One of California’s pioneering artisan cheesemakers is re-introducing an old favorite after a five year hiatus; Cowgirl Creamery announced last week that the company’s Clabbered Cottage Cheese returns to select stores nationwide this month. The release of the cottage cheese also coincides with the debut of new packaging for two other Cowgirl Creamery fresh cheeses: fromage blanc and creme fraiche.
“As one of the first cheeses Cowgirl Creamery produced in 1998, the cottage cheese quickly became a favorite item in the creamery’s portfolio and was only discontinued (to many customers’ dismay) when space could no longer support production,” the company noted in a press release, adding: “Now, as Cowgirl Creamery settles into their newly-completed and expanded Petaluma creamery, [the company is] thrilled to bring it back.”
The product of a multi-day, hand-crafted process, Cowgirl Creamery’s Clabbered Cottage Cheese offers a tender and creamy texture with a subtle zing.
According to the company’s press release, production of the cottage cheese begins with organic milk from neighboring Bivalve Dairy’s Holstein cows, and once at the creamery, lactic acid cultures initiate coagulation, a process that takes 14 hours and develops deeper flavors. After the curds are cut, cooked, and washed, they are then dressed with a mix of “clabbered” (an old-fashioned word for cultured) cream and milk, giving the cottage cheese its signature velvety tang.
Consumers can currently purchase individual 5.3 oz or 12 oz containers—for a SRP of $3.45 to $7.45) at Cowgirl Creamery’s Point Reyes and San Francisco Ferry Building locations as well as specialty shops and grocery stores in the greater Bay Area, Los Angeles, and select stores nationwide. Clabbered Cottage Cheese is currently distributed on the West Coast—with more expansive nationwide distribution slated for spring of 2019.
“And for those looking to enjoy the cottage cheese out and about,” the company noted, “Cowgirl Creamery’s cafes, Cantina in Point Reyes and Sidekick in San Francisco, offer a Clabbered Cottage Cheese bowl topped with avocado, breakfast radishes, extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt.”
The newly rebranded fromage blanc (sold in a 5.3 oz format for $3.45 and a 12 oz for $7.45) and creme fraiche (5.3 oz for $3.95; 12 oz for $8.45) are likewise currently available on the West Coast with national distribution rolling out over the course of the next year. The cheeses’ new look marries the company’s elegant yet playful style with pastel tones and a whimsical motif that draws inspiration from cowboy boots’ stitching.
Cheese lovers eager to try the trio can check out Cowgirl Creamery’s online Kitchen Collection, featuring 12 oz containers of all three cheeses along with marinated goat cheese from Chevoo and cultured butter from Ploughgate Creamery.
For more updates on this and other artisan producers in the dairy, deli, bakery, and specialty food space, keep reading Deli Market News.
