Milk: Cow, Pasteurized
Rennet: Microbial (suitable for vegetarians)
Country: USA, WI
Consistency: Firm
Accompaniment: Off-dry whites, medium to full-bodied reds, beer.
Chris Gentine the founder of the Artisan Cheese Exchange in Wisconsin set out to design his own line of cheeses without producing any of it. Instead, he has some of the best cheddar makers in Wisconsin work his recipes into award winning cheeses for the Deer Creek label.
For one of their projects they set out to find all the best attributes of cheddar cultures from all over the world. After many test batches, the cheese that was made in Vat 17 was selected as the best combination. They must be on the right track, because they received a gold medal at the World Cheese Awards right off the bat, beating out the competition they had studied in detail.
Aged for a minimum of 2 years, the cheese is bold, complex and nutty, with the typical North-American cheddar tang.
