This obviously is not a recipe, but I figured it fit better in here with the "foodies" on AR than elsewhere.

In short, I invited a fellow ARer, Matt Salm, to come hunt some pigs on my place a month or so back. He is from Minnesota or Wisconsin, one of them Yankee states, which I understand are rumored to be somewhere up beyond the Artic Circle.

He had a successful albeit brief hunt....killing 3 smallish pigs in about 8 hours of hunting, one evening and the next morning, and fled Texas to try to get home before roads permanently iced over....another of the big snow event fronts was rapidly closing in.

We enjoyed meeting each other and he told me he'd send me a care package of Wisconsin Cheeses when he got home. I politely told him that wasn't necessary but I am gastronomically thrilled that he followed through.......they arrived yesterday and are some of the finer cheeses I've had, especially considering they are all American made and local to Matt. This is not my first cheese rodeo, we usually buy a $100 or so worth at Central Market when we go to Dallas. I tend to like blues, French and Italian preferred, but this care package didn't have any of them in there. It did have some Gouda, smoked Gouda, one year old cheddar, 4 year old Cheddar, and Cranberry Chipotle Cheddar. They were all excellent, but I think I preferred the 4 yr old Cheddar the best. The Cranberry Chipotle was interesting, tasted mostly of cheese and cranberries on the tongue with a slow warming after swallowing it.

I mean, this company makes artisanal cheeses which are REALLY superior to what is normally available and at very competitive prices. I guess the best analogy I can come up with is they are the equivalent of a fine microbrewery of cheeses. They have been in business since 1902 and have won 100s of cheese prizes in just the last few years, including quite a few first places at the World Cheese Championship and the US Championship Cheese Contest among others.

I'm about to order a selection of their blues and some older cheddar shortly. REALLY highly recommended. If you like cheese, you'll like it, gaarronteed, as the Cajuns say.

View them and order if you wish, at Carr Valley Cheese

The aged cheedar really looks good ~ and the prices don't seem bad at all. I could easily give that a try ~

Thanks for the link!

The Salms were nice enough to include a catalog with the cheeses. The paper catalog is a helluva lot easier to follow and make decisions about what might be interesting than their site IMO and this is not just a Luddite speaking, but, of course, that might be part of it. For instance on the second page of the catalog, there is a long list of various contests and prizes with the cheeses that won them which gives a guide to which cheeses might appeal to the reader. Generally speaking, the information is available on the site, but not in one spot.

My dad's the same way - he wants it on paper. I agree too, usually. A website is convenient, but a catalog has substance, and you can take it anywhere and thumb through it ~

Currently negotiating with the wife about ordering a couple of items ~~

You guys can't be all bad if you like 4 year old cheddar. Had some from England -what a treat ! Aging many of the cheeses makes a world of difference.Cheddar I won't eat unless it's 1 year old or more .I'll check the site.

If you want to try a very fine cheese like 4 y/o cheddar other than melted cheese sammich --
Make maccheroni and cheese or other very simple dich to really highlight the cheese.
Maccheroni - you could use the half round type or other if you choose. [There are two spellings of maccheroni !]
Coarsely grated cheese like 4 y/o cheddar.Put hose two in a heat proof bowl .Add milk to half of that height. Sprinkle top with bread crumbs. Bake
Don't use a thick Bechamel sauce !!!

FWIW, which is very little, here is what I ordered today. Obviously other's taste may vary significantly from mine.....

quote:

Product Quantity Base price Total weight Subtotal
6 Year Aged Cheddar
Code: CH6YR
1 $14.60 1.00 $14.60
Billy Blue
Code: BILLYB
1 $18.25 1.00 $18.25
Brie
Code: BRIE
1 $7.90 1.00 $7.90
Cave Aged Marisa
Code: CAVEMA
1 $18.80 1.00 $18.80
Glacier Gorgonzola
Code: GLACIERGORG
1 $9.55 1.00 $9.55
Glacier Penta Creme Cheese
Code: GLACIERPENTA
1 $10.05 1.00 $10.05
Glacier Wildfire Blue
Code: CARR1056
1 $10.25 1.00 $10.25
Horseradish Cheddar
Code: CHHRA
1 $11.15 1.00 $11.15
Virgin-Pine Native Sheep Blue
Code: VPNSB
1 $17.85 1.00 $17.85
Subtotal: $118.40
Estimated Shipping: $23.93

If someone on a limited budget or, like me, hates wasting money, can find a friend or relatives to split the order, the costs per pound go down significantly if you order 8 or 10 pounds because the shipping charges go up very little.

My "cheap" is showing through a bit above, Matt Salm was nice enough to send me some 4 yo cheddar and I liked it very much, the 6 yo is just a bit more per pound, compared to the 10 yo at $23/lb. I thought I'd try the 6 yo to see if it was significantly better at $3.60/pound more than the 4 yo before I ordered some 10 yo at $12 a pound more. I can't deny I have Scottish ancestors, even when I spend money like a drunken sailor.

I'll definitely be placing an order next payday - that aged cheddar looks too good to pass up.I was looking at a few other items, too ~

Nothing quite like really superior cheese. There's look very good. We spent two weeks over the holidays in Tasmania and had some really incredible cheese. The state prides itself in having micro-about-everything available and all, whether beer, gin, cheese, soft drinks.

I see my local wine and cheese shop (Surdyk's in Minneapolis) carries some Carr Valley cheeses, sounds like I'll have to stop by there soon. Thanks for the heads up. They have some fantastic cheeses from Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Aged cheddar, how can you deny that? I like gouda too, bet my girlfriend would go for the cranberry chipotle.

Well, there goes my cholesterol again. Gonna have to put an order in. I use a lot of Cabot cheese and these look good as well.

The Carr Valley 10 year old is really good. They are also very nice people. Used to stop there when going up North from Chicago to go deer hunting.

I am glad I saw this thread need to place an order.

BigB

Compared to our local store pries for decent chees, those prices are CHEAP!
Thanks,
Brice

This is one of the reasons I love living in Wisconsin! We have great cheese everywhere and at very good prices! Oh yeah and anyone with a hog problem, I'm willing to travel with cheese and beer!

Peter

I just saw this here Gato, let me know what you like the best and I'll bring a cooler full next time I'm down that way the pork I pulled off those pigs was as good as any cheese IMO and well worth the 'trade'.

I saw a local program where a cheese co here was offering a 15 year aged cheddar. Apparently the crystallizations in the 2-8 year cheddar so dissipates after a few more years and mellows into some really good stuff. I usually use the sharper stuff on eggs or in dishes preferring the Mellower stuff for snacking.

Although I really hate to mention this, one of our all-time favorites is bought from Sam's Club... Kerrygold Ballyshannon Irish cheese....a friend recently told us to try it and it's phenomenal...something most Wisconsinites would not admit to.

Years back my father met a guy who had retired ,got bored ,so he looked around to find a project He found a closed down cheese maker in VT,bought it and stated making cheese. But he found there was some cheese in the place very old. He packed it into a station wagon and went to fancy NYC restaurents .They were happy to get it as a little bit of that old cheese in any cheese dish made a big improvement !

For those that want some absolutely amazing gouda, try Marieke Gouda. They are a family operated farm just south of Thorp, WI. I take the family out there every month or two to stock up. My daughters have a blast petting the calf's.

https://www.hollandsfamilycheese.com/