Lillé Coulommiers

Producer

Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company

Country

United States

Region

Vermont

Size

Various

Weight

7 oz, 14 oz, or 3 lb

Website

vermontfarmstead.com

Milk

Cow

Treatment

Pasteurised

Classification

Semi Soft

Rennet

Microbial

Rind

Mold Ripened

Style

Soft-Ripened (Brie-like)

In 2009, the Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company started as a community effort to preserve a dairy farm in South Woodstock, Vermont and its beautiful 18-acre landscape. The farm, which produced its first cheese in 2011, has since transformed into an award-winning cheese company. In 2012, they added a production facility in Windsor, Vermont alongside a brewery, distillery, sculpture garden, and glass blowing factory.

By merging community collaboration with traditional cheesemaking practices, the farm is creating a new generation of artisanal cheese in its region of Vermont. Committed to farmstead cheese, they use milk from from their herd of 70 dairy cows, a mix of Holsteins, Jersey, Brown Swiss, and Ayrshires.

Lillé Coulommiers was created in the image of the raw milk soft-ripened French Coulommiers. Aged in its own white mold room, Lillé Coulommiers develops a downy white bloomy rind—though with age, it can turn straw-colored and mottled. Its texture is creamy and velvety: When the cheese is young, its paste is supple and firmer at its core, but with age, it softens and becomes more gooey throughout. Lillé Coulommiers is best enjoyed between 40 and 90 days.

Tasting Notes

In the mouth, Lillé Coulommiers is creamy and rich but has a clean finish. The paste is delicate with sweet cream flavor and notes of mushrooms, nuts, and butter. The bloomy rind adds contrast with a touch of salt and a toothsome bite. Flavors become more intense with age.

Pairings

Pair with sparkling white wine and serve with honeycomb, fresh strawberries, fig jam, and toasted pecans.