In Search of Constant Bliss

The cheese, I mean. After recently reading about the luscious virtues of a delectable cheese called Constant Bliss produced by Jasper Hill Farm, I decided to go down to the Cheese Board in Berkeley to sample some for myself. After my first attempt was thwarted due to the Cheese Board being closed for a summer vacation, I returned again last week to find that they didn’t carry this particular cheese, but they did have on hand another of Jasper Hill’s products: Bayley Hazen Blue, and I sure am glad I brought some of that home with me.

This was without a doubt the best blue cheese I’ve ever tasted. With some crusty bread and some sweet-tart apples from a friend’s tree (yes, apples are ripening in California in August), I was close to nirvana. This cheese literally melts on the tongue.

Jasper Hill Farm is a small family farm located in beautiful Greensboro, Vermont, run by brothers Andy and Mateo Kehler, which, since 2002, has been producing three varieties of raw milk cheese. According to their website, Bayley Hazen Blue is made with raw whole milk every other day, primarily with morning milk. Containing “an array of flavors that hint at nuts and grasses and in the odd batch, licorice… [the] texture reminds one of chocolate and butter.” Yum.

The cheese is actually named after an old military road commissioned by George Washington, which ultimately brought the town of Greensboro its first settlers, and is still in use today.

Fortunately I still have a small bit of this scrumptiousness wrapped and waiting in the refrigerator. In the meantime I am looking into other options for acquiring a hunk of Constant Bliss. I’ve never ordered cheese online before, but am considering it now. This artisanal cheese website looks promising. If anyone has a favorite cheese to recommend please post.