Vermont Ayr (Crawford Family Farm, Whiting, Vermont)

The Crawford family are fourth-generation farmers on their 134-hectare (330-acre) farm overlooking the Adirondack and Green Mountains in the fertile Champlain Valley. They have 60 Ayrshires, 24 of which are milked for cheesemaking, and an historic barn with its original slate roof has been converted as a parlour with a small maturing room. The farm produces just one style of cheese based on an Alpine Tomme, made by hand.

Vermont Ayr weighs 1.8 kg (4 lb) and is made with unpasteurized milk; only a small quantity of rennet is added to the milk to form the curds, which are cut and stirred by hand for an hour while the vat continues to heat the whey. The curds are placed in moulds lined with cheesecloth, lightly pressed and turned every few minutes before being removed from the moulds and salt-brined overnight. They are aged slowly for several months, forming a natural crust with a light white bloom. The flavours are earthy and nutty, like fresh milky-sweet hazelnuts, and perfect with crisp white wines or light reds.