Amish Frolic is a hard raw cow milk cheese associated with Bobolink Dairy & Bakehouse in New Jersey. The practical answer is that it is a grass-fed Alpine-style cheese with a natural rind, pale yellow paste, open flaky texture, and grassy, nutty, sweet flavor.
This page is for the named cheese, not an Amish-cheese category. The route matters because the useful facts come from the Frolic wheel itself: raw grass-fed milk, seasonal production, hard texture, edible rind, and a flavor that can handle cider, ale, wine, bread, salads, and pesto.
If you already know American Alpine-style cheese, Amish Frolic sits in a nearby lane. It is still its own buying decision because the Bobolink and Amish-grazier context, open texture, and seasonal grass-fed milk change how we serve it.
In This Article
What is Amish Frolic cheese?
Amish Frolic is listed by Cheese.com as a hard artisan cheese from Milford, New Jersey, made from unpasteurized cow milk, with a natural rind, pale yellow color, open flaky texture, grassy aroma, and grassy, nutty, sweet flavor. Bobolink's own shop uses the simpler name Frolic and calls it a gateway Alpine-style cheese.
The name can be confusing. The cheese is not a general label for every cheese made by Amish farms. Public sources connect Frolic to Bobolink Dairy and a collaboration with Amish graziers, so the article should stay on that named wheel instead of drifting into broad farmstead-cheese talk.
That distinction protects the reader at the counter. If a seller only says Amish cheese, ask whether it is Bobolink Frolic, another Bobolink cheese, or a different farm's product.
- Best first description: hard raw cow milk Alpine-style cheese from New Jersey.
- Main texture clue: open, firm, and flaky rather than rubbery or hole-filled.
- Main flavor clue: grassy, nutty, sweet, and sometimes beefy.
- Main buying clue: seasonal and small-batch, so availability can change.
The grass-fed raw milk is the point of the route
Bobolink describes Frolic as made from 100% grass-fed raw milk in 8 to 10 pound wheels. Cheese.com also notes that the dairy animals graze outdoors and that seasonal milk affects availability. That is why the page should lead with milk and season before recipes.
Grass-fed raw milk does not mean the cheese will taste wild or harsh. In this route, it explains the grassy aroma, sweet nutty flavor, and richer savory edge. It also explains why the same cheese may feel more alive than a standard supermarket Swiss-style slice.
Raw milk also creates a safety and label decision. If you are serving pregnant, elderly, immunocompromised, or medically cautious guests, check the label and follow medical guidance instead of treating raw milk as a flavor badge.
For everyday shopping, the grass-fed clue is more useful than the word artisan. It tells you why the cheese works with fruit, cider, ales, wine, and bread instead of only acting like a neutral sandwich slice.
The texture is open and firm, so use the cut face first
Cheese.com describes Amish Frolic as hard with a flaky and open texture. That matters because this is not a smooth block that melts like processed cheese. It can grate, shave, and slice, but the cut face will tell you which job is best.
A clean open paste is useful. It means the cheese can break into flakes for salad, grate over pesto, or sit in small slices beside bread. If the wedge is dry at the edge or bitter near the rind, trim that part and judge the center before rejecting the whole piece.
The rind is edible when it tastes clean, but it is not mandatory. Use it when the earthy edge helps the bite. Trim it when the dish needs a cleaner dairy flavor.
What does Amish Frolic taste like?
Expect a hard cheese with grassy sweetness first, then nuttiness and a savory finish. Cheese.com uses grassy, nutty, sweet, rich, and beefy language. Bobolink's retail copy calls Frolic mild but not simple, which is a fair way to read the cheese.
That combination makes it friendlier than an intense aged grating cheese but more specific than a mild deli block. The flavor has enough pasture character to be noticed, yet it can still sit beside fruit, bread, and drink without taking over the plate.
Compared with aged Cheddar, Amish Frolic should feel less sharp and more grassy. Compared with a Swiss Alpine melting cheese, it is more source-limited and less standardized, so buy by condition rather than by a fixed expectation.
The safest first serving is a thin slice at cool room temperature. If it tastes flat from the fridge, wait a little before adding jam, mustard, or another strong partner.
How is Frolic different from other Alpine-style cheeses?
Frolic belongs near Alpine-style cheeses, but it should not be sold as a copy of a Swiss wheel. The pasture milk, open paste, and Bobolink route make the cheese more rustic than a smooth sweet nutty slice and less standardized than Gruyere.
The best comparison is by job. Gruyere is stronger for fondue and classic gratins. Alpha Tolman is a clearer Vermont farmstead comparison. Frolic is most useful when you want a hard American wheel that can move between board slices, shavings, and modest melt.
- Choose Frolic: when pasture flavor and natural rind are part of the reason for buying.
- Choose Gruyere: when the dish needs a proven fondue or gratin base.
- Choose young Gouda: when guests need a milder slice with less grassy flavor.
Use Amish Frolic where grass, salt, and nut flavor can show
Amish Frolic works best when the dish gives it space. Cheese.com mentions red wine, hearty ales, cider, crusty bread, salads, pesto, and eating it on its own. Tussock Sedge Farm's retail copy also points to fruit, ales, wine, melting, and flexible use.
Use it in shavings over greens, grated into pesto, sliced with apples, or tucked into a grilled sandwich where you want flavor more than dramatic stretch. It can melt, but it is usually better as a flavorful support cheese than as the entire sauce base.
- Best cold use: thin slices with apples, crusty bread, cider, or ale.
- Best kitchen use: flakes over salad, pesto, potatoes, or roasted vegetables.
- Best melt use: grilled sandwiches or warm bread where a firm cheese can soften slowly.
- Skip: silky queso, fondue, or a stretch-heavy pizza layer.
If a recipe needs smooth melt first, use a more reliable melting cheese and add a little Frolic for flavor. That keeps the grass-fed edge without forcing the cheese into the wrong job.
How should you buy and store Amish Frolic?
Buy Amish Frolic when the seller can tell you the source and cut date. A good wedge should have a clean natural rind, pale yellow paste, no sour leak, and a smell that reads grassy or nutty rather than stale. Because availability can be seasonal, do not assume every listing stays current.
Store the cut wedge in cheese paper or parchment with a loose outer wrap. Keep it in the cheese drawer or a covered box so it does not dry out. The same basic method used for storing firm cheese works here because the main risk is a stale cut face.
If the rind tastes clean, use it in thin slices. If it tastes bitter, dusty, or stale, trim the rind and use the paste for grating or cooking.
Because this is a raw milk cheese in public sources, keep safety advice simple. Check the label, avoid cross-contamination, and do not serve it to raw-milk-avoidance guests without clear consent and medical fit.
- Before serving: cut only the amount you need for the board.
- After serving: rewrap the wedge before the cut face dries.
- Before cooking: trim any bitter rind so the dish stays clean.
What can you substitute for Amish Frolic?
The closest substitute depends on the job. For American Alpine-style flavor, use Alpha Tolman or another firm farmstead Alpine-style wheel. For a more available hard cheese, use aged Gouda, young Gruyere, or a nutty Swiss-style cheese.
If the dish needs a sharp grated finish, Cheddar or Parmesan-style hard cheese may work better than chasing the exact Frolic flavor. If the plate needs a mild slice for guests, a buttery deli-style cheese or young Dutch table cheese is easier and quieter.
Do not replace it with blue cheese or a bloomy rind just because the original is artisan. Amish Frolic's job is hard, grassy, nutty, and sliceable. The substitute should solve that job first.
Amish Frolic is a hard raw cow milk Alpine-style cheese associated with Bobolink Dairy in New Jersey and made from grass-fed milk. Public sources describe it as pale yellow, open, flaky, grassy, nutty, and sweet.
Bobolink uses the name Frolic in its retail copy, while Cheese.com lists the route as Amish Frolic. Treat them as the same named cheese unless a seller clearly identifies a different product.
It can melt in simple uses, but it is not the best choice for silky sauces or stretch-heavy pizza. Use it in grilled sandwiches, warm bread, pesto, salads, or shaved over vegetables.
Cheese.com says the rind is suitable for eating. Taste a small clean edge first, then trim it if it tastes bitter, stale, or too earthy for the dish.
Use Alpha Tolman for a nearby American Alpine-style lane, young Gruyere or Gouda for nutty slices, or aged Gouda and Cheddar when you mainly need grating power.
