I'm as dedicated a locavore as anyone, but I do love those Vermont cheeses. The French-inspired goat's-milk and mixed-milk cheeses from Vermont Butter & Cheese are particular favorites, in part because the company takes such pains with its packaging.
It's not easy to get a delicate, young, bloomy-rind cheese to the West Coast in good condition, but VBC has devised tiny wooden crates – the company calls them mini-caves – that protect these fragile creations in shipment and allow them to continue ripening en route.
I've written about most of the VBC cheeses over the years, but was surprised to realize that I had overlooked one. Coupole, a small, dome-shaped goat's-milk cheese, weighs in at just over 6 ounces, large enough for six people to share.
Allison Hooper, the creamery proprietor, said she and her staff were playing around with shapes for goat cheese when a French consultant brought them the forms used for Taupinière, a cheese from France's Loire Valley.
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