Best Cheese in USA and Canada Announced at Annual Awards
- Editor OGN Daily
- Aug 7
- 1 min read
The results are in from the American Cheese Society Annual Judging & Competition.
For American dairy aficionados, this competition is like the Academy Awards of cheese, where top-notch curds from across the Americas are carefully evaluated by industry professionals and scored based on their technical merit and aesthetics.
From the 1,500 entries that recently competed in Sacramento, California, cheeses and other dairy products were given first, second, and third place distinctions in dozens of specific categories, and top performers in each category were ranked in a final tasting to determine the Best of Show.
For the second year in a row, a Canadian cheese placed first in the highly anticipated Best of Show distinction. Quebec-based creamery Fromagerie la Station won with its Alfred le Fermier, an aged, raw-milk, farmstead cheese. It stands out mostly by its supple texture and the complexity of fruit, caramel and honey aromas.
Third place also went to a Canadian cheesemaker, Ontario’s Stonetown Artisan Cheese, for its washed-rind, Alpine-style Grand Trunk, described as a farmstead gruyère.
Second place was given to Withersbrook Blue, which was crafted by Vermont’s Jasper Hill Farm, making it the best cheese in the United States right now. Withersbrook Blue (the name comes from a winding forest brook that originates near their creamery in Greensboro) is a raw-milk blue cheese that is soaked in Eden Ice Cider and sealed during part of its aging process, giving the cheese a strong fruity undertone along with grassy and sweet cream notes, says Food & Wine.
