Jul 12, 2018 | Real American Cheese

Cabot Cheddar: A Cherished Cheese at the Roadhouse

This cheese stands alone in making our dishes special!

by Marcy Harris


Roadhouse mac and cheese with caramelized Cabot cheddar cheese.
At the Roadhouse we can never have enough of good thing, and we definitely feel that way about cheese. Our list is pretty extensive, and includes a good variety from Zingerman’s Creamery, as well as many noteworthy cheese artisans from around the country. We are not trying to confuse anyone, or make it difficult for you to choose a cheese for your burger, it’s just that we love cheese. There is one that really lay the brick for the foundation of our menu, though, and that is our 1-year aged white Cabot cheddar from Vermont.

An aged cheese that never gets old.

Since the Roadhouse opened its doors in 2003, we’ve been using Cabot in many of our dishes. The crumbly, nutty, delicately sharp cheese lends itself well to recipes where we want to enhance natural flavors of other artisanal ingredients, not overpower them. For example, sprinkled on our creamy Anson Mills’ grits, it adds that something extra without smothering the heirloom corn flavor of the grits themselves. It’s a critical bit in our Grits n’ Bits waffle, but we want to make sure you are tasting the bits of Nueske’s applewood-smoked bacon, too, and the Cabot is perfect for that balance in flavor.

We use it in our pimento cheese because it is mild enough to support the fiery and smoky flavor of the roasted red peppers and cayenne. The texture offers just enough structure to make it perfectly spreadable on sandwiches or melted over corn beef hash. It cuts well into the smoke and and spice of our chili fries. And you know that amazing award-winning mac and cheese we love so dearly? The not-so-secret is in the sauce! It’s that velvety smooth melted Cabot cheddar that fills up every noodle, and caramelizes to a perfect golden brown on top.

I love it melted on a burger because it offers just enough sharpness to lift the round, buttery flavor of our course-ground beef that we want you to experience. On a cheese board it’s fantastic, pairing perfectly with the tang of our balsamic-marinated grapes.

Why Cabot cheddar is better.

Many of the products we use come from families, so it’s pretty fantastic that Cabot is actually a cooperative of dairy-farming families in Vermont. Even better that they are coming from farmers with mindful practices! The Cabot farmers take really good care of their cows. As the folks at Cabot like to say “As any dairy cow would tell you if she could, she who is most productive is she who is most contented.” They support participation in the National Dairy FARM Program, or Farmer’s Assuring Responsible Management, which ensures a commitment to the care of animals that will lead to safe and wholesome dairy products.

Cabot is a B Corps company, which means they use business to solve social and environmental problems by meeting high standards of social and environmental performance. They also participate in a program called Cow Power, offered by Green Mountain Power, which uses integrated services to help people save energy and resources.

What does all of this mean? At the end of the day, that the cheese we get in from Cabot tastes really, really good due to mindfulness of the cows, the environment, and the resources involved with creating it. So while we love all the cheese on our list at the Roadhouse, the Cabot cheddar will always be one of our most treasured. Add it to a farm-fresh salad, your eggs at breakfast, or have a wedge with a slice of Bakehouse apple pie. You’ll love it!

 

Explore our menu for dishes to add Cabot cheddar to.