What is American cheese?

Last month I traveled to the distant land of Portland, Oregon to find out. There I had the pleasure and privilege of attending the 23rd annual American Cheese Society (ACS) Conference, a gathering of the who’s who in the cheese world and a multi-category judging of practically every artisan cheese produced in this country.

American cheese initially adopted the character and traditions of the immigrants that chose to make this country home. The Brits brought their cheddar recipes, the Dutch the Goudas, and so on. Nowadays many of the best American artisan cheesemakers retrace their recipes back to Europe, spending time with the masters there to further hone and perfect their craft.

As a result, American cheese is where American wine was 30 years ago—truly palatable, and catching up to their finest European counterparts. The record number of entries in this year’s judging is also an indication that American artisan cheesemaking is here to stay. Check out my photo album for an idea of the sheer amount of cheese we were privy to (I think I ate about 4 pounds in 3 days).

Finally, the crowning glory of ACS 2006 …(insert drum roll)… The Best Of Show ribbon was pinned on Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, made by Cabot Creamery and expertly aged by the folks at Jasper Hill Farm. Check out the ACS website for the full judging results brochure.

Comments

[Las Vegas Country Club]

You must've enjoyed that gathering as much as anyone would. :) Good for you. And the fact that you ate 4 pounds of good cheese in 3 days, just icing on the cake.

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I'm really surprised, this article is very good, I took more than 2 years of reading articles on topics related and have never had the pleasure of reading something so complete, I am fascinated, I can do that if you send me information to keep up with new contributions.

[Impotence causes]

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[chicaloungin]

This morning I ate an amazing boucheron, on my deck in Portland, Oregon, and just a few dabs took me right back to my days of living in France... travels through Europe... and it's "just cheese".

I found your site several months ago and love it, learn from it, and hope that while you were in Portland, people fed you well and you had a chance to visit Powell's!