Vermont Creamery Is Releasing Its First New Cheese in 10 Years

It's a must-have for charcuterie season.

There’s just something about a fall and winter party that feels synonymous with serving a cheese board. Personally, I don’t host any event, including summer barbecues, without some kind of charcuterie, but it’s just easier in the cooler months without fear of your cheeses and meats sweating—or the dreaded bugs crawling all over them.

As we’re entering the season of fall dinner parties, tailgates, and holiday gatherings, we’re seeing an uptick in charcuterie accouterment on shelves. A few weeks ago, Aldi rolled out its fan-favorite seasonal “Charcuterie Shop,” filled with different cheese and meat varieties, jams, olives, crackers, and more.

Now, Vermont Creamery—the artisanal dairy company loved by many (including Martha Stewart!)—is getting in on the action with its first new aged cheese in 10 years.

Vermont Creamery Releases First New Cheese in 10 Years

Vermont Creamery is celebrating 40 years of making high-quality, European-inspired dairy right here in the U.S. with a brand new cheese, unlike anything it has ever sold before. The Vermont-based brand is adding new Hooper cheese to its portfolio of aged cheeses.

Hooper is made with a mixture of goat and cow’s milk and features Vermont Creamery’s signature Geotrichum rind, which gives it the wrinkly “brain-like” texture.

What makes Hooper different from Vermont Creamery’s other mixed-milk cheeses is the new washed rind and unique doughnut shape. Hooper’s Geotrichum’s rind is washed with a French gray sea salt brine to bring extra flavor to the already funky exterior. The doughnut shape not only gives a fun visual play to a cheese board, but also ensures the cheese is evenly aged.

Vermont Creamery’s Hooper is a soft, sliceable cheese with a silky mouthfeel and “bright, funky, fruity, savory, and buttery” flavors, according to the brand.

Hooper will be sold at Whole Foods stores nationwide, which also carry Vermont Creamery’s other aged cheeses (Bonne Bouche, Coupole, Bijou, St. Albans, and Cremont), as well as some independent cheese stores across the country. If you don’t live by a Whole Foods, Murray’s Cheese Shop is selling Hooper online for delivery.

This unique doughnut-shaped cheese is sure to add a little flair to your charcuterie boards this season.

Read the original article on All Recipes.