5 Spoke Creamery: The big apple does its own cheese.

5 Spoke Creamery's luxurious Tumbleweed cheese.

When you think about Westchester, a certain cheese comes to mind, and it’s not necessarily the food type. The well-endowed suburb of New York City actually has a growing foothold in the cheese market though, with the addition of the 5-Spoke Creamery to the national landscape.

In a wholesome and conscientious, if not delectable, fashion, the company has been producing some of the state’s finest cheese for nearly three years. The word has spread as virulently as their bacterial enzymes, and the company’s product is widely available in 20 states across the country. “We’ve been picked up by great distributors,” says co-owner Barbara Glustoff, who formed the company with her husband Alan.

His studies in Food Science at The University of Illinois planted a firm understanding of the health benefits of a well-made cheese. Taking a move from the French, cheesemaker Alan insisted on a formula based on unpasteurized (raw) cow milk, farmed from contentedly roaming, grass-fed cows. The result is a six-variety arsenal of earthly, buttery, full-bodied cheeses that are both bold and full of appealing subtleties in flavor, exuding tastes like nuts, grapes, and tangy citrus.

One of the standouts is their Tumbleweed, a combination of the traditional French Cantal and an aged Cheddar.Cave-aged for 9 months, the semi-hard cheese has a rich curdy aroma, that is well complemented with a crisp, buttery finish. To counter any health worries, all cheeses are aged at least 60 days to kill any potentially harmful bacteria.

Although 5-Spoke currently produces its cheeses in Pennsylvania, the Port Chester-based outpost is working on establishing a creamery in Westchester country, within minutes from the city. In the meantime, head over to some of NYC’s top restaurants, like Blue Ribbon and Gramercy Tavern, where their cheeses are featured on the menu. “This is what happens when you make great cheese,” says Barbara. It seems that everyone, including their happy cows, would agree.

Find the cheese: 5-Spoke Creamery