Last week I had the opportunity that every cheese lover dreams of – to go to the American Cheese Society’s National Conference in Raleigh, NC! This is the place where, once a year, all American Cheesemakers gather to share their techniques, learn from experts around the world, and compete in a cheese-off! Tillamook had the great opportunity to be a part of the conference where we sampled cheese, entered into the competition, and one Tillamook employee was even invited to speak to a room full of cheese lovers!

What was the best part? There were many, but one stands alone as THE BEST! The beer and cheese pairing with some of the area’s best local beers and cheeses from all over American? That was pretty good, but not the best. The opportunity to talk with the most accomplished cheesemakers from around the US who’s passion for cheese is palpable? That was awesome too, but not quite the best. Tasting more cheese than I previously thought was possible? Yes! That was the best part!

In case you didn’t know, cheese in America isn’t just about American cheese singles! There were over 1,700 different cheeses entered into the competition this year and attendees of the Festival of Cheese have the chance try them…ALL of them! It was amazing. From goat cheese, to sheep cheese to cow cheese – the best of the best were all there to try. I am pretty sure I nearly turned myself lactose intolerant (luckily that’s not possible)! Amazingly, none of the cheeses I tried were bad – they all had good qualities that could be appreciated.

The bad part about having the free reign to try cheeses like that? When I got back to Oregon, I was doing some grocery shopping and almost started sampling cheese straight from the deli case. I had grown accustomed to seeing a cheese I wanted to try and trying it…and that is a great way to shop!

One of the other great takeaways of being employed by a great American cheesemaker is that we get to celebrate awards given out for the hard work of our farmers, production teams, and cheesemakers. Tillamook had a great showing and out of 1,700+ cheeses entered, Tillamook took home top 3 awards for four cheeses:

- First Place: Tillamook Colby
- Third Place: Tillamook Special Reserve Extra Sharp Cheddar
- Third Place: Hot Habanero Jack
- Second Place: Unsalted Sweet Cream Butter

If you ever have the opportunity to go the American Cheese Society Conference, please do it! You will not be disappointed by what you get to experience…and taste!

- Matt of the Tillamook Team

By Matt

Making the world’s best cheddar cheese isn’t easy. It requires the highest quality ingredients, an age-old recipe, and a boat load of patience. So how is Tillamook Cheese actually “made better”?

In short:

- Tillamook Cheeses are always naturally aged to perfection
- We only use the highest quality milk with no artificial growth hormones*
- Tillamook Cheddar is made using the same 100+ year old recipe from when our farmer-owned co-op was founded
- Every batch is tested by our Sensory Lab to ensure the highest quality and best-tasting cheese
- Tillamook Cheese has won hundreds of awards, including World’s Best Medium Cheddar

The longer story:

You can’t rush the aging process! Once Tillamook Cheddar is formed into 40lb blocks and vacuum sealed, it’s sent to our BIG warehouse to chill out. Depending on the desired sharpness, it can stay there anywhere from 2-60 months. By naturally aging our cheese slowly it develops the unique flavor characteristics that Tillamook Cheddar Cheese is known for.

We believe that healthy cows produce quality, wholesome milk, and that the best milk makes the best dairy products – it’s a simple equation. It all starts on the farm with well-cared for cows, milk as fresh and pure as possible, and never with artificial growth hormones*. We test each batch of milk to be sure it’s the highest quality possible, and we turn that milk into products that taste better because they’re made better!

A while ago (117 years ago to be exact), a man came along by the name of Peter McIntosh, who was kind enough to share his recipe for cheddar cheese with the Tillamook Valley. Over a hundred years later we are still using that same delicious (and award winning!) recipe.

In order to create the distinct flavor and taste profile of Tillamook Cheddar Cheese, a process called heat-shocking is used. Heat-shocking the milk (as opposed to to pasteurizing) cooks the milk at a lower temperature for a longer period of time. We believe the heat shocking process helps retain the natural enzymes in our milk essential for producing quality cheddar cheese and creating that unique flavor of Tillamook Cheddar.

Then each and every batch of cheese is carefully tested by our group of trained Sensory Analysts to ensure only the highest quality products make it to the grocery store shelves. For example, based on smell, taste, and texture they are able to determine what type of cheddar a vat of cheese will be best suited for (Medium, Sharp, or Extra Sharp)…those are some smart taste buds!

We are honored to have received hundreds of awards in our 100+ year history! Most recently, we were named the World’s Best Medium Cheddar and America’s Best Monterey Jack and Colby Jack, but our full awards history spans many different types of Tillamook Cheese.

So, that’s why Tillamook Cheddar tastes better!

*The FDA has stated that no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rBST treated and non-rBST treated cows.

By Candace

Did you hear our good news? Tillamook Colby Jack was voted “America’s Best” at the 2011 United States Championship Cheese Contest! It competed against 29 other entries and received a score of 99.65 out of 100. Our newly-formulated Monterey Jack Cheese also earned the title of “America’s Best” with a score of  99.40 out of 100. We’re so honored!

How do you eat Tillamook Colby Jack? By the slice, on crackers, or in sandwiches? Try it in the Cobb Melt, a tasty creation from our friends at the Grilled Cheese Truck! Here’s what chef Dave Danhi has to say about this sandwich:

“I like to play with classic flavor combinations a lot. Here is my take on a Cobb salad, but it’s all together between two crispy, buttery pieces of bread! A side of bleu cheese dressing to dip it in is a great addition!”

See the recipe here. Let us know what you think by leaving a review of the sandwich!

By Tillamook

We’ve won some pretty amazing awards for our cheese recently. And not to brag or anything, but we have won well over 600 awards for our cheese and dairy products throughout our 101-year history. So in honor of our Monterey Jack and Colby Jack cheeses winning Best of Class in their respective categories at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest®, here’s a photo of one of our other award-winners.

Albert Haedinger

Albert Haedinger, one of our many cheesemakers in the 1940s-1950s, won the 1953 National Cheddar Cheese Scoring Contest, an event held by the National Dairy Congress. Albert was the first cheesemaker to receive this trophy. The following year the trophy was awarded to another TCCA cheesemaker, Donley Lommen. From 1957 to 1954, four TCCA cheesemakers won the contest’s top honor.

We always knew our cheese was really tasty and made by the best cheesemakers, then and now, but it’s nice to hear it from the experts.

By Chandra