Cheddar (Avonlea)

Producer

Avonlea

Country

Canada

Region

Prince Edward Island

Size

12 ins diameter, 10 ins high

Weight

22 lbs lbs

Website

Milk

Cow

Classification

Hard

Rennet

Vegetable

Rind

Cloth Wrapped

Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar is produced from unpasteurized cow's milk on Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.), off the coast of Canada.

Head cheesemaker, Armand Bernard, makes Avonlea to a traditional cheddar recipe from the Orkney Islands, off the north coast of Scotland, which he learned when he worked in the United Kingdom. Milk for Avonlea comes from several small local Holstein herds located on P.E.I., the average herd size of which is about 40 cows.

Avonlea cheddars are wrapped in cloth (to allow the cheeses to breathe during maturation) and aged for at least a year, at a temperatature of about 54°F, before being sold.

The interior paste of the cheese is firm and slightly dry and crumbly. The color varies according to the time of year and the diet of the cows, cheeses made during the winter being paler in color than summer ones.

Avonlea has rich, robust, savory flavors of earth and mushrooms, overlaid with a fruity tang. The flavors are balanced and linger pleasantly.