Looking forward, Ed says that one of the
most important things in the cheese
industry is going to be awareness of the
quickly changing trends. He explains that
on the national level, Cabot “sees different
types of flavors come and peak in popularity,
almost like a fad of the month.
Knowing this, we are going to re-introduce
a variety of cheese flavors that we have run
temporarily in the past. An example of
that would be 5 Peppercorn, Tomato Basil,
or Sage. We find that people are looking
for more and more variety in their cheese.
Lately in America, the trend seems to be
people asking, ‘How much variety can I
put into my life and into the food I’m eating?’
So we’re trying to develop more and
more variety with our cheeses.”
With an eclectic array of specialized
cheeses and a steadily increasing demand,
Cabot has developed novel production and
quality-control systems to ensure product
consistency and consumer safety. Ed says
that as Cabot has grown, they have
“created tighter standards on the actual
process of making cheese. If you were to
go back 30 years ago, each of the
cheesemakers at our facilities might have
their own secret recipe or technique. The
use of software programming has made us
a lot more exacting about how we make
the cheese, so it’s a lot more scientific than
it is individual craftsmanship. Food safety
is of paramount importance. When we
make cheese, we make it in a clean and
sterile room with no outside bacteria.”
Weather and climate can influence milk
production as well. Cows produce milk of
different quality during different seasons,
and Cabot has created a production system
to deal with the discrepancy. Ed shares that
one of Cabot’s best-kept secrets is its team
of four cheese graders who travel throughout
the facilities every day. They taste the
cheese as it ages, grade it, and put it into
the categories where it would sell best,
whether it would be a 5-month-old cheese
or a 7-month-old cheese.
In addition to going above and beyond
to assure the consistency of their product
and the safety of their customers, Cabot
is committed to giving back to the local
community. The co-op regularly donates
to Vermont’s central food bank program,
which then distributes food throughout
the state.