Websterville, Vermont – The American Cheese Society’s annual competition is considered one of the world’s most influential and prestigious in the artisanal and specialty cheese industry. The competition was fierce with 1,676 cheeses entered from 258 different companies in the United States, Canada and Mexico. “It was a very exciting moment for us, first place for Crème Fraiche and also the most awards we have ever won at a single competition” said company co-founder Allison Hooper.
Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery is a leading producer of artisan cheese in the United States. One of their first products made in 1988 was crème fraiche along with fresh goat cheese. “When we started making crème fraiche 23 years ago, no one was making it here in this country, but today crème fraiche is everywhere” says Bob Reese, co-founder.
VBCC’s crème fraiche is made in the traditional method by pasteurizing fresh cream and then adding a unique blend of cultures to allow for natural maturation. The next day the cream is thick, rich and incredibly nutty and then packaged in its signature pink container. In describing the French-style cultured cream product, Steve Jenkins, award winning cheese monger and book author has said that “crème fraiche is to sour cream what foie gras is to Spam”.
Below is the complete list of Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery’s 2011 ACS awards:
- 1st place – Fromage Frais (Fromage Blanc, Fromage Frais and Quark)
- 1st place – Vermont Creme Fraiche (Cultured milk products, Creme Fraiche)
- 2nd place – Coupole (American Originals, goats' milk)
- 2nd place – Cremont (American Originals, sheep or mixed milk)
- 2nd place – Vermont Creamy Goat Cheese Classic (Fresh unripened cheese, goat's milk)
- 2nd place Vermont Quark (Fromage Blanc, Fromage Frais and Quark)
- 3rd place – Vermont Mascarpone (Fresh unripened cheese, Mascarpone)
- 3rd place – Vermont Feta (Feta, goats' milk)
- 3rd place – Vermont Fresh Crottin (Fresh goats' milk cheese, hand-shaped, formed or molded)
- 3rd place – Vermont Cultured Butter – lightly salted (Butter, salted, cow's milk)
In their twenty-seventh year of business, Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery is a leading American creamery crafting innovative, all-natural fresh and aged goat cheeses, crème fraiche, mascarpone, and European-style cultured butter. The creamery supports a network of more than 20 goat dairy farms, providing milk that meets the highest standards of purity, and is a proud contributor to the health of local agriculture.
Source: Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery