Jasper Hill Farm Calderwood Cheese

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.