Smoking Goud
- Producer
- Boston Post Dairy
- Country
- United States
- Region
- Vermont
- Size
- 10 in diameter x 3 in height
- Weight
- 6.5 lbs
- Website
- www.bostonpostdairy.com
- Milk
- Goat
- Treatment
- Pasteurised
- Classification
- Firm
- Rennet
- Microbial
- Rind
- Smoked
- Style
- Gouda-like
- Flavor
- Smoked
Family-run Boston Post Dairy is set in Enosburg Falls, Vermont, along the Missisquoi River and with a view of Jay Peak. The farm is named after the Old Boston Post Stagecoach Road, which runs right through the property. Robert and Gisele Gervais have been farming since 1962, along with their family of fifteen children. In 2007 they bought the dairy with their four daughters Anne, Theresa, Susan, and Annette. They’ve since added a cheesemaking facility and a small retail store to sell the cheeses, goat milk soaps, maple syrups, and bakery items that are all made on the farm.
Cheesemaker Anne Doe describes Smoking Goud as an accidental cheese. When the family first began making Très Bonne, they had trouble controlling the humidity of the aging caves, as they weren’t filled with enough cheese. As a result, some of the cheeses cracked from the dry air. The four daughters decided to try smoking the cracked wheels and then vacuum-packing them to hold in moisture. After the cheese was a success at the local farmer’s market, they decided to submit it to the American Cheese Society championship in 2013—mostly just to get some constructive criticism from the judges. When the cheese won a silver medal, they decided to add it to the dairy's permanent roster.
Smoking Goud is produced in a “washed curd” Gouda style, then wheels are sent to sister Annette and her husband at Farmer Brown Farm in Bakersfield, VT to be smoked using dried corn cobs. The technique of cob smoking dates back at least hundreds of years in this region, where European settlers learned it from native Abenaki.
Tasting Notes
Aroma is quite smoky, but flavor comes through as meat, with notes of bacon and ham. Hints of banana can be detected near the rind.
Pairings
Pair it with a fruity Zinfandel, strawberries and/or wheat crackers.
