Dry Jack Special Reserve (Vella Cheese Company, Sonoma, California)

Much of the milk comes from Mertens Farm which is close by, and although the majority of the milk is from Holstein cows, this cheese also contains at least a 30 percent Guernsey milk for its rich, buttery qualities.

Dry Jack Special is a more aged version of Vella’s original Jack cheese that was produced to take account of the new refrigerators in the late 1930s onwards and housewives wanting to be able to keep the cheese longer. When the Italian population grew in the 1950s, a drier, harder version was made so that it could be grated in the style of a Parmigiano. However, the super-aged versions are gold-medal winners, and the long, slow ageing gives the flavours a big hit and a dry, almost crystalline crumble. The 3.5 kg (8 lb) cheese is brined and left to dry naturally for some days before a special mixture of oil (soya or safflower but without colour or flavour), bitter cocoa powder and black pepper covers the cheese. After 18 months or even longer these shiny brown wheels reveal their lovely flavours of fruit and nut but never that slightly bitter sharpness of Cheddar. Perfect for both white and red wines, especially the Sonoma County style, Zinfandel.