Iowan blue cheese is synonymous with Maytag. This famous blue, made by the famous kitchen appliance family, has a subtle blue flavor and clean, almost metallic, cow milk finish. But the real story in Iowa is a new comer in the northeast--Golden Ridge Cheese Cooperative's natural rind blue, which, in a mere two years of production, has racked up two major awards: "Best Blue in the US" (2004 American Cheese Society Competition) and second best blue-veined cheese world-wide (2005 Wisconsin Cheese Makers Competition).
The co-op is owned by a group of 40 Amish dairy farmers, who felt their high-quality, hand-milked, organic milk deserved a better market than regional dairies. The USDA and the county helped them purchase a modern factory in 1998 and hire a crew of "English" who run the machines and carry out their traditional French/Spanish-inspired recipe. The key to their success seems to be in the little things: happy cows, a small degree of natural fermentation on the way to the factory, an absense of fat-chain-breaking mechanical pumps in the production line, and a natural, flavorful rind.
The product is a much more layered and intimate cheese than Maytag's self-effacing midwestern product. Subtle enough for non blue cheese fans, but complex enough for its national audience, the Natural Rind Blue (Golden Ridge's award-winner) features a mushroomy taste with layers of rich cream and a light grass-fed tang.
You'll find this cheese in any major American cheese shop, but visit their website and buy via mail at half the price and you'll save money, eat world-class cheese, and support the livelihoods of our country's best environmental stewards -- the Amish.
Even better, make the drive up to the factory. If you make it past the Amish farms in the area (the horse-drawn plows, playing kids and bake sales easily distract), you'll get to visit with the General Manager, Richard, who has also won awards for his organic pecans. Ask him how long the two wheels of cheese you've just bought (at $5 a pound who wouldn't?), and you'll likely get the same answer I did: "In front of me, ten minutes."