If your schedule revolves around cheese, you’ll want to add the Little Falls Cheese Festival to your planner -- for next year.
I made the 65-mile trip from Syracuse to Little Falls (Herkimer County) for the fourth annual Little Falls Cheese Festival on Saturday (July 14, 2018). The festival, typically held on the second Saturday of July, was created to celebrate both cheese and the history of cheesemaking in Little Falls. Before leaving, I filled a small cooler with ice packs. It was hot and humid and I knew I would want to purchase some "souvenirs."
Three blocks of Main Street are closed off for the annual festival, which features dozens of vendors from across Upstate New York and the Mohawk Valley. There were also vendors selling wine, vinegars, cutting boards and other items.
What came home in my cooler?
• A ball of fresh mozzarella from Jones Family Farm, a diversified family farm in Herkimer. Owner Suzie Jones said the fresh mozzarella has a short shelf life and suggested using it son. So we enjoyed some of It that night as part of a Caprese salad.
What came home in my cooler?
• A ball of fresh mozzarella from Jones Family Farm, a diversified family farm in Herkimer. Owner Suzie Jones said the fresh mozzarella has a short shelf life and suggested using it son. So we enjoyed some of It that night as part of a Caprese salad.
• A wedge of punchy, deep-veined Shepherd's Blue, a sheep milk blue cheese by cheesemaker Sean O'Connor, of R&G Cheesemakers, in Troy. His selection included chèvre, several Camembert-style cheeses and Rolitini, cows milk mozzarella rolled with prosciutto.
• A square of velvety havarti from North Country Creamery, Keeseville. The creamery produces yogurt and a variety of hard and soft cheeses from their herd of 100 percent grassfed cows (and also sells raw milk, available at the farm only).
• A package of squeaky-good cheese curds from Adirondack Cheese Company, Barneveld (and Clinton). Their specialty is New York State cheddar, aged on site from one to seven years.
• A couple packages sea salt and black pepper crackers from Saratoga Cracker Co., makers of thin and crispy artisan crackers, perfect for pairing with cheese (and eating on their own).
What local and regional cheeses do you like to include on a cheese plate? Leave a comment below and let us know!
Pro tip: Store cheeses in the refrigerator but bring them to room temperature before serving. It's tempting to eat cheese straight from the fridge but allowing time to take the chill off really enhances the flavor.
