Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
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HANDCRAFTED CHEESY PUFFS ABSOLUTELY NO GMO MALTODEXTRIN ADJUNCTS COLORANTS PRESERVATIVES YEAST NATURAL FLAVORS INGREDIENTS simple BOB'S RED MILL CORN 100% REAL CHEESE Flavors available: s riracha and cheddar b lue cheese Jalapeno asiago black papper WWW.FULLERFOODS.COM cheese focus support. In the meantime, cheesemakers are relishing the freedom to create and innovate with local ingredients like craft cider and beer. "The guild is going to be the guid- ing light that's going to get these guys to the next level," predicts Jones, who stocks several Washington State cheeses in his acclaimed Portland shop. The annu- al Washington Artisan Cheesemakers Festival, a Seattle-based fair heading into its fourth year, is helping build consumer awareness of the state's dairy bounty. Compared to states like California and Wisconsin, Washington can't boast as many producers yet, Snyder acknowledges. "But what we lack in numbers, we certainly make up for in quality," he says. milk up there than in Oregon," says Jones, although no one would call it a deluge. Glendale Shepherd and Black Sheep Creamery are making sheep's milk cheeses praised by several retailers, and both Tieton Farm and Monteillet Fromagerie are turning out mixed- milk wheels from blends of sheep's and goat's milk. Building Toward Maturity With the exception of Washington State pioneers like Sally Jackson of Sally Jackson Cheese, who shuttered her 30-year-old creamery in 2010 in the wake of a recall, the artisan cheese industry in Washington is young. It will take time to sort out what cheese types the landscape and climate "Most of us are farmstead, arti- san types," says Gothberg, who operates Gothberg Farms, a goat-cheese producer located about 70 miles north of Seattle. "I only milk 20 goats." Exploring Different Milk Cheeses The state's cheesemakers are working with all types of milk and making a wide gamut of styles, from fresh chèvres and cider- washed wheels to aged tommes. Contrary to the trend in other parts of the country, they are not shying away from using raw milk. Cascadia Creamery, with its line of organic cheeses from raw cow's milk, is generating a lot of buzz. "We're definitely seeing more sheep's Janet Fletcher writes the email newsletter "Planet Cheese" and is the author of Cheese & Wine and Cheese & Beer. (continued from p. 32) 36 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com