Today we swung by the Tuesday Farmer's Market to pick up our usual bounty and one of the goodies we picked up is an awesome wheel of cheese. Believe me, there is nothing like driving a moped away from a farmer's market two deep with an eleven pound wheel of cheese, bags of greens and pints of strawberries...it really turns heads.
I often talk about what great produce we have in the valley and blab on and on about the great meats raised minutes away, but I tend to forget about another local delicacy that I feel is really making progress. Cheese. Lately, US cheese has been making huge strides in quality and Vermont cheese has been at the forefront of that movement. What about Massachusetts cheese? Some of the cheese we have in the Valley is exceptional. The wheel we picked up today, a wheel of A Barndance from Robinson Farm, is a beautiful representation of high quality cheesemaking right here in the Pioneer Valley. It is a washed-rind cheese made from raw whole milk and I think it could hold up to some of the famous tommes of France. I have noticed a big improvement in the cheese making of Western Massachusetts since I moved here roughly three years ago and I see us being a major player in the cheese trade in a few short years. Unfortunately, not enough attention is being payed to our hardworking cheesemakers. Hopefully their presence (and samples) at farmer's markets, at local shops, and restaurants like ours will help with their notoriety.
I have always said "all I need is a good glass of wine, a crusty piece of bread and a delicious cheese and I am a happy man"...
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