Campus Life

Just in time for football: Berkey Creamery releases new premium cheddar cheese

The Penn State Berkey Creamery recently released its finest cheddar cheese to date, “Select Reserve Nittany Pride.”  Credit: Michael HoutzAll Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — If you’re a fan of aged cheddars — and the Penn State Berkey Creamery — get ready to smile and say “cheese.”

The Penn State landmark recently unveiled its finest cheddar cheese to date, “Select Reserve Nittany Pride,” a new sharp cheddar that has been aged for more than a year. It is available in yellow, with a white version to follow soon, noted Tom Davis, creamery manager and one of the principals behind its creation.

“‘Select Reserve’ is not your average cheddar cheese,” he said. “We’ve been told by our cheese ingredient supplier and several renowned cheese graders who have evaluated our product that it is on par with many other gourmet cheddar varieties.”

While the new premium cheese, which features gold trim packaging, can be used in various dishes such as dips and casseroles, Davis also recommends it for charcuterie boards, gourmet cheese boards and high-end restaurant dishes. Of course, it would be a hit at any tailgate party, too.

Though the creamery has been making cheddar cheese for a long time, the management and staff have been consulting with cheese industry professionals to evaluate the creamery’s processes and ingredients.

One of those experts is Danny Chambers, senior technical account manager, mentor and adviser with Milwaukee-based Christian Hansen Inc., a company that develops natural solutions for the food, nutritional, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. Chambers has worked with the creamery for the past several years to improve the quality of its cheeses.

“Penn State should be very proud of the cheeses they are producing now,” Chambers said. “‘Select Reserve’ is just outstanding and leads the way. If you love cheese, you must try these outstanding cheeses.”

The idea for “Select Reserve Nittany Pride” was a team effort, Davis noted. “Employees took classes on how to become better cheese tasters so they could properly judge the progress of our cheese production,” he said. “Their work reflects our continuous improvement effort for our aged cheddar cheeses.”

Jim Brown, creamery sales and marketing manager, explained that the creamery has expanded its product line beyond ice cream.

“As a result, we placed a focused effort on improving our fluid milk products, including the launch of an iced coffee line, several cultured dairy products including our yogurt, and especially our cheddar cheeses,” he said. “Our goal is to compete for awards in the cultured products category, starting with our cheddar cheeses.”

The creamery’s cheeses, including varieties of cheddar, Swiss, hot pepper and American, can be purchased in the retail store or online at https://creamery.psu.edu/cheese/all-cheeses.

 

Last Updated September 9, 2021

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