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To that end, the co-owner of Darien Cheese & Fine Foods has unveiled an exclusive series of cheddar cheeses that follows that formula.
In cooperation with Vermont's Shelburne Farms, Skovron and his wife, Tori, who have operated the business since 1986, introduced new traditional cheddar cheeses at a weekend event at their store. The formula for these cheddars is raw milk, traditional cultures and rennet, cloth wrapping and cellar aging.
"We're here today celebrating the traditional way," he said Saturday as customers flocked to the store. “We pride ourselves on having the best possible cheeses in our store and sharing these with our local community."
Many cheddar cheese made today are not made the traditional way and he said they do not taste like cheddar, Skovron said.
"A lot of the modern-day cheddars today are using cultures that are used with Gouda cheese that makes it sweet and caramel. Real cheddar is not sweet and caramel. Real cheddar is acidic and feisty, sharp and that comes from traditional crafting," he said.
While the nontraditional cheddar cheese is fine, Skovron said they want to introduce traditional cheddar cheese to their clients.
“Our job as cheesemakers is to alter the milk as little as possible to turn it into cheese. For us, that means adding as little starter culture and rennet as possible so the customers tastes only the milk from our pasture-fed Brown Swiss cows," said Kate Turcotte, head cheesemaker at Shelburne Farms. "We love working with cheese shops such as Darien Cheese & Fine Foods who share our passion for traditional, hand made cheese.”
Along with Shelburne Farm's cheddar, Darien Cheese & Fine Foods offers Montgomery’s cheddar from Somerset, England, which is recognized by The Ark of Taste – Slow Food to be the benchmark of “traditionally cheddar.”
Darien Cheese & Fine Foods is in the Goodwives Shopping Center, 25 Old Kings Highway N., Darien.
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