Alpha Tolman From Jasper Hill Farm
Jasper Hill is a working dairy farm with an on-site creamery in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. The very run-down Jasper Hill Farm was purchased by brothers Andy and Mateo Kehler in 1998. After five years of hard work the brothers acquired their first 15 Ayrshire cows and after careful management over the years and a focus on building excellent genetics, that herd grew to about 45 of the highest quality milking herd in the United States. Their mission is to make the highest possible quality products in a way that supports Vermont’s working landscape and promotes their regional taste of place.
Andy and Mateo were determined to find quality work in a place they love, and out of that mission the Cellars at Jasper Hill were born. The Cellars were designed to help farms reach and succeed in a national marketplace and to help the cheesemakers focus on the most important aspect of their business, high quality milk production and cheesemaking technique. The cellars feature seven underground vaults nestled underneath Jasper Hill Farm’s grazing pastures. Each vault has a distinct temperature and humidity level, each of which are specially calibrated for a different cheese style.
Alpha Tolman –One Taste and You’ll Want to Incorporate It Into Every Meal!
Named after local Greensboro Ancestor and philanthropic dairy farmer, Alpha Tolman is made using the traditional Alpine methods of cheesemaking. (quick alpine desc.) Alpine cheeses like Appenzeller (think fondue!) inspire the recipe for this Jasper Hill Creamery original. Milk for Alpha Tolman is carefully transferred from Jasper’s Andersonville Dairy, located in nearby Glover, VT, to a second cheesemaking facility at the Food Venture Center in Hardwick, VT which is also operated by Jasper Hill. Once the wheels are formed, they are transferred over to the Cellars at Jasper Hill to mature for 8 to 11 months.
This cheese has a tight, slightly elastic texture with robust and complex flavors. Newly formed wheels are regularly washed with a cultured brine that cultivates a red-orange rind. Alpha Tolman has a buttery, fruit and nut flavor when young, developing a bolder meaty and caramelized onion flavors as it matures. The interior paste of the cheese also becomes denser and slightly crystalline. Overall texture is dense and pliant, easily portioned and ideal for melting.
Alpha Tolman pairs well with robust ales, plummy red wines and onion jam. We would also highly encourage following the lead of the Swiss/French raclette and melt over a plate of fingerling potatoes, cured meat, and sour pickles.