100km Foods Ontario Cheese Offering: The Ultimate Guide

It really goes without saying but we make some pretty damn good cheese here in Ontario! We're truly spoiled with the quality and variety of cheeses produced by our local cheese makers. And, at 100km Foods, we're lucky to partner with some of the very best in the game.

We're going to introduce you to 16 of our favourite Ontario cheese producers (in no particular order), give you a sneak peak inside their production process, and a complete breakdown of each cheese's style, aging, tasting notes, applications and how they can be used as substitutes for popularly imported European cheeses.

Looking for cheeses available through 100km Foods by a particular producer? Simply click the producer below to jump to their section.

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• 1. Ontario Cheese by Mountainoak Cheese
  
• 2. Ontario Cheese by Monforte Dairy
• 3. Ontario Cheese by Back Forty Artisan Cheese
• 4. Ontario Cheese by Blyth Farm Cheese
• 5. Ontario Cheese by Stonetown Cheese
• 6. Ontario Cheese by Gunn's Hill Artisan Cheese
• 7. Ontario Cheese by Best Baa Dairy
• 8. Ontario Cheese by Mariposa Dairy
• 9. Ontario Cheese by Glengarry Fine Cheese
• 10. Ontario Cheese by Quality Cheese
• 11. Ontario Cheese by Bright Cheese and Butter
• 12. Ontario Cheese by Udder Way Artisan Cheese
• 13. Ontario Cheese by Secret Lands
• 14. Ontario Cheese by Upper Canada Cheese Company
  
• 15. Ontario Cheese by Capella Meadows
  

1. Ontario Cheese By Mountainoak Cheese

“Farming is not only an occupation, it’s a way of living.” – Adam Van Bergeijk.

Wise words from the owner of Mountainoak cheese, Rick Mercer’s favourite dairy farmer and cheesemaker!

Adam and Hannie Van Bergeijk are the owners of Mountainoak located in New Hamburg, ON. Their son Arjo and his wife Baukje help to run the farm.

Being a true family business, it only makes sense that the name ‘Mountainoak’ comes from their family name! The English translation of their Dutch family name, “Van Bergeijk”, means “from the mountain oak.”

History of Mountainoak Cheese

Adam and Hannie were originally dairy farmers from the Netherlands, where they first became interested in cheese making. In the early 1980s, they attended an artisanal cheese making school that had a 300 year history of making Gouda style cheese.

The cheeses they made in Holland grew in popularity, but eventually, they wanted to expand their dairy farm. Thus, they decided to immigrate to Canada, where they purchased their first farm in Wilmot Township in September 1996.

In the beginning, they actually had no plans to continue making cheese. Instead they wanted to focus on raising their herd. As Adam and Hannie’s sons grew older and began to take over the farming and dairy herd duties, Adam and Hannie moved back towards making artisanal Dutch goudas.

At first, this was just for personal consumption, but as the popularity of their cheeses grew, they decided to officially go into the cheese making business! So when it came time to brand their business, the name Mountainoak just made sense — Mountainoak milk should be made into Mountainoak cheese!

Mountainoak Cheese Production Process

As Adam explains, "everything you do with your cows is going to be paid back in your milk". This is a philosophy they put into practice at Mountainoak.

On 325 hectares of land, they grow feed, care for, and milk their own herd of over 400 dairy cows. They use the 11,000 litres of high quality milk produced yearly to turn into their delicious artisanal cheeses.

Their milk is delivered through a pipeline straight from the milking barn to the cheesemaking building and the cows milk themselves with self-milking robots (similar to Sheldon Creek Dairy).

By being so involved with each step of the process, they ensure that their milk has as much flavour as possible. This is reflected in the superior quality of the carefully crafted cheeses they produce.

They also care about ensuring the environmental sustainability of their farm for future generations. Right now, their fresh water source for cheese production comes from a well, which requires softening and reverse osmosis to make it suitable for cheese making. 

They had an assessment done by the Bloom Centre for Sustainability in conjunction with the Dairy Farmers of Ontario to see where they could conserve water use and be as efficient as possible. By doing so, they managed to reduce their water use by 25-30%! 

Since completing their assessment, they're evaluating other systems to increase water collection, such as recycling rainwater. All of this is done with the aim of reducing the carbon footprint of their dairy farming and cheese making. This is something we’re totally on board with here at 100km Foods!

Mountainoak Cheeses Available Through 100km Foods

100km Foods' Mountainoak Cheese Must-Tries!

The cheese varieties they produce are delectable and award winning! Their Farmstead Gold is a full flavoured farmstead gouda that exudes hints of butterscotch and caramel that's aged for 18 months.

The list of awards this cheese has won is extensive, including the Reserve Grand Champion at the 2016 Royal Winter Fair, as well as 1^st place in the British Empire Cheese Competition in 2015!

Their Farmstead Mild is aged 2-3 months and is exceptionally smooth and creamy. This cheese is A+ for melting, and won 1^st place in the Class 4 Semi-Firm Cheese at the British Empire Cheese competition in 2016.

2. Ontario Cheese By Monforte Dairy

Monforte Dairy is an Ontario cheese producer located in Stratford that believes agriculture is best practiced on a human scale. Each of their cheeses reflects something deeper than the technology behind mass manufactured food. 

Ruth Klahsen originally opened Monforte Dairy in Millbank, Ontario 12 years ago. She has a longstanding culinary career, graduating in the first class of the Stratford Chef School in the 1980s. She's also worked in a number of fantastic restaurants in Stratford over the years, as well as spent time staging abroad during the winter.

Over time, Ruth’s love of cheese evolved from a side project into starting her own dairy business. Her extraordinary passion for cheese making continues to shine through in all of their Monforte's amazing Ontario cheeses.

Originally, Monforte sourced milk from small Mennonite and Amish sheep farms. However, as the dairy industry shifted over time, they have expanded to also produce cheeses from goat, water buffalo and cow’s milk.

Monforte Dairy Production Process

Monforte is an incredible example of a business that is fiercely dedicated to sustainability.

They have, and always will, only source their milk sustainably from small-scale farms that follow the natural life-cycle of the animals. This means the farmers milk the animals until they naturally dry up in the late fall and winter. They then begin milking again in the spring-time after they drop.

By following this natural cycle, their offerings follow a progression – lots of fresh cheeses in the spring and summer, and then shifting towards harder, aged cheeses for the fall and winter.

Monforte Cheeses Available Through 100km Foods

100km Foods' Monforte Dairy Must-Tries!

100km Foods carries a wide variety of Monforte cheeses, both aged and fresh. A must-try is their Tomme, a wild-aged cow cheese with a firm texture.                        

There’s also their Chevre, which is incredibly fresh and beautifully simple.

We’ve been working with Monforte Dairy for quite some time now, and we are so excited to continue to grow our businesses together and bring you an amazing array of cheeses crafted by such a passionate team.

3. Ontario Cheese By Back Forty Artisan Cheese

Located along the banks of Eastern Ontario’s Mississippi River, Back Forty Artisan Cheese is a small farm and sheep dairy processor. Established in 2000, Back Forty was amongst the first sheep's milk cheese producers in the country.

All of the raw sheep milk they use to craft their traditional unpasteurized cheeses comes from five carefully selected nearby family-run farms.

Back Forty believes in a more traditional, hands-on approach to cheese making. They are a small owner-operated business with a primary goal of providing unique and great tasting cheeses that capture the terroir and flavor of the rustic and beautiful Ottawa valley.

Back Forty Artisan Cheese Production

With a core focus on animal welfare, land stewardship, quality home grown feed and pasture, these farms are able to achieve the highest quality milk, which is carefully refined into the most delicious cheese through the natural process of fermentation.

Back Forty Cheeses Available Through 100km Foods

100km Foods' Back Forty Cheese Must-Tries!

The rugged Bonnechere River and the mysterious Bonnechere Caves are unique landmarks of the Ottawa Valley. A distinct feature of Back Forty's Bonnechere is the rind that is toasted over an open flame before aging. This painstaking process, traditional for certain Basque cheeses, imparts a delicious caramel essence which permeates the body of the cheeses as it ages, and provides a delicious contrast to the tangy and fruity body of the cheese.

Flower Station is another must-try cheese in the Back Forty line. Named after the picturesque hamlet in Lanark County, Back Forty's Flower Station will be a real wake up for the taste buds of those used to pasteurized cow milk Feta and provide an authentic taste of the Mediterranean!

A tangy and rich blue cheese, their Highland Blue has a natural rind and delicate overtones of blue mold, combined with butter and mushroom. It is full-flavoured, earthy and savoury with less salt and acidity than many blues. Named for the beautiful Lanark Highlands and the many Scots who settled the Ottawa Valley area.The Highland Blue is a Royal Winter Fair ribbon winner!

Lastly, their Madawaska cheese is a beautiful rustic bloomy rind cheese with a range of tastes and textures. From a chalky, slightly tangy centre to a soft, sweet and slightly salty cream under the rind, this cheese has a truly unique flavour and texture profile. Named after the magnificent and rugged Madawaska River in the Ottawa Valley. 

Back Forty has a small shop and patio at their dairy that is open during summer season so make sure you make it out for a visit and to try their incredible cheeses if you find yourself in the Ottawa Valley.

4. Ontario Cheese By Blyth Farm Cheese

Blyth Farm Cheese is a family-run farm business located near Lake Huron with a Master Cheese Maker, Paul Van Dorp, at the helm of the operation. Originally from Holland, Paul furthered his cheese-making skills by studying at Guelph University before eventually starting Blyth Farm in 2011. 

Blyth Farm Cheese Production

Paul Van Dorp and Sarah Reid craft excellent artisanal cheeses made with fresh Ontario sheep milk from Paul’s family farm. They produce traditional Dutch Gouda-style cheeses, made with sheep’s milk instead of cow’s milk.

The sheep's milk adds a richness and depth of flavour that is characteristic of their wide range of Goudas!

Everything from the farming, to the cheese making, to the packing, is done right on our farm.

Blyth Cheeses Available Through 100km Foods

Please note that Blyth products require a longer lead time than our other cheeses. If you're interested in ordering cheeses from Blyths, please reach out to your sales rep. 

100km Foods' Blyth Farm Cheese Must-Tries!

Described by Blyth's as "goat cheese with the volume turned down", their Blyth's Eweda Gouda is sweet and velvety, the perfect sheep cheese for a sweet and subtle flavour. Eweda won 1st place at the Royal Winter Fair 2022. 

Next up is "mozzarella's hotter cousin", Blyth's Queen Bee cheese is mild in flavour and naturally sweetened with a slight kick! Queen Bee won an award at the SIAL Canada Cheese Competition this past summer.

Dubbed the go-to cheese for "wine connoisseurs", Blyth's Drunken Ra  cheese is beautifully aromatic and soaked in Merlot which you can taste in the flavour profile of this delicious cheese.

Lastly, a round-up of Blyth's must-tries wouldn't be complete without their Golden Blyth Aged. This cheese packs a punch with a robust flavour and is one of my favourite cheeses in their line! This aged Eweda placed 2nd in its category at the 2022 Royal Winter Fair.

Blyth’s Cheese was some of the first cheese we ever carried at 100km Foods. 

5. Ontario Cheese By Stonetown Cheese

Stonetown Cheese has a simple motto: "Life is great. Cheese makes it better."

At Stonetown Cheese, Hans and Jolanda Weber share in this sentiment. In fact, it is this belief, along with farming, that motivated them to immigrate to Canada in 1996.

With their three children, they began a new life in St. Marys, Ontario where they started their own dairy farm. Having previously worked in the Swiss Alps, it was always their dream to produce delicious, high quality cheese reminiscent of the renowned Swiss Mountain cheeses and made from their own milk.

With a profound commitment to creating cheese of the highest quality, the support of their family and Swiss Master Cheese Maker, Ramon Eberle, their humble dream became a reality in 2015.

Stonetown Cheese Production

Stonetown's cheeses are handcrafted, alpine-style cheeses. This means they are low in sodium and made with fresh whole cow’s milk. They use unpasteurized, additive-free cow's milk from their family farm to obtain a superior taste. This ensures the cheese is pure, natural and of the highest quality.

Their commitment to produce high quality cheese is best reflected in the care they give to their Holstein cows. They live in a clean and comfortable free-stall barn, sleep year round on beach sand, and enjoy the best quality feed.

Stonetown Cheeses Available Through 100km Foods

100km Foods' Stonetown Cheese Must-Tries!

Stonetown's Wildwood cheese is a crowd favourite amongst 100km Foods customers, and for a good reason. Wildwood is a beautiful semi-soft cheese that has a natural zesty flavour from being smeared with wine yeast. Works well on rustic bread, by itself on a cheese platter with fruits, or in grilled cheese sandwiches. Pair with a smooth red wine. 

Grand Trunk is Cheesemaker Hans' favourite cheese. He loves it so much, he has it with breakfast every morning. This Gruyere-style cheese is firm with a distinctive salty flavour. Tastes great by itself, or just simply melted on bread. Pairs well with both red and white wines.

Next up is one of our best Stonetown sellers, and first place winner at the 2018 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, Stonetown's Farmstead Emmental. This firm cheese is aged 3-5 months and has a natural sweet, yet somehow also savoury, nutty flavour.

6. Ontario Cheese By Gunn's Hill Artisan Cheese

Gunn’s Hill Artisan Cheese is a small, artisanal dairy located in Woodstock, Ontario owned by Shep Ysselstein. Shep crafts small-batch cheeses made with a marked Swiss influence. His family has been farming in the region since the 1950s. 

Gunn's Hill Cheese Production Process

Shep sources all the milk for their line of Gunn's Hill cheeses from his family farm.

Check out this video to get a behind the scenes look at their cheese production process!

Gunn's Hill Cheeses Available Through 100km Foods

100km Foods' Gunn's Hill Cheese Must-Tries!

If you've never tried Gunn's Hill Brigid's Brie, you're missing out on true brie perfection! This soft surface-ripened cheese is made with cow's milk and is is free of stabilizers and preservatives. This is why it's sold with a 'best between' date, with every batch aged six weeks to preserve it's creamy centre.

Handeck is one of Gunn's Hill's most popular cheese with 100km Foods customers. This cheese was named after the town in Switzerland where Shep studied cheese making. Handeck is a Swiss-style, hand-crafted, washed rind cow's milk cheese, that is delicately aged on cedar wood planks giving the cheese a robust flavour.

5 Brothers is another must-try! This cow's milk cheese is a hybrid between a Gouda and an Appenzeller. It is also aged on cedar wood planks, like the Handeck, but has a creamier texture, rich flavors with sweeter overtones.

7. Ontario Cheese By Best Baa Dairy

Best Baa Dairy is a small dairy in Fergus, Ontario owned by Peter and Nicole Bzikot. In 1998, they moved their flock from Manitoba to Ontario. After researching European production of sheep's milk cheese, they discovered their flock was the best breed to produce milk for cheese!

Sheep's milk retains the same volume when turned into cheese, which removes the need for thickeners. It's a great alternative for those who are sensitive to cow's milk.

Best Baa Dairy Production Process

Best Baa Dairy uses non-homogenized ewe's milk as the basis for most of their cheeses, and source their milk from within 100km of their facility!

They source milk from farmers who pasture-feed their flocks in the warmer months and supply them with alfalfa hay in winter. They don't supplement their diets with corn or soy products. Their packaging is recyclable and BPA free.

They also prioritize animal welfare in their production and understand that they are stewards of the land. They utilize the 'Five Freedoms' guidelines for their herd, which comprises of freedom from hunger and thirst; freedom from fear and disease; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain and injury; and freedom to express natural, normal behaviour.

Best Baa Cheeses Available Through 100km Foods

100km Foods' Best Baa Dairy Must-Tries!

Their traditional Greek-style feta is truly in a league of its own! It's tangy with subtle hints of lemon, ridiculously delicious on its own and is the perfect addition to enhance virtually any dish.

8. Ontario Cheese By Mariposa Dairy Cheese

Lenberg Farms was the original 100-acre goat dairy farm located near Lindsay, Ontario owned by Bruce and Sharon Vandenberg, owners of Mariposa Dairy.

Martin Bons worked a herd of 750 dairy goats on his farm in Holland along with his brother, who raised dairy cattle. Because there was no room to expand his Holland farm, Bons applied for a visa to come to Canada in 2010.

In October of 2015 Bons came to Canada to manage the Vandenberg herd, supplying the goat milk for Mariposa Dairy and in 2018, Martin and his wife Sonja took ownership of the farm.

Mariposa Dairy Production Process

All Mariposa cheeses are Ontario goat and sheep milk “Celebrity” style cheeses. They add sea salt to bring out the delicate flavour of the cheese and all cheeses are animal rennet free.

Mariposa Dairy Cheeses Available Through 100km Foods

100km Foods' Mariposa Must-Tries!

Mariposa's Lenberg Farms Lindsay Bandaged Cheddar is a small batch, hand-crafted cheese made from premium goat's milk. Made in the old world way by wrapping the cheddar wheel with cheesecloth to help to age and preserve the flavour. They age the cheese on pine boards yielding an earthy, nutty, and slightly crumbly cheese. 

Mariposa's 'Celebrity' goat cheese is also an absolute must-try. Made with 100% pure goat’s milk. This cheese is creamy, mild, slightly tangy, and fresh, perfect to spread on a cracker or crumbled on a salad. Celebrity's goat cheese is made with pasteurized goat's milk, sea salt, potassium sorbate, microbial enzyme, bacterial culture.

9. Ontario Cheese By Glengarry Fine Cheese

Cheese-making consultant Margaret Peters Morris opened Glengarry Fine Cheese in Lancaster, Ontario across the road from her family farm in 2008. This fulfilled a lifelong dream and complemented her cheese making supply business which operates adjacent to the cheese plant.

Margaret began making cheese from the farm milk back in the early 1990's. The overall love of cheese in her family propelled Margaret’s interest to add more varieties to the repertoire with trips abroad to learn more about farmstead cheese-making and eventually developing recipes that are the basis of the varieties produced in the plant today. To have an artisan plant was Margaret’s dream and is now her life’s vocation, to be on a farm making cheese in the county where she grew up.

Glengarry Fine Cheese Production Process

At Glengarry Fine Cheese, they combine their love of cheese-making in every batch and they carefully age their cheese in European designed aging rooms that provide the ambiance that refine their cheeses.

The milk used for the wide range of cheese comes from their family farm. Their herd of Brown Swiss cattle produces A1 milk year round. In recent years, the cheese factory’s production has expanded to include a line of cheeses made from Ontario goat milk.

Glengarry Cheeses Available Through 100km Foods

100km Foods' Glengarry Fine Cheese Must-Tries!

The first must-try cheese from Glengarry would have to be their soft, lactic, bloomy rind cheese, Figaro. Made in the tradition of Chaource cheese from the Champagne region of France, Figaro’s milky, fresh taste and delicate texture truly sets it apart. You can enjoy it young (aged 3 weeks) when the flavour is quite mild or aged (6 weeks) where the yeasty rind intensifies the flavor.

Next, their Aged Lankaaster is a firm cheese aged 8-12 months that is shaped as a loaf. According to Glengarry, this is to express the fact that it is meant to be sliced and eaten directly on bread as the Dutch farmers do! It has mild to medium flavour that sweetens over time and develops a hint of nuttiness.

Lastly, this round-up wouldn’t be complete without Glengarry’s Celtic Blue! Aged 2-3 months, the Celtic Blue is a soft and creamy blue cheese. The typical blue cheese taste is rather mild in the Celtic Blue, softened by a buttery aroma. 

10. Ontario Cheese By Quality Cheese

Located in Vaughan, Quality Cheese is owned and operated by Albert, Joseph and William Borgo - AKA the Borgo Brothers. They specialize in making award winning traditional Italian style cheeses.

The passion they have for cheese making truly translates into the exceptional quality — pun intended — of Quality Cheese cheeses.

Quality Cheese Production Process

Quality Cheese uses only the freshest milk and ingredients in their cheese production process. They pay careful attention to every detail, and use the best practices and techniques to make fantastic local Italian-style cheeses!

Quality Cheese Cheeses Available Through 100km Foods

100km Foods' Quality Cheese Must-Tries!

The first Quality Cheese must-try would have to be their Bella Casa Burrata. This fresh cheese has the most perfect sweet flavour, soft smooth exterior and a textured, creamy centre.

Next, their Bella Casa Ricotta is another favourite! Their sweet, creamy ricotta is made with pasteurized whey, pasteurized buffalo milk, citric acid, and salt. Simple ingredients paired with expert craftsmanship yield this incredible cheese. Perfect in stuffed pastas!

11. Ontario Cheese By Bright Cheese and Butter

Bright Cheese and Butter is the oldest surviving dairy producing cheddar in Ontario. It began as a group of farmers who wanted to use up a surplus of milk from production. By the 1900s, cheddar cheese was actually Canada’s second biggest export! 

At that time, over 1,242 cheddar factories existed in Ontario, Bright’s Dairy being one of the many. Though much has changed since then, Bright’s Dairy still operates out of the very same factory they have since 1874!

Bright Cheese & Butter Production Process

Bright Cheese & Butter follows conventional growing practices using local ingredients. They are well known for producing all natural, naturally-aged cheese made with 100% local milk using traditional methods.

Bright's Cheeses Available Through 100km Foods

100km Foods' Bright Cheese Must-Tries!

Their aged cheddar cheese is a must-try! It has a strong flavour profile, with a distinguished taste and a slightly crumbly texture. It's an excellent choice for cheese boards or to make the meanest grilled cheese sandwich!

You also can't go wrong with their feta. It's creamy, salty and crumbly, everything you want from a feta-style cheese. Excellent crumbled in salads, stuffed in poultry or sprinkled on pizzas!

12. Ontario Cheese By Udder Way Artisan Cheese

The Udder Way Artisan Cheese is an award-winning producer of hand crafted artisan Guernsey and Holstein A2 milk cheeses, located in Hannon, Ontario. They make all of their cheeses by hand, using milk from local farms only, and only adding natural ingredients.

Udder Way Artisan Cheese Production Process

Their cheeses are based on old world recipes and they never compromise on quality. Their goal from the beginning was to make Artisan Cheese approachable and fun for everyone, and to show their customers that great cheese is made with excellent ingredients, patience and attention to detail.

Udder Way Cheeses Available Through 100km Foods

100km Foods' Udder Way Artisan Cheese Must-Tries!

"Krüger Blue" is our first must-try from Udder Way. A creamy, flavourful blue cheese - the only Guernsey Blue in Ontario! This cheese is the prestigeous 1st place winner of the 2021 British Empire Cheese Show in the Specialty Cheese category and just won the Silver award at the 2022 World Cheese Awards.

"Oveja Negra" is another must-try from Udder Way! Oveja Negra is a sheep's milk Manchego-style cheese with complex flavours and just the right amount of sharpness. This cheese is the prestigeous 1st place winner of the 2021 British Empire Cheese Show in its category and won the Super Gold and Best Canadian Cheese award at the 2022 World Cheese Awards.

13. Secret lands

Secret Lands is a cheese producer located just south of Owen Sound and are committed to a natural way of making great cheeses using Kefir as a starter culture for all of their cheeses. Secret Lands are the only farmers in Canada using this method.

Combining new technology with old European traditions, Secret Lands is able to produce artisanal cheeses that can only be produced on a small scale. This means they have a direct relationship with all of their products, providing more attention to the quality, taste, and nutritional benefits of everything they make.

Secret Lands Production Process

As small farmstead producers, Secret Lands have complete control of everything, from farming to milking, from cheesemaking to packaging - all done right on their Farm. Secret Lands Farms have pesticide and hormone-free pastures and fields for their hormone-free sheep. They manage their farm according to the strictest organic principles, but are not organically certified.

Secret Lands Cheeses Available Through 100km Foods

100km Foods' Secret Lands Must-Tries!

Secret Lands' Caciotta cheese is a must-try! It is an artisanal, semi-hard, washed rind raw 100% ewe's milk cheese, aged six to ten months. It has a milky, sweet, and tangy flavour unique to caciotta cheese. Definitely deserving of a place on your cheese board!

14. Upper Canada Cheese Company

Wayne Philbrick, Upper Canada's Founding Partner, grew up in Niagara on a peach farm. A lover of fresh, local produce he was fascinated with cheese he had purchased on a trip to Quebec. This planted the seed of his idea for Upper Canada Cheese Company and the artisan cheeses it would craft. When he returned, Wayne began to experiment at home with milk from the local Guernsey herd, located on the Niagara Escarpment.

After arduous trials, two fine cheeses - Niagara Gold and Comfort Cream - were perfected, and the Upper Canada Cheese Company was established in 2005. Today, Upper Canada Cheese Company proudly offers a wide selection of award-winning cheeses made with fresh Guernsey cow's milk, that boasts a high A2 Protein, and wholesome goat milk from local farms right here in Ontario! They are fortunate to be able to use fresh Guernsey milk from the family-owned Comfort Farms, located in St. Ann’s, Ontario, whose generations of farming experience have allowed them to produce high quality, reliable milk all year round.

Upper Canada Cheese Production Process

As artisan cheese makers, Upper Canada Cheese Company pride themselves in making cheese by hand, in small batches, and are committed to the tradition of the cheese maker’s art. Unlike large-scale cheese producers, Upper Canada does not standardize their cheesemaking milk, instead they rely on seasonality and terroir. By doing so, the milk they use is transformed into cheese of unique taste and texture that reveals a subtle range of flavours influenced by the seasons, forage and feed. Each wheel of Upper Canada cheese is produced by hand, ensuring genuine care and quality, but also resulting in cheeses that are more complex in taste.

Secret Lands Cheeses Available Through 100km Foods

100km Foods' Upper Canada Must-Tries!

Upper Canada's Niagara Gold is award-winning for a reason and tops the list of our must-tries.This award-winning semi-soft, washed rind cheese is born of time-honoured Trappist monk cheese-making techniques. Twice every week for five months, each cheese is washed in brine, turned, and returned to its place in the aging room. The room is kept at precisely 91 percent relative humidity and 52 degrees Fahrenheit – mimicking as closely as possible, a traditional French aging cellar.

15. Capella Meadows

Capella Meadows is a small, certified organic, family farm owned by Erik & Edda Boettcher. Erik & Edda love what they do. Farming is their passion and cheese-making is a way to condense this love and passion into a product so that their customers can taste it. 

Capella Meadows Production Process

Erik and Edda oversee a herd of over 200 purebred French Alpine goats and use biodynamic farming principles. At Capella Meadows, Erik and Edda work hard to transform the land they farm into an organism that is self sustainable, respects the nature of their main workers (our goats) and increases organic matter and biodiversity.

This leads to healthier soils, plants, animals and milk. And high quality milk makes high quality cheese.

Capella Meadows Cheeses Available Through 100km Foods

Stock Up On Your Favourtie Ontario Cheeses at 100km Foods!

We really have some of the world's best cheeses here in Ontario and this article just scratches the surface of all the incredible local cheese makers! 

We hope you find this guide helpful in navigating our cheese offering and helping you plan your cheese offering. 

Looking for a local cheese in particular you're not seeing on this list? Reach out to your sales rep or info@100kmfoods.com and we'll see if we can get it for you.

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