We are honored to receive the award for America’s Best Colby Cheese at the 2012 American Cheese Society Conference!

During the first week of August Tillamook put our best products on display as part of the American Cheese Society’s national cheese competition. It was a huge event with over 1,700 of America’s best cheeses competing for 105 total awards. Of the hundreds of cheeses competing, Tillamook was fortunate to walk away with a few awards! It’s a proud moment to win these types of accolades because it really reflects on the attention to quality that goes into making Tillamook dairy products. From farmers to cheesemakers to our team of professionals who only let the best cheese leave the factory. It’s a true team effort!

- 3^rd Place – Tillamook Vintage White Extra Sharp
- 3^rd Place – Tillamook Hot Habanero Jack Cheese
- 2^nd Place –Tillamook Unsalted Butter
- 1^st Place – Tillamook Colby Cheese

Tillamook Dairy Products Quality Manager, Jill Allen, explained what makes Tillamook Colby award-winning and unique. “It’s an American made cheese, from an American recipe that reflects the quality of milk used at Tillamook” says Allen. “The Colby is a young cheese that is lightly sweet and clean in taste, has a higher moisture content, and is nicely knitted together creating a smooth product.”

This is the second year in a row that Tillamook Colby has placed first in this competition! What does that mean? Consistency! We consistently make the best Colby in America and every piece of Colby YOU buy in the store is made in the exact same way.

Tillamook Colby is a younger cheese (2-4 weeks old when you eat it) so what you are tasting is a great representation of the milk that makes this cheese the best. It also has a higher moisture content, so it melts very well. Do I hear a secret ingredient to a great grilled cheese sandwich?!

What do you think of Tillamook Colby Cheese – or any other cheeses. If we held a competition with all of our cheeses, which would you pick to win?

By Matt

Photo courtesy of the American Cheese Society

It’s been a couple weeks since I returned from the American Cheese Society meeting in Montreal, Quebec and there are always a hundred things to take care of when you’ve been away from work for a week. It wasn’t until this weekend that I had the chance to reflect on the meeting.

During the week here at Tillamook I work with a great group of people who are responsible for directly supporting our farmers to ensure we have the highest quality milk available. In addition, our group is responsible for all the food safety and quality activities from farm to consumer. So, it may seem a bit odd that my weekends are often spent on my own farm making small batches of yogurt and cheese for friends and family. Anyhow, amongst the 5-gallon batches of Greek yogurt, gruyere and ricotta cheese I had in the works, I finally had time to sit down and share a bit about the American Cheese Society meeting.

First, it is extremely gratifying to see our team here at Tillamook recognized in the cheese competition. With 1676 different cheeses entered, to place in the top three positions in any category is exciting. We received 4 awards which included a first place for our Colby a mild cheese meant to be eaten soon after production. Colby is blended with Monterey Jack to make Colby Jack. It is fitting to win for Colby because we have already been recognized at the U. S. Championship Cheese Contest® for having America’s best Monterey Jack and Colby Jack. In addition, Oregon, with almost 40 different cheese factories currently in production, was well represented with a total of 9 awards received including a “best in show” for Rogue Creamery’s Rogue River Blue This is the second time Rogue has won best in show in 3 years and if you haven’t tried their Blue cheeses you should, they are incredible.

Quebec was the perfect place to hold the meeting. Their cheese making tradition began in the mid-1600s and their history has been one of diversity both in scale of production as well as varieties of cheese produced. With the leadership of folks like David Gremmels, Christine Hyatt and many others, the American Cheese Society and the Oregon Cheese Guild are maintaining and reinvigorating the diversity and camaraderie that makes the cheese industry special. The end result for all of us cheese lovers is a growing availability of a lot of different cheeses to try. So while there should always be Tillamook cheese in your refrigerator, I would also encourage you to try some of the other great artisan cheeses made here in Oregon. We are pretty proud of our accomplishments.

By Scott