Caromont Cheeses 2011

[Complete notes on all our cheeses coming soon...]

Goat’s Milk Cheeses

“Farmstead Fresh”
Pasteurized Goat’s Milk Cheese

Our Farmstead Fresh is a light fluffy, fresh cheese in the style of Fromage Blanc. Many have accused us of whipping this cheese. We don’t. Instead we slowly culture the milk for 17 hours, hoop it at the perfect moment in time and get the whey off of it very fast. You taste fresh cheese with balanced acidity and salt….not anything else.

Suggested Shelf Life –12 to 14 days

“Alberene Ash”
Pasteurized Goat’s Milk Cheese, Aged 3 Weeks

Caromont Farm is near Alberene, a small township in Albemarle County, famous for soapstone quarries, and geological phenomenon. Put that together and you’ve got some intriguing terroir possibilities.

The Alberene Ash is a 6-7 oz. aged pyramid (in the shape of a Pouligny Saint Pierre) that is hand ladled, with a thin line of ash in the center (placed in the pyramid as we hoop) then dusted with more ash and allowed to age in a wild blue mold- filled cave for three weeks at controlled humidity and temperature. When the pyramid is perfectly covered in wild blue — off they go! The pyramid shape adds a great contrasting visual for a cheese plate or course, pairing well with savory or sweet compliments.

Suggested Shelf Life — 2 weeks

[Esmontonian Photo Coming Soon]

“The Esmontonian”
Raw Goat’s Milk Cheese, Aged 2 to 4 Months

If we had our way, all of our cheeses would be raw. We love making them – more terroir is expressed in the final product, with less water and electricity used.

The tiny village of Esmont near Caromont Farm is a tad rustic, and full of character, just like this cheese. Or is it the other way around?

The curd is poured into an Italian Basket mold. As the cheese drains, the baskets are constantly rotated and flipped creating a dense semi-pressed texture. As it ages in our exterior cave, the “Esmo” is literally bathed in a B. linens and viognier vinegar combo, which the vinegar is made by Va. Vinegar Works (Old hippies tvhat couldn’t stand to see good Virginia wine thrown away, so they founded a vinegar Company). We sell the Esmontonian at 90 to 120 days, but you’ve got a lot longer to enjoy it.

Suggested Shelf Life — 6 to 8 months

“Mount Alto Feta”
Raw Goat’s Milk Cheese, Aged 2 Months

Mount Alto is the ridge that we see from our deck, and also coincidentally the name of the farm that is adjacent to Monticello… I admit it, we are Jefferson nerds. He named all the roads around these parts, and he would have loved this feta on his tomatoes or his Mulberry Row watermelons.

Suggested Shelf Life — 6 months

Cow’s Milk Cheeses

“Fromage Frais”
Pasteurized Cow’s Milk Cheese

Who would win in a fight – grocery store cream cheese or Caromont’s Fromage Frais? Don’t underestimate our fresh cream cheese which is to commercially produced cream cheese as freshly whipped heavy cream is to non-dairy whipped topping.  Our Fromage Frais contains NO ADDITIVES, NO CARRAGEENAN, or any other ingredient that is reconfigured and added to factory produced dairy products to force emulsification. — And WHY are commercial dairy products so white when REAL grass fed milk is yellow?

We source local, grass fed, Albemarle County milk, add culture, vegetarian rennet, and salt. Bridge, our Cheese-maker and a devoted son of Kentucky, is surely favored to win the next National Pimento Cheese Contest, as our Fromage Frais is his secret weapon. Shhhhhhh…. he really wants to win.

Suggested Shelf Life– 10 to 14 Days

“Bloomsbury”
Pasteurized Cow’s Milk Cheese, Aged 2 to 3 Weeks

The Bloomsbury is a Caromont original. We wanted to make a local bloomy rind cheese that would ripen nicely, express the beauty of Mr. Albert’s Brown Swiss milk, and yet have that wonderful cheesecake texture of a chaource. This cheese can be enjoyed young, but we urge you to let it mature to its ultimate lusciousness. Why? Because you will not be able to stop eating it. Please refrain from putting this on a cracker, because it is over the top with chutney, honey, or ripe fruit.

Suggested Shelf Life– 1 Month

“Red Row”
Raw Cow’s Milk Cheese — Aged 60 Days with a Natural Rind

Why name a cheese for a street in tiny little Esmont? –Because the folks of Red Row inspire us to work a little harder. Rock stars, movie legends, and famous authors get all the press around here, but Sonny Barnett (who is the unofficial mayor of Red Row) is the ONLY rural sanitation engineer on these back roads and he deserves a shout out.

Red Row is a mild flavored tomme style cheese made with skimmed Brown Swiss Milk. It’s lightly pressed, semi-firm, with subtle notes of pineapple. As Red Row ages, we wash it in a brine solution and let it do its thing.  We think it’s the modern day version of “Hoop Cheese” and Judy Brochuu, the post mistress of Esmont for 35 years, loves it.