Thistle Hill Farm Tarentaise

Thistle Hill Farm Tarentaise is an aged alpine raw milk organic cheese handmade by John and Janine Putnam on their family farm in North Pomfret, Vermont from the certified organic milk of their grass-fed Jersey cows.

From its humble beginnings as organic raw milk to its natural aging and rind development, Thistle Hill Farm Tarentaise is as unadulterated a cheese as you will find. The imported French cultures impart flavor and texture. The traditional rennet provides structure and further complexity to the flavor of the cheese. Thistle Hill Farm Tarentaise has no added preservatives, synthetic flavors or additives. No herbs are used to hide its flavor; no waxes or plastics simplify its aging process.

Tarentaise is a unique American farmstead cheese which reflects the Terroir of Pomfret Vermont and Thistle Hill Farm. The combination of climate, cows, feed and the traditional unmechanized methods of making Tarentaise result in a cheese which can be most closely associated with the Alpine cheeses of France. Unlike cheeses made solely on stored feed, Tarentaise is denser, softer and richer in its perfumes than its commercial brethren.

Tarentaise is a dense, complex cheese, without the bite of sharpness which can hide the true nature of a cheese. It is smooth, has a subtle nut flavor and a huge presence, while not being too strong. Much of the taste is found in the finish.