Cave to Co-op, April 2026

This Month’s Selection:

BLEU DE CHAMPLAIN from CHAMPLAIN VALLEY CREAMERY • Middlebury, VT

A raw, natural rind cow-milk cheese with creamy, tangy notes and a peppery finish.
 

Champlain Valley Creamery, based in Middlebury, Vermont, has been crafting certified organic cheeses by hand since 2003, building a reputation for thoughtful, small-batch production rooted in exceptional local milk. Sourcing 100% grass-fed Jersey cow milk from nearby Severy Farm, the creamery focuses on expressing the richness and seasonality of that milk across a range of styles—from fresh and bloomy-rind cheeses to more aged, complex wheels—all produced in a solar-powered facility with a deep commitment to quality and sustainability.

With a graduate degree in Food Science and a background in wine making, Carleton Yoder moved to Vermont in the late 1990s to make hard apple cider. He took a year’s detour making farmstead Vermont cheddar at Shelburne Farms and then decided to venture into cheesemaking on his own.

After a number of years in an old mill in Vergennes, where he carried countless full milk cans up countless flights of stairs, he finds himself in Middlebury making cheese. He still uses his traditional recipe but now with the aid of technology to move the milk cans around the creamery.. 

Bleu de Champlain marks an exciting evolution for the creamery: their first blue cheese, made from raw whole milk and aged 75–90 days to develop depth and character. Carefully pierced to encourage blue veining and wrapped in a natural rind, this cheese strikes a balance between creamy and crumbly, delivering bold, spicy blue notes tempered by the lush richness of Jersey milk. A longtime passion project of cheesemaker Carleton Yoder, it reflects both technical precision and a distinctly Vermont sense of place—rustic, expressive, and deeply satisfying.

Bleu de Champlain is delicious, made into a blue cheese dressing or crumbled on a salad. Try it in a roasted vegetable tart, creamy polenta with crumbled blue, pizza with caramelized onions or in stuffed mushrooms. Pairing suggestions: rustic baguette, honey-roasted nuts, fresh figs, quince paste, sparkling wine, saison beer, light porter, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, or dry sherry.

This bleu is lovely to cook and bake with – do give these French inspired turnovers a try. The recipe also calls for cream cheese, and Carlton’s Cream Cheese is awesome as well.!
 

Check out the recipe below!
 


Bleu de Champlain Turnovers

Makes approx. 6 - 8 turnovers

Filling Ingredients: 

  • 4 oz Bleu de Champlain cheese
  • 2 oz cream cheese
  • 2 oz unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 1 tbsp minced chive
  • 1 tbsp Kirsch (optional)
  • 2 - 3 tbsp heavy cream
     

One Batch Chilled Pastry Dough: 

  • 1-½ cups of all purpose flour
  • 9 tbsp unsalted butter
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • 4 tbsp ice water
     

Dorure (Egg Wash) Ingredients: 

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tbsp cream
     

Instructions:

  1. Filling: Mash the blue cheese in a bowl with a fork. Beat in the butter, then add the yolks, Kirsch (if using), and chives. Add the cream one tablespoon at a time, stirring until smooth.
     
  2. Pastry: Heap the flour onto the countertop. Make a well in the center and add ½ tablespoon of water and the salt. Stir gently with your fingertip, then add the butter, cut into ½-inch cubes. Mix gently with your fingertips until the butter and flour are incorporated. Add the remaining water, a tablespoon at a time, in a trench, fluffing with your fingertips. Gather the dough into one mass and give it two “fraisages,” using the palm of your hand to flatten and push the dough until smooth but not overworked. Form into a flattened ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.
     
  3. Turnovers: Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness and cut into 2½-inch squares. Brush two edges with dorure, place a scant teaspoon of filling in the center, and fold into a triangle, pressing the edges together with a fork. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and brush with dorure. Bake at 400°F for 12–15 minutes, or until puffed and golden. May be pre-baked and reheated.

    Enjoy!
     


Each month, your Neighboring Food Co-ops feature our region’s artisan cheesemakers by offering a specially selected cheese at great price. Look for the “Cave to Co-op” sign in the cheese section at your local food co-op. To find one near you, visit www.nfca.coop/members.


Cave to Co-op is a partnership between Provision International and the Neighboring Food Co-op Association (NFCA) to support local, artisanal cheese producers in our region and make their products more easily available to co-op shoppers.  The NFCA is a network of more than 35 food co-ops in our region — including yours — that are working together to advance their vision of a thriving regional economy, rooted in a healthy, just and sustainable food system and a vibrant community of co-operative enterprise.  For more information, please visit www.nfca.coop.

 

Back to top