the cheese blog

Cherry Grove Toma and Jasper Hill Farm Winnimere

Went to Tria tonight and tried some local cheeses off their cheese menu. Cherry Grove Farm’s Toma and Jasper Hill Farm Winnimere were the choices. The others at the table weren’t too happy as they don’t fully appreciate stinky cheeses, but I thoroughly enjoyed both.

Cherry Grove’s Toma is made with organic raw cow’s milk (Jersey cows) that has been aged for 60 days. It is semi-firm with a rich, buttery taste with a bit of sharpness. The aroma is fairly strong, hence why my party thought it was one of those stinky cheeses.

The Jasper Hill Farm Winnimere was a treat! Winnimere is a washed rind cheese, made from organic cow’s milk, that has been washed with lambic-style beer. According to the description on the Cowgirl Creamery site the cheese is wrapped in a “strip of spruce bark cut from Jasper Hill’s own trees.” Apparently the cheese is only made between November and April, which may have explained why this cheese was way over on the funky side. The aroma was quite pungent and sharp. The cheese was rather runny too, which makes me think it was a bit past its prime. However, it was still damn good. I really would like to try it a bit fresher though.