Congratulations to Calderwood for winning its category at the ACS 2024 Conference!
Calderwood is a hay-ripened raw cow’s milk cheese made exclusively for Saxelby Cheesemongers by our good friends at Jasper Hill Farm. The genesis for Calderwood came from a desire to explore how what the cows eat impacts the finished cheese - both in the superior milk quality that comes from grass fed cows, but also through affinage. The wheels are washed with brine for six months before being coated in finely chopped fibers of hay and aged for an additional four to five months. Ripe Calderwood is firm, nutty, and complex with hints of earth, caramel, chestnut honey, toasted bread and tropical fruit. Pairing notes: Vin Jaune, Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Arbois, Pale Ale, Amber Ale
The hay used to make Calderwood cheese is harvested from pastures surrounding Jasper Hill Farm and dried in a special hay drying machine. The Calderwood Cropping Center, the first machine of its kind in the United States, can dry hay in a matter of a few hours, where it would take 3-4 days to dry in a sunny field. Read about why grass fed cheese is better for you and for the planet!
Jasper Hill Farm's founders, Andy and Mateo Kehler, observed a hay dryer in action in Parma, Italy—a region whose cheese calls for grass-fed milk, but whose climate is a bit too rainy for making consistent dry hay—and were inspired to bring the Italian technology stateside. The Cropping Center allows them to make high quality dry hay for feed that lasts the whole year, which is paramount to their quality standards as cheesemakers. Many of Jasper Hill's award-winning artisan cheeses are crafted from raw milk. Good quality hay is a key ingredient in the cheesemaking process, ensuring the microbiology of the cows' digestive systems and the milk itself is at an optimal place for cheesemaking.
Love Calderwood? Click here to see how it's made, and check out our selection of other delicious Alpine-style cheese.
Recent Awards: ACS 2023, 1st Place Cheeses wrapped in bark, leaves, or grass
Cheese Care
