Farms Classic Reserve by Celebrity, Lindsay Band- aged Cheddar from Atalanta Corporation's Mariposa Dairy and Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar – Aged Over 12 Months from Cows Creamery. They competed in the cat- egory for cheddars wrapped in cloth or linen and aged over 12 months, made from any milk. And in the open category for soft- ripened cheeses made from cow's milk, an astounding four cheeses tied for first place with perfect 100-point scores: Harbison from Cellars at Jasper Hill, Moses Sleeper from Cellars at Jasper Hill, MouCO Ashley from MouCo Cheese Company and Mtn. Ash from Sweet Rowen Farmstead. Because they competed in an open category, these cheeses represent a wide variety of styles, so there was no way to compare them directly with each other, said John Antonelli, who chaired the judging committee this year. "A judge scoring a 100 for Harbison could also score a 100 for Moses Sleeper because each of these cheeses were at their finest," he said. "It would have been insulting to the cheese- makers to ask the judges to break that tie." Harbison won a third-place award in the Best of Show category last year. Harbison was a happy accident that occurred in 2008 when a batch of brie- style Moses Sleeper cheese was found to contain too much moisture, and Cheese- maker Mateo Kehler rescued it by strapping a spruce band around it. It's named after Anne Harbison, an honorary granny for all of Greensboro, Ver- mont, where Jasper Hill Farm is located. We wanted to honor a living legend among us, Kehler said last year. The cheese, formed in a 10-ounce round, is made from pasteurized milk. It peaks at about 70 days of aging, when it's soft enough to eat with a spoon. It is possible to eat a whole one by yourself, Kehler said. Cellars at Jasper Hill's Winnimere also took a first-place award in its category for soft farmstead cheeses made from cow's milk and aged 60 days or more. Kehler noted that a farmstead cheese represents a particularly difficult category because farm- stead cheeses are made from the milk of a sin- gle herd raised on the same farm that houses the creamery where the cheese is made. "Farmstead cheesemaking is a relentless grind into forever," Kehler said. Winnimere, a Vacherin-style soft cheese that's also wrapped in a spruce band from trees grown in the woodlands at Jasper Hill, was named the ACS Best of Show winner three years ago. "This is fun. We're having so much fun," Kehler said. Best of show winners were selected from among the first-place finishers in all sub- categories. "At the end, the cheeses were judged according to their 'yum factor,'" An- tonelli said, adding that at that point, the judges were looking for a cheese that might change their lives. "It takes a combination of people and attention to detail," he noted. Best of Show winner Little Mountain is an Alpage-style washed rind cheese made from thermalized cow milk, which means that the milk is heated to a temperature that reduces its microorganism load with- out eliminating it completely before it's chilled and then reheated for inoculation with a starter culture. "Alpage" suggests a cheese made in the warmer months of the year from milk taken from cows on an Alpine mountain pasture. Except for the actual Alps, Wisconsin's landscape is much like that of Switzerland, with similar pas- ture grasses and soil types, Roelli said. He makes the cheese in summer and autumn with milk from a single family dairy. "I get to work with the same milk every day," Roelli said. "If I get good milk in and don't screw it up, there's a pretty good chance I'll get a good cheese." Little Mountain is made using very tradi- tional methods and copper utensils in a stainless steel vat from milk with a very small amount of a proprietary mix of a couple of cultures. "Copper delivers a flavor profile you can't get any other way," Roelli said. "You can't duplicate that without using copper." Forms are hand-filled. After the wheels come out of the forms, they're dry-salted and then stored in a cooler for a couple of days. Then each wheel gets a couple of days of washing with a weak brine before going on for more washing with a solution of bacteria and yeast that develops into a mother. "It [the mix of cultures] evolves from something readily bought into something else," Roelli said. "These are cultures that are quite aggressive." The cheese is washed with the culture solu- tion every day for two to three months and then every other day after that to build flavor and thicken the rind. "We brush it and gently rub it around the outside of the wheel," Roelli said. As the cheese ages, it'll eventually go back to a brine wash to inhibit molds. The aging takes place on wood shelves, and the resulting cheese is an expression of the milk, the pasture grasses and Wisconsin's limestone-rich soils as well as the skill of a fourth-generation cheesemaker descended from a Swiss immigrant. "Our family has been making cheese in the same facility for almost 100 years," Roelli said."What we have in Wisconsin is something we're try- ing to bring to the forefront – great grass, great cows.... We're exceptionally proud of the milk produced in Wisconsin." The particular wheel that won the con- test was aged for nine months, although Roelli Cheese Company sells the cheese at ages from eight to 14 months, said Roelli. "It's my favorite cheese to make." GN Mateo Kehler Seana Doughty Jeff Jirik & Jeff Wideman Eurofins Scientific has appointed Kally Probasco, President, Eurofins Microbiology Laboratory (EML). Probasco will provide dynamic new leadership to Eurofins' rap- idly expanding national network of local food microbiology laboratories. Before her new appointment, Probasco oversaw all U.S. operational functions for the EML group involving successful instal- lations of technical methodologies, strategic account negotiations, key talent acquisition, new lab constructions, and other key initia- tives. She was instrumental in the achieve- ment of aggressive growth objectives and quality standards for the division. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry from Iowa State University and has accumulated vital experience in all aspects of laboratory operations for Eu- rofins over the years. David Bryant, Senior Vice President of Eurofins North America, Food and Environment Testing said, "We are delighted to have Kally in this impor- tant role in our organization as she brings a tremendous amount of energy and strate- gic leadership to our growing and talented group of food safety testing professionals. In light of the demands that are being placed on food producers, processors, and importers for food safety compliance, we understand how important it is to be a stakeholder in the success of our customers and provide them with cutting edge analyt- ical technologies and unparalleled service to help them meet their challenges with ease and personalized support." Today, Eurofins provides a complete array of services in the area of food safety that in- clude comprehensive microbiological test- ing, a wide array of contaminant detection assays, import detention testing, food safety auditing according to globally recognized and benchmarked industry standards, and an expanding offering of food safety train- ing courses. With recent advancements in microbiomics and innovative logistical so- lutions, Eurofins continues to enhance its unmatched portfolio of assays and develop new ways to provide customers with greater understanding of their processes and an im- proved ability to meet their product quality demands in less time. GN Eurofins Appoints New President for U.S. Microbiology Division

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