This is why I have to keep cheese out of my house. Or why I should

I'm a potential addict. I love cheese, particularly soft stinky cheeses. Last week, in a moment of weakness, I purchased a quarter pound of Moses Sleeper and the same amounts of Oma and Willoughby.

I ate nearly all of it, and most of a baguette and a bunch of grapes in one sitting.

Why oh why, do I have to live down the road from the best artisan cheese makers in the country, who age and cellar other great cheeses?



OMA is an American original, made by Sebastian von Trapp on his family's dairy farm in Waitsfield, Vermont. An approachable washed-rind, tomme-style cheese, Oma is made from the unpasteurized, organic milk of the von Trapp's primarily Jersey breed cows.

SENSORY NOTES - Oma balances pungent and sweet flavors with aromas of roasted nuts, cured meat and cultured butter. The paste is soft, almost pudding-like, but never runny. The thin, orange rind, often overlaid with white flora, is an earthy foil to the richness of the paste.

PAIRING AND SERVICE - The indulgent mouthfeel, tender rind, and balanced character make Oma a perfect addition to a cheese board. Enjoy as-is, paired with Belgian-style dubbel ale, Grüner Veltliner (Austrian, white wine) or serve with buttery crackers and fig jam or dried fruit.


MOSES SLEEPER is a Jasper Hill Creamery original, inspired by classic, French Brie. This cheese’s historic namesake, Moses Sleeper, and his compatriot, Constant Bliss, were Revolutionary War scouts killed while defending a blockhouse along the Northeast Kingdom’s legendary Bayley Hazen Military Road.

SENSORY NOTES - Moses is an approachable and nuanced brie-style cheese. Beneath its thin, bloomy rind lies a gooey, milky core showing a complex array of flavors at peak ripeness: cauliflower, crème fraîche, and toasted nuts. A bright, clean finish with a hint of white mushroom aroma follows the rich flavors of the paste.

WILLOUGHBY is an original creation of Marisa Mauro’s Ploughgate Creamery, a Cellars collaborator that ceased production of the cheese after a creamery fire in 2011. With Marisa’s blessing we resurrect this pudgy little washed-rind and have continued to develop the recipe at Jasper Hill Creamery.

SENSORY NOTES - This succulent and buttery washed-rind cheese has aromas of peat, roasted beef and onions – a strong and complex front for the subtle milky, herbal, ripe-peach flavors within. Willoughby has a thin, tender, rosy-orange rind, which adds earthy dimension to the texture and flavors of the gooey interior.

http://www.jasperhillfarm.com/