Guild Members Awarded at 2010 ACS Competition

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Congratulations to two Maine Cheese Guild cheese makers who were awarded multiple ribbons at the 2010 American Cheese Society conference competition, the largest cheese competition in North America including entries from the US, Canada, and Mexico.

A total of five awards went to the two Guild members: Pineland Farms Creamery won three awards; Appleton Creamery won two awards. Maine maintains its lock on the Feta category, with each cheese maker winning ribbons there, while Pineland’s Salsa Jack has won awards for several years.

All the 2010 ACS competition awards can be found here.

Soft-ripened white mold cheeses, flavor added:
1st place — Appleton Creamery, “Camella”

Feta, cow’s milk:
3rd place: Pineland Farms Creamery, “Feta”

Feta, sheep’s milk:
1st Appleton Creamery, “Sophia Feta”

Monterrey Jack, flavor added:
3rd place: Pineland Farm Creamery, “Salsa Jack”

Cheese Spreads, flavor added:
2nd place: Pineland Farms Creamery, “Spreadable Salsa Jack”

Meeting: Monroe Cheese Studio

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The October Guild meeting was held at my place in Monroe. After a tour we discussed Open Creamery Day, our letter to the governor, and a possible Peter Dixon workshop on Italian Cheese Styles we’re working on arranging for this fall, or next Spring if necessary. I showed off the two Tommes I made for our Holiday Tomme celebration, visually explaining why it’s preferable to brine the Tomme when it comes out of the mold, instead of dry salting.

Holiday Tomme is Coming Up

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***MAKE DATE: On or Around Labor Day Weekend***

Last year’s Holiday Tomme event was so successful, this year we’re asking all the Guild members to make a Tomme based on the SAME RECIPE, and then to bring them to the Maine Cheese Guild Christmas party (December 13th at Hahn’s End) to sample them, and the best of them made by licensed cheese makers will be auctioned off as a fundraiser for the Guild.

The differences will be found in the milks (we had cows, goats, sheep, and mixed milks last year), in the hand of the cheesemaker (cutting, stirring, and draining the curd), and in the aging environments (last year many cheeses were aged in large sealable plastic tubs).

The make date is coming up: Labor Day Weekend. On or around the weekend of September 4th, make a 4 lb. (give or take) Tomme using the recipe below using whatever milk you have available. Age them as you would normally age a cheese like this (or discover the joy of aging cheeses by experimenting with this cheese. On December 13th bring them to Phippsburg to sample, and then sell.

All cheese makers should use Peter Dixon’s “Tomme Style Cheese” recipe that is posted on-line here:

http://www.dairyfoodsconsulting.com/recipes_Tomme.shtml