Best cheese??

Looking for information on a particular mozzarella producer (Capiello, of Schenectady NY) in response to the Follia Moz thread below, I ran across this web site with ratings from a cheese contest. http://www.culinaryforum.com/newsflash1.html. It strikes me that this is a useful guide and I could do worse than to try to sample as many of these places as possible.

Those that I have sampled, Old Chatham (some of the best cheese I have ever had in the fresh, sheep's milk category) and Capiello, have been very good. In my experience, with few exceptions, buying cheese from the producer is much, much, tastier. Carr Valley in Wisconsin sounds quite interesting. Looks like they are over by LaCrosse, with a shop near Madison. Here is their link http://www.carrvalleycheese.com/

Anyone have any experiences with any of these cheeses, or other tips on great producers?

Dicksond:

Now that I see the name in print, I know that Capiello's smoked mozzarella is available here in Chicago and, despite having to travel around in a plastic shrink-wrap package, it's pretty darn good-- I'm sure if one gets it straight from them without the plastic-wrap stage, it would be really great. I think I've gotten it at the Hyde Park Coop or perhaps it was at Whole Foods (quite possibly both).

A

Several Carr Valley Cheeses are available at Whole Foods on North. My husband & I tried a few but the particulars escape me at the moment as to which was which. Blame age. I do recall them being extremely good and that they come from a group of farms rather than one source. If the right people are at the cheese counter you can get a lot of info however there are a few who really know less than I do which is a nice way of saying very litte.
Paulette

I have had several Carr Valley cheeses. We bought some more Mobay at The Cheese Stands Alone this afternoon. This is an interesting cheese because one layer is goat's milk while the other layer, separated by a layer of ash, is sheep's milk. It works well with a gutsy red wine.

If you haven't been there, The Cheese Stands Alone (on Western just south of Wilson) has a good but changing selection of artisinal North American cheeses in one cooler and European cheeses in the other main cooler. Matt Parker offers good guidance and tasting when he isn't too busy (we often tell him what we are having for dinner and ask for suggestions), but he is often as busy as a one-armed paper hanger on weekends.

If memory serves me correctly, Giles Schnierle's Great American Cheese Co. is a wholesaler for Carr Valley. Giles also sells directly at the CHIC and Evanston farmers' markets. The less busy CHIC market is the better place to talk with him (always interesting), but he isn't always there.

Old Chatham's Ewes Blues is easily my favorite Blue cheese of all time.

Old Chatham is wonderful cheese, and visiting the farm is great fun. They sell cheese there out of an honor system cooler - you grab what you want and stick your money in an envelope. Prices are obscenely cheap - $4 buys a half round, probably close to 1 1/2 pound - of young, but very flavorful sheep cheese (seems like 90% butter fat to me), and then you can wander around the lovely grounds and barns. The blue cheese is more costly, but still quite reasonable. A great experience, possibly the best I have had for cheese. Worth a detour, IMO. Think I will go back and visit while in Albany this month, in fact. If anyone wants me to bring back some Old Chatham or Capiello for delivery July 18 or 19, let me know. Capiello would be mozzarella, fresh, aged, marinated or smoked. Cannot guarantee the selection from Old Chatham - I can only get what in in the cooler, or at the general store down the road, if it is open again. I may also try to hit some Vermont farms, but that would not be as fresh since it would be a few days before I fly back.

Antonius, when talking I called it Scapiello's, so no surprise you did not recognize the name.

I will explore some of the local sources here, but I seem to be on this kick to find the producers and go visit them. Fresher, better, and a fun outing.

Anyone else have any good producers they have visited?

Here is an interesting option if anybody wants to really get into the cheese thing at Carr Valley.
http://www.vocationvacations.com/DreamJ ... valley.php