Local blue cheese wins at World Championship Cheese Contest

Arethusa's prizewinning blue cheese in the window of Arethusa Farm Dairy in New Haven. Arethusa's prizewinning blue cheese in the window of Arethusa Farm Dairy in New Haven. Photo: Sheryl Shaker Photo: Sheryl Shaker Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Local blue cheese wins at World Championship Cheese Contest 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

A local cheese, made in the hills of Litchfield, was recently named best blue cheese in the world.

Arethusa Blue, an English-style blue cheese produced by Arethusa Farm in Bantam, took the top spot in its category at the 2018 World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, Wisconsin, earlier this month.

The contest, started in 1957, is the largest cheese competition in the world. This year, cheesemakers from 26 countries spent 3 days showcasing their products in front of an international team of 55 judges charged with the task of finding the most perfect cheeses in the world.

To make the firm and creamy Arethusa Blue, cheesemakers culture and coagulate the milk on the first morning, before allowing the curd to drain slowly overnight.

“The following day, the curd is firm and tangy,” Arethusa cheesemaker Matt Benham said. “We run it through a hand-cranked mill, resulting in small, irregularly shaped curds. These curds are tossed with salt before being packed into cylindrical forms. The resulting wheel ages for about four months before it’s ready for release.”

Arethusa Farm scored two more wins at the competition this year. Its camembert took fourth place in the camembert category, while the farm's Tapping Reeve cheese took sixth place in the natural rind cheddar category.

Arethusa Farm was started in 2001 by George Malkemus, the president of the shoe company Manolo Blahnik, and his vice president, Anthony Yurgaitis. Today, the farm produces milk, cream, butter, cheese, yogurt and cheese. Arethusa also owns Arethusa al tavolo, a farm-to-table restaurant in Bantam, and Arethusa a mano, a nearby coffee shop.

Arethusa Blue can be found at Greenwich and Fairfield Cheese Company, Harbor Harvest in Norwalk, Whole Foods in Fairfield, and at the farm’ retail dairy store on Chapel Street in New Haven.