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Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar is a unique cheddar made in rural Prince Edward Island.
Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar is a unique cheddar made in rural Prince Edward Island. The cow’s milk gathered from Holsteins is heated but not pasteurized, allowing it to develop the most flavourful cheddar possible.
Milk Type: Raw Cow’s Milk
Style: Traditional clothbound cheddar
Description: The cheese is made using a traditional Scottish recipe; the drum-shaped wheels are pressed and then wrapped in cloth. This conventional practice protects them while aging, but allows the cheese to breathe. Clothbound cheddar typically has a much more vibrant and complex flavour and aroma, and the Avonlea is no exception. After making and wrapping the wheels, they are aged in Charlottetown caves for twelve to eighteen months. The process is time-consuming, but I believe the time and patience pay off, as this is a standout in the landscape of Canadian cheeses. You have to be established and committed to a cheese like this to forecast production and always have the space to have enough aging at any one time.
Avonlea is the fictional town in the much-loved Anne of Green Gables books, which take place on Prince Edward Island, so it seems a fitting name for a prize-winning cheese from there, too. Avonlea has won Best Vintage Cheddar at the World Cheese Awards in 2015, Best Clothbound Cheddar at the American Cheese Awards in 2016 and 2018 and Grand Champion at SIAL in 2022, to name a few. It is a well-respected cheese not just in Canada, but in the global cheese community.
Tasting Notes: Due to the particular terroir of PEI, the cheeses have a special flavour. The sea air and the pastoral landscape lend something unique and hard to pin down to the flavour profile. I find the taste hard to describe, but it has a hint of horseradish, a pleasantly woodsy taste, and just a slight sparkle of spiciness on your palate at the finish. This is a cheese that will stay with you!
The texture of clothbound cheddar tends to be quite different from what we are used to seeing in Canada. It seems less rich and fatty, and the texture is slightly brittle and flaky. The wheels are a lovely golden hay colour; the closer you get to the natural crust formed under the cloth, the darker the colour is.
In my mind, this is not a cheddar to buy for cooking—not that it wouldn’t lend something amazing to your grilled cheese—but it is so interesting that it is worth trying on its own to enjoy all of the distinct textures and tastes.
Pairing: Avonlea has a strangely savoury note, so that I might pair it with less typical cheddar pairings. It is undoubtedly amazing with pears and apples, but I think it is exciting with stone fruit like plums and apricots, which I don’t always find to be as cheese-friendly. It is also amazing with very hearty rye or whole grain bread and can more than stand up to the challenge. I also love cheddar served on a good, sturdy bread with some butter first. Cow’s Creamery makes cultured butter, which I love, and some of that with it is perfect. It sounds weird if you haven’t tried it, but I swear by it. I love this cheddar with tawny port, but it can be an interesting pairing for various wines.
GOW Suggested Wine Pairings:
