The Grafton Village Cheese Company produces some of the best cheddars you can find. Their cheddar is so good it makes Cracker Barrel and Cabot seem like Velvetta. Carolyn and I stopped by their factory over Christmas and got to try a number of their cheeses.

Vermont is known for its cheese. In the days before refrigeration farmers formed cooperatives to turn their surplus milk into cheese, which is much better at resisting spoilage. The Grafton Village Cheese Company was formed in 1892. Some years later, a fire destroyed the original factory. The nonprofit Windham Foundation restored the company in the mid 1960s, as part of an effort to revitalize the town of Grafton.

What sets Grafton Village cheddar apart from other cheddars, is the amount of time they age it for. Their Stone House 6 year cheddar has a texture closer to Parmesan that cheddar. The flavor on the older cheddars is remarkable and very complex.

Here is an overview of their cheese making process that I copied from their website:

1. Fresh whole milk is carefully tested and prepared and then pumped it into cheese vats.
2. Selected cultures are added to separate milk solids from the whey.
   
3. Under precisely controlled temperature the mixture is cut and stirred.
   
4. The curd is hand cut into slabs, which are then stacked and pressed together several times in the process known as “cheddaring”. This expels the liquid and sets the curds up for the transformation to cheese.
   
5. When the curds reach the proper acidic level, they are milled and salt is added to stop the development of lactic acid and to help preserve the cheese.
   
6. Cheesemakers then pack the curd into cheese hoops and place the hoops under pressure for 14 to 16 hours.
   
7. The cheese is then stored and aged for at least one year, a time when the cheese becomes more and more dehydrated, thus concentrating the flavor.
   
8. After aging, the cheese is hand cut, double-coated with wax to seal it, labeled and then packaged for shipping.
   

You can order directly from Grafton Village and I would recommend trying the 5 or 6 year cheddar. It is truly amazing… and unusual. The other cheddars are also great. If you can’t decide just order their sampler which lets you try a bunch of different vintages

Grafton Village Cheese

Four Ages of Cheddar