Ann Arbor, MI – Zingerman’s Creamery’s Manchester was honored with a second place award in the Soft-Ripened Cheese category at the 2017 American Cheese Society Judging & Competition Awards. The annual event, which takes place in conjunction with the ACS Annual Conference, had over 2,000 entries from 281 companies this year.
“Having steadily worked on improving this cheese over many years, we just moved into a new facility four months ago, and I was not anticipating winning any awards,” explains Zingerman’s Creamery managing partner Aubrey Thomason. “It is very exciting and encouraging to tie for second place in the soft-ripened category with Jasper Hill Creamery from Vermont, one of the best cheese makers in the country.”
The Manchester, which Aubrey and her dedicated team has been perfecting since 2007, is a pasteurized cow’s milk cheese with a thin, wrinkly geotrichum candidum rind and a luscious, tasty creamline just underneath that rind encompassing a dense, slightly earthy paste. As it ages, its early cultured cream-cheese-like texture begins to soften and then liquefy. It’s been a favorite in the local Ann Arbor area and has a nationwide following at retailers and restaurants from coast to coast.
“Manchester has been known to make grown French chefs misty eyed with nostalgia for their native St. Marcellin—we've heard a few of them wax poetic about grand old fromageres slathering spoonfuls of the wonderfully gooey stuff onto toasted bread rubbed with shallots,” says Creamery customer Anne Saxelby of New York’s Saxelby Cheesemongers. “Needless to say, the tart, creamy, and yeasty rounds of Manchester are French in inspiration, but American as apple pie in their making. The cheese is young, yet delightfully complex, having something to offer tastebuds of all ilks. One of our all-time favorites at Saxelby Cheesemongers!”
This prestigious award is the eighth that Zingerman’s Creamery has won at the ACS competition. Past honors have been in the Fresh Unripened Cheese and Cheeses Flavored with Herbs, Fruits, Vegetables, Flowers, Syrups categories.
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About Zingerman’s Creamery
Cheesemaker Aubrey Thomason and the Creamery staff are dedicated to making excellent, hand-crafted fresh cow and goat milk cheeses, traditional Sicilian gelato, and much more for dairy lovers in Ann Arbor and across the country. Zingerman’s Creamery cheeses have won numerous awards from the American Cheese Society, and the ginger gelato was touted by Mario Batali as “exhilarating, like a dive into a cool lake.” All products are made on site with the highest quality milk from equally dedicated, small-scale regional farmers. At the Cream Top Shop, the Creamery’s retail store, Zingerman’s Creamery’s own award-winning cheeses and gelato are sold, as well as the very best American farmhouse and artisanal cheeses from like-minded makers. Also featured is a fine selection of provisions, from crackers to sundae toppings, as well as a curated, all-American selection of beer and wine. Zingerman’s Creamery host regular tastings, tours, and classes. Check out the website for more details.
Source: Zingerman’s Creamery