Cabot Clothbound is a pasteurized cow's milk cheddar made by Cabot Creamery and aged by the Cellars at Jasper Hill in Vermont.
A full wheel weighs about 35 pounds and matures for 9 to 14 months under cloth, lard, and a living natural rind.
The result is drier and more open than a vacuum-sealed supermarket cheddar. It breaks into rustic shards, smells nutty, and combines medium acidity with caramel sweetness and savory notes that Jasper Hill compares with chicken broth and toasted nuts.
In This Article
What Is Cabot Clothbound Cheddar?
Cabot Clothbound is an English-style bandaged cheddar adapted to a Vermont cooperative and affineur partnership. Cabot supplies the milk and makes the young cheddar, while Jasper Hill manages the cloth binding, natural rind, and long maturation.
The cheese is not simply Cabot block cheddar wrapped after retail production. It is made as a roughly 35-pound wheel intended for this aging system.
Pasteurized cow's milk comes from family farms in the Cabot cooperative.
The wheel then spends 9 to 14 months in a calibrated vault where it is brushed, turned, and monitored.
That specific chain explains the full name. “Cabot” identifies the cooperative and make, while “Clothbound” describes the aging format that Jasper Hill develops.
- Milk: Pasteurized cow's milk.
- Source: Cabot Cooperative family farms.
- Wheel: Approximately 35 pounds.
- Age: 9 to 14 months.
- Style: Natural-rind bandaged cheddar.
What Do Cabot and Jasper Hill Each Do?
The partnership began in 2003 when Cabot asked Jasper Hill to age a special batch of cheddar. That division of labor remains central to the product.
Cabot's cheesemakers turn cooperative milk into a young cheddar wheel.
The wheel reaches Jasper Hill before it has acquired the mottled surface consumers associate with the finished cheese.
Jasper Hill coats it in lard and adds another layer of cloth. The cellars then control temperature, humidity, airflow, turning, and brushing throughout maturation.
Affinage is active care, not warehouse storage.
Staff judge how the rind is developing and keep the wheel from settling into uneven moisture or surface growth.
This arrangement lets a large farmer-owned cooperative and a specialist cellar contribute what each does well. Removing either name from the explanation makes the cheese sound like a conventional branded block or a Jasper Hill farmstead make, and neither description is accurate.
How Does Cloth Aging Change the Cheese?
Cloth and lard protect the wheel while allowing gradual moisture exchange. A sealed plastic block retains more water and has no comparable natural rind ecosystem.
As water leaves, the paste becomes more concentrated and crumbly.
The surface develops earthy aromas, while the interior gains the broth, caramel, and toasted-nut notes reported by Jasper Hill.
The wheel's size slows the process. A 35-pound format gives the center time to mature without drying at the same rate as a small cheddar truckle.
Natural rinds also create variation. A wedge close to the rind can show more earth and a firmer edge than a center cut from the same wheel.
The mottled outside is expected on a clothbound wheel. Blue or gray growth on the external cloth does not mean blue veins should run through the cheddar paste.
The rind is technically part of the aging system, but many people trim it because the cloth, lard, and dry surface are tough. Taste a thin boundary piece before deciding how closely to cut.
What Does Cabot Clothbound Taste Like?
Jasper Hill describes medium acidity balanced by caramel sweetness, chicken-broth savor, and toasted nuts. The cheese finishes tangy rather than aggressively sharp.
A nutty aroma appears before the full savory flavor. Once chewed, the paste becomes creamy despite looking dry and crumbly on the board.
Small crystals and a rustic fracture add physical interest.
They are a result of maturation and protein changes, not coarse salt sprinkled through the wheel.
| Part of the Wedge | Likely Character | Best Use |
|---|---|---|
| Center paste | Balanced, nutty, caramel-sweet, and creamy | Direct tasting and clean pairings |
| Broken edge | Crumbly with concentrated aroma | Small shards for a board |
| Near rind | Drier and more earthy | Taste first, then trim to preference |
| Warm shaving | Softer aroma and fuller savor | Toast, potatoes, or finished dishes |
Age changes emphasis across the 9-to-14-month window. A younger wheel can feel sweeter and more cohesive, while a longer-aged one may be drier and more assertive.
The cheddar family resemblance is clear, but cheddar covers many moisture levels, wraps, colors, and ages. The cloth rind and cellar partnership are the decisive details here.
How Should You Cut and Serve It?
Break Cabot Clothbound along its natural fault lines instead of forcing every portion into a polished cube. Irregular shards expose fresh surfaces and keep the crystalline texture intact.
Bring the portion out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before tasting. A full wedge does not need hours on the counter, and smaller pieces warm faster.
Jasper Hill recommends charcuterie, apple jelly, and chestnut honey.
Each works for a different reason, with salt extending savor and fruit or honey meeting the caramel note.
Off-dry sparkling cider is especially effective because bubbles and acidity clear the dense paste. A hoppy ale can match the savory edge, while an oaked Cabernet Sauvignon suits a larger meal.
For a mixed board, position it after mild soft cheese and before a powerful blue. The cheddar pairing choices of apple, nuts, and chutney remain dependable, but keep portions small enough to expose the cheese rather than the condiment.
Can You Cook With Cabot Clothbound?
You can cook with it, though a specialty wedge is most expressive when some of the cheese remains visible.
Shave it over baked potatoes, fold it into warm biscuits, or finish a savory tart.
Its lower moisture and crumbly structure do not promise the perfectly smooth stretch of young cheese. Grate finely and use gentle heat when a sauce is the goal.
A small amount can deepen a cheese sauce because the broth and nut notes behave like seasoning.
Combine it with a younger cheddar when you need both complexity and fluid melt.
Save the dry rind for compost or discard it rather than putting cloth fragments into a sauce. Trim only after examining the wedge so you do not remove good paste unnecessarily.
Its caramel edge also works in an apple pie or savory apple galette. Use thin shards so the cheddar melts into distinct salty pockets instead of forming a heavy layer.
How Can You Recognize a Good Cut?
A good retail wedge has a clean ochre-to-golden cut face, a dry rind boundary, and fresh crumbs.
The paste can show small fissures and crystals without looking desiccated throughout.
Buy from a counter that can name the cheese and wrap a fresh cut. Vacuum packing is practical for shipping, but a recently cut piece in cheese paper gives you a better view of the rind and paste.
Ask for a taste from the same wheel when possible. Natural-rind cheese varies enough that a written flavor profile cannot tell you exactly how savory or earthy today's cut will be.
- Name both partners: Cabot Creamery and Jasper Hill should be identifiable.
- Look for the rind: Cloth and a mottled natural exterior distinguish it from block cheddar.
- Check the paste: Expect gold color, a crumbly break, and small crystals.
- Ask the cut date: A fresh shop cut retains aroma better than a drying open wedge.
Which Awards Mark Its History?
A gold medal at the 2004 World Cheese Awards gave the young collaboration early international recognition.
Cabot's twentieth-anniversary account treats that result as a turning point because the cheese was still a new joint project. The award did not define the make, but it showed that a cooperative cheddar could gain value through specialist natural-rind aging.
The American Cheese Society named Cabot Clothbound Best in Show in 2006.
That result is especially relevant because the competition judged American artisan cheese in its own developing market. It helped establish the wheel as more than a premium version of a supermarket brand.
Later medals confirm continued performance, but an award should never replace the current product facts.
Use the maker, milk, 35-pound format, cloth rind, Jasper Hill maturation, and 9-to-14-month age to identify the cheese. A medal belongs to a dated entry, while those production details explain the wedge available today.
How Should You Store It?
Wrap the cut wedge in cheese paper or parchment and place it in a partly ventilated container in the refrigerator.
This protects the paste while avoiding the wet surface that tight plastic can create.
Keep the rind attached during storage because it shields the edge. Trim it only when you portion the cheese.
If the paper becomes greasy or wet, replace it. A hard cheese tolerates more time than a fresh cheese, but a small retail cut still loses aroma and moisture each day.
Cut-side drying begins at the exposed paste, not at the protected rind.
If the face has hardened only slightly, shave off a thin layer and taste the interior. A deep dry band, rancid aroma, or broad unwanted mold across the cut signals that the wedge has moved beyond a simple surface refresh.
Keep strongly scented foods in separate containers because the paste can exchange aromas during storage.
Plan a second use before buying a large wedge. Fresh shards can lead a tasting board, while the remaining piece can finish biscuits, potatoes, or an apple tart within the next several days.
Freeze only when the cheese is destined for cooking. Thawed clothbound cheddar can become more crumbly, which is acceptable for grating but disappointing for a tasting board.
For a substitute, choose another natural-rind bandaged cheddar aged around a year. A vacuum-sealed sharp cheddar covers acidity and melt but lacks the earthy rind and open crystalline fracture.
SOURCES & REFERENCES
Cabot Creamery makes the young cheddar from pasteurized cooperative cow's milk. The Cellars at Jasper Hill binds, ages, brushes, turns, and monitors the wheels in Vermont.
Jasper Hill states an affinage range of 9 to 14 months. Differences within that window can change moisture, tang, and earthy rind character.
The natural boundary can be tasted, but the dry cloth and tough outer layer are usually trimmed. Try a thin near-rind piece, then cut as closely as your preference allows.
Expect medium acidity, caramel sweetness, toasted nuts, broth-like savor, and a tangy finish. The paste is crumbly and crystalline but becomes creamy while chewing.
Apple jelly, chestnut honey, toasted nuts, charcuterie, sparkling cider, hoppy ale, and oaked Cabernet Sauvignon all match parts of its savory-sweet profile.
