Plymouth Cheese, East Meadow | Plymouth Cheddar
East Meadow is their sun-is-shining happy place cheese. With its buttery consistency, just enough kick and mildly sweet notes, this natural raw artisanal milk variety is a favorite among cheese-loving children—but equally mature enough for an elegant or casual grown-up picnic sprawl. Named for the East Meadow on Plymouth Notch where the factory still stands proud, the youngest sixty-day recipe is the smile-and-a-hug equivalent of a raw cheddar.
Plymouth Cheddar - This original Coolidge family formula was discovered by Jesse Werner on a frayed scrap of paper, taped to the walls of the old Plymouth factory. Aged for one whole year, this is a full-bodied cheese, rounded with the perfect balance of cream and tang. It’s the most historic of the English varieties — an old-world recipe with a sharp, rich flavor profile that lingers, like a passed down story — and said to be closest to what the settlers of the 1600s enjoyed. As the great forebearer of the whole Plymouth line, this raw heritage cheddar literally tastes like a walk back in time.
America's Oldest Cheddar. The factory still occupies the original building built in 1890 by Colonel John Coolidge, a dairy farmer and father to Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States. John Coolidge was looking to turn extra milk into a product with a longer shelf life. After generations in the Coolidge family, cheesemaker Jesse Werner took over the business in 2009, fulfilling a lifelong dream. Jesse had attended the Vermont Institute of Artisanal Cheese (VIAC) at the University of Vermont where he studied the craft including chemistry, microbiology, cultures and artisanal cheese design. He took on the momentous task of reviving the Plymouth Cheese Factory, the original cheese recipe, and the way the cheese was dipped in wax — the way it was done over 135 years ago on the Plymouth homestead. Jesse runs the business with the support of his brilliant wife, Sarit, who is responsible for designing the brand, packaging and marketing. His dynamic and charming parents bring the cheese to the people and support backend operations. And together with their team members, they’re keeping the Plymouth tradition alive. Today, Plymouth is the closest cheese you can find to the cheddar blocks that graced the kitchen tables of America’s first farmers.
