Pleasant Ridge Reserve, the signature cheese of the Uplands Cheese Company, may be one of the single most perfect hard cows milk cheese made in the US. A traditionally made cheese in the style of alpine cheeses from southwestern France, Pleasant Ridge Reserve is made only during the months when cows graze on grasses, sweet clover, and wild herbs, giving their milk a depth of flavor not usually found in most cheeses from year-round milkers grazing on silage and grain.
This award winning cheese (just go to their website to see how many accolades they've earned...it is simply awesome) is a favorite both here in the Midwest and all over the country. For those of us lucky to live in Chicago, it is on the menu of many local restaurants, who use it both on cheese plates and in more complex dishes. During a recent visit to Hot Chocolate on Damen, for example, I had a Pleasant Ridge Reserve-filled brioche. I think this cheese is better to eat out of hand than to incorporate in a recipe - with heating, many of the subtleties of texture and flavor are lost.
Seek it out. And if you do find it in a cheese shop, make sure the piece you get does not touch plastic. Because plastic is the enemy of all cheese. If it must touch plastic, make sure you get it out as soon as possible and put in proper cheese paper or wax paper and foil. And eat it right away - it isn't going to get any better in your fridge.
Uplands isn't open to the public, but if you call ahead they may just accomodate you. The trip through the lush, rolling hills of southern Wisconsin is an agrarian's dream. read more