not to be disagreeable, but there is no cheddar like New York State cheddar, and yes, I've had Wisconsin and California and I am a happy camper with the local stuff.

Actually, whole milk is now listed as 3.2% butterfat, and our Holstein herd has a 4.0% butterfat average - better cows through better breeding. We're a grass farm here, poor dears have to walk out the back door and feed themselves every day. Right now they are all laying down, too exhausted to even stand up and eat. Stan has them on the paddocks that he seeded down last year.

My uncle's dairy herd was also grass fed Holsteins, but in those days (30 - 40 years ago?) he had to keep a couple of Jerseys to bring the butterfat up to 4% which was what the buyer required. So genetics has improved.

Kinder goats give 5 1/2-7 or 8% butterfat. Depending on the website you check. Slightly bigger than nigerian dwarfs. The kinder bucks are better for meat at they are more well muscled.

Amazing the things one learns here, isn't it? I love it
~Jan

Near the start of this thread, somebody mentioned Tillamook cheese and indicated they didn't know much about it. Here is a bit of info. Tillamook is a town near the Oregon coast. There are many dairy farms in the area. They formed a co-operative, built a factory, and now it is supplied by 110 farms. They produce cheese (award winning by the way), ice cream, yogurt, sour cream, and more. I copied this from Wikipedia:

Tillamook County Creamery Association.

Founded

1909

Headquarters

Tillamook, Oregon

Products

Dairy

Website

www.tillamook.com

The Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) is a dairy co-operative headquartered in Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The association's main facility is the Tillamook Cheese Factory located two miles north of the city of Tillamook on U.S. Route 101.

The Tillamook factory hosts over a million tourists each year. Visitors watch the production of cheese from a viewing gallery over the main production floor.

The 44th largest dairy processor in North America, Tillamook posted $382 million in sales in 2007, the trade magazine Dairy Foods reports. The brand is strongest in the West but sells in all 50 states. It routinely wins awards from the American Cheese Society and other groups.[1]

The co-operative includes 110 dairy farms, mostly within Tillamook County. Products produced by the co-operative include cheese, butter, ice cream, sour cream, and yogurt. Their most famous product is Tillamook cheese, including the famous Tillamook Cheddar. In March 2010, Tillamook's Medium Cheddar cheese won the gold medal in the 2010 World Cheese Championship Cheese Contest hosted by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association in Madison, Wisconsin. The cheese scored 99.6 out of 100 points possible, beating 59 other entries.[2]

Neat story of private enterprise at its best. I've never had the cheese, now I must give it a try!

Old thread, I know, but I've got to put my 1 1/2 cents in anyway.

I grew up on Tillamook cheddar (and Mexican cheeses). It runs the gamut from mild to "Special Reserve" and beyond. Coincidentally, we toured the Tillamook factory on our honeymoon, as we made our way along the coast. Lately I'm a real fan of some of the Irish cheeses (though the standard Mexican cheeses are still a staple for us).

There is a place here locally that I sell plants through. They bring in raw Jersey milk and provide it very fresh. A friend of mine (who has his own cow as well) has started making cheeses and yogurt with it, and they plan to greatly expand that enterprise. It's interesting to hear about (and try) his various cheese projects. I've rarely met a cheese I didn't like, as long as it was well made.

Processed cheese doesn't deserve the name cheese. Everytime someone advertises a processed cheese as "American" I hang my head in shame. So many countries and towns with fine cheese traditions, and all we can do is destroy it with improper temperatures, add a bunch chemicals, and squirt it out in the shape of the real thing? I don't think so. I'm sure there are a lot Tillamooks around the country, just not so well known.

I like sheep and goat cheeses as long as they're not "gamey" or oxidized. Every cheese has it's time, place, and accompaniment.

I agree that processed "cheese" needs to be renamed. After all they don't let the margarine products call themselves butter.

porkpal said:I agree that processed "cheese" needs to be renamed. After all they don't let the margarine products call themselves butter.

Processed cheese is nasty stuff.

The cheeses we had when we were in France 3 years ago were WONDERFUL.