The 2014 ACS Judging and Competition, which took place in Sacramento, Calif., in July, saw 1,685 entries of cheeses and cultured dairy products from 248 companies. The entering companies represented 39 U.S. states, four Canadian provinces and Colombia. For the entire competition 325 ribbons were awarded: 89 first place ribbons, 109 second place ribbons and 127 third place ribbons. Taking the top three spots were Farms for City Kids Foundation in Vermont, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. and Oakdale Cheese & Specialties, both from California. (Oakdale Cheese tied for 3rd place with Sprout Creek Farm, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Sprout Creek entered its Eden cheese.) We took a look at three of these companies and the cheeses that stole the show.
Spring Brook Farm, Reading, Vt., specializes in making French Alpine-style cheeses and is part of the Farms for City Kids Foundation. Its farmstead cheeses are a unique reflection of both the land in that part of Vermont, as well as the farming and cheese making operations, according to the company. The farm produces two types of cheese: Tarentaise and Reading.