Cheese Society winners: Cabot is the big Cheese

Eating L.A.'s friend and faithful supporter Barrie Lynn, the Cheese Impresario guest blogs from the sold-out 23rd annual American Cheese Society Conference & Competition in Portland, Ore.
"I have been eating cheese at least five times a day and feel like my dreams have come true," says Barrie Lynn, "hearing the story of Cyprus Grove Chevre right from Mary Keehn and then eating her Humboldt Fog, Purple Haze, Bermuda Triangle - her made-with-pride cheeses. Mary is one of the pioneers in American artisanal cheese along with Allison Hooper from Vermont Butter & Cheese Company. These women are true heroes of our country."
This year 941 American artisanal cheeses were entered into the competition. Because I was interested in the judging process, I took a seminar on the detailed criteria from aesthetics, to smell to taste the judges put these cheeses through.
Now for the Winners
Best American Artisanal Cheese
Cabot Clothbound Cheddar - Cow
Cabot Creamery Cooperative from Montpelier Vermont
Master Cheesemaker Marcel Gravel and his team
This cheese is made from milk from a single herd of cows and is made in very small quantities – 25 wheels per week. Then the cheese is taken to Greensboro, Vermont and aged in the cave of the Kehler brothers from Jasper Hill Farms.
A Sample of Additional Winners
Best Fresh Mozzarella
Mozzarella Company – Dallas Texas - Cow
Master Cheesemaker Paula Lambert
Best Mascarpone
Vermont Butter & Cheese Company
Master Cheesemaker Allison Hooper
American Originals
Open Category Made from Sheep’s or Mixed Milks
1st Place Carr Valley Cheese Co.
Cave Aged Mellage
2nd Place Carr Valley Cheese Co.
Benedictine
2nd Place Carr Valley Cheese Co.
Bessies Blend
Mature Cheddars: Aged Between 25 and 35 Months
1st Place Fiscalini Farms/Fiscalini Cheese Co.
Bandage Wrapped Cheddar Mature
Modesto California
Master Cheesemaker Mariano Gonzales
BLUE MOLD CHEESES
FC: Blue-Veined Made from Cow’s Milk
1st Place WI Farmers Union Speciality Cheese Co. Blue
Best FARMSTEAD CHEESES
Limited to cheeses and fermented milk products made with milk from herds on the farm where the cheeses are produced
Open Category for Cheeses Aged Longer Than 90 days – All Milks
1st Place Thistle Hill Farm
Tarentaise
Open Category Made from Cow’s Milk
1st Place Fiscalini Farms/Fiscalini Cheese Co.
Bandage Wrapped Cheddar
2nd Place Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, LLC

I am a butter woman and love the butter from Vermont Butter & Cheese
BUTTERS
Salted Butter Made from Cow’s Milk with or without
Cultures
1st Place Cabot Creamery Cooperative
Cabot Salted Butter
Flavor Added: Spices, Herbs, Seasonings, Fruits - All Milks
1st Place Bittersweet Plantation Dairy
White Chocolate Praline Butter
Master Cheesemaker Chef John Folse
This butter is amazing! I served it to Mira Sorvino and "Curb Your Enthusiasm’s" Jeff Garlin and both were thrilled with the taste and the look of this butter.
WASHED RIND CHEESES
Liederkranz, Limburger, Brick Types and Styles, etc.
We learned that the washed rind category is the fastest growing entry category in this competition. The next fastest growing is goat cheese.
Open Category Made from Cow’s Milk
1st Place Leelanau Cheese Company
Aged Raclette
2nd Place Fromagerie Bergeron
Le Fin Renard
3rd Place Cowgirl Creamery
Red Hawk
Open category made from Goat’s Milk
1st Place Carr Valley Cheese Co.
Riverbend Goat
Click here for the complete list of winners.
Thanks Barrie Lynn! You can pick up many of these great cheeses at the Cheese Store of Silver Lake and the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills.