Best Cheese in US Comes from Connecticut – NBC Connecticut

The best cheese in the country this year comes from a dairy here in Connecticut. The Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association hosted the United States Championship Cheese Contest this week and the Arethusa Cheese Team at Arethusa Farm Dairy in Bantam is the U.S. champion for its Europa cheese. The first runner-up was Team DACC from Red Barn Family Farms in Wisconsin and the second runner-up was Dillon Sylla, with Associated Milk Producers Inc. in Wisconsin. Get Connecticut local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Connecticut newsletters. Europa is Arethusa’s version of a classic Dutch Gouda, according to its website and features “wispy aromas of butterscotch and toasted nuts that give way to a savory, brothy flavor.” The dairy said it is great “for melting – on burgers, sandwiches, or a bowl of piping hot soup.” Arethusa Farm opened in 1868. It started as a dairy farm that delivered milk and dairy products locally. The family that owned it named it for the pink orchid that grew in a swamp on the land, according to the company’s website. George Malkemus and Anthony Yurgaitis, who worked with Manolo Blahnik, purchased the farm in 1999 to save open farmland and in 2001 became interested in establishing their own dairy herd. In 2020, Arethusa Farm Dairy started partnering with other local Connecticut family farms to help supply milk for the dairy. In June 2020, they opened Arethusa Farm Dairy and Cafe in West Hartford. The video from below is from a 2020 interview after the West Hartford location opened. Taylor tried out an ice cream cone at the new Arethusa location in West Hartford Center.