East Coast cheese tour: Grafton

Vermont Shepherd was pretty much the last stop on the cheese tour. We had done so much driving and seen so many dairies in a short period of time that all I wanted to do was hang out with a couple of Western Massachusetts friends, sit around, and catch up.

Thankfully I got to spend an hour or two with susanstinson an incredibly under-read novelist and all around wonderful person. I also got to go to The People’s Pint with my old SF friends who own Bottle of Bread, a great restaurant which should be re-opened in August or so. I also got to stay at their house which sits on 8 acres and costs less than half of a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco. Grumble.

Cindy Major, Sheana and I did make it to one more cheese place but it was half-assed. I’ve carried Grafton Cheese since practically my first day in cheese. It’s got that crumbly-sharp Vermont style cheddar thing going on. It bites the tip of your tongue and mellows just when you think it will get bitter. This is the cheddar that’s made for apple pies. It surpasses English cheddars in sharpness (though not earthiness or richness) and is truly an U.S. cheese achievement.

But we only had a weekend left on our trip and my contact with the company was on vacation. I didn’t really want to impose on anyone to give us a tour on a Saturday, but I did want to see the town of Grafton described to me alternatively as "amazingly bucolic and beautiful" and as a "Stepford town".

Evidently the town of Grafton had been bought years ago by one of Rockefeller’s foundations and turned into a model Vermont Village, going so far as to bury all the power and phone lines so it would look all Olde Tyme. I heard, but was unable to confirm, that while they don’t dress up in pilgrim suits, they make the workers use back entrances and organize their trucking so it can’t be seen by tourists. A few trips back East as a child obliterated any potential colonial nostalgia in me so I was ready to be scathing.

True, there was no one in the streets of Grafton, but the weather was miserable (for the only time on the trip). It seemed cute but not cloying. A little Hollywood movie set, but with enough actual working businesses and farms to not be creepy. I do hate a missed occasion for bitchiness but alas, Dear Readers, it wasn’t bad. Maybe if I went back at high season and the place was filled with tourists… I mean, one can still fall in love with the Town of Mendocino if one visits on a cold winter day.

And don’t forget that, tourist town aside, Grafton makes some of the best sharp cheddar in the country.

Oh, pictures!


Sheana and the back of Cindy’s head in front of the Grafton Cheese gift store


Me representing SF in rainy New England

East Coast cheese tour: Ricki Carroll

One last thing: if anyone out there is into making cheese, the person to get supplies from is Ricki Carroll at New England Cheesemaking Supply I can’t get into details, but Ricki is one of the most giving and wonderful folks I’ve encountered in the cheese business. I witnessed an act of generosity that almost had me in tears. Plus, her knowledge and helpfulness can’t be beat. In fact, anyone coming into our store asking for rennet, we send to Ricki even though she is 3000 miles away.

Heck, even Barbara Kingsolver thinks so.

(edited: I fixed the link but here's the mozzarella recipe anyway.)