Kosher Blog

Cabot OU Sharp Cheddar: Review & Interview

As any local Bay Stater will tell you, dairy products from Cabot Creamery are a staple in almost every New England home. For this dairy afficionado, growing up on Cabot’s delicious cheddars and other cheeses made it especially difficult to take on a fully kosher lifestyle. Thankfully, that conundrum is alleviated. With great excitement, the Kosher Blog learned early this month of Cabot Creamery’s plans to introduce a sharp cheddar supervised by the Orthodox Union. We made no delay ordering several of the 10-ounce bars from their online store, and have been steadily enjoying them since they arrived promptly by mail.

Cabot’s cheese is the first kosher variety to our knowledge that has been aged to a truly “sharp” degree (up to eight months), and the marked cheddar flavor is testament to that. Despite its age, the cheddar remains creamy (sharper cheddars become drier and crumbly) but firm enough to slice and shred and with ease. Thus, we can say that Cabot’s is arguably the best kosher cheddar available for all-around snacking and cooking.

To learn more about Cabot’s kosher cheesemaking in terms of supervision, economics, and taste, we had the opportunity to interview Cabot’s Direct Marking Manager, Clay Whitney.

When and how did Cabot initially get involved with kosher certification? Was it solely to tap a “kosher” market or did you anticipate increasing demand among non-kosher consumers as well?
Years ago, when our butter and cultured products first became certified kosher by KVH [Va'ad Harabonim of Massachusetts], and our cheese became certified by Tablet-K, we knew this did more than make these products acceptable for consumers who observe the kosher laws. Kosher certification is like the “Good Housekeeping Seal” for all consumers concerned about the quality of the food they eat. We publicized information about our certification through various means, but admittedly, it was not at the forefront during our efforts to expand Cabot’s selling regions.

After analyzing the costs and benefits of certification of our products by the Orthodox Union, we decided to make the change for our butter, cottage cheese, sour cream, dips and whipped cream. These products have been certified by the Orthodox Union for several years and the packaging bears the OU-D symbol.

In the last few years, inquiries about our cheese certification increased from a few to many. We have changed much of our cheese packaging to reference both the kosher certification from Tablet-K and the Halal certification by IFANCA, since both market segments are growing. The changeover to new packaging is continuing as we deplete our older inventories of labels and film.

Did the switch to kosher production require difficult adjustments to your cheesemaking process?
Our production methods are unchanged whether or not the product is certified kosher, but the issues we have to address are 1) the incremental cost of supervision and 2) the impact of the production scheduling requirements.

Although we use only the milk from Cabot’s farm family owners, Cabot’s cost of cheese is dependent upon the national commodity market, specifically the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. In volatile market years, such as we experienced in 2004, the impact on the income to our farmer owners can be dramatic, so any increased cost must be carefully considered.

Scheduling production and packaging for the OU-certified product also has a cost in terms of management and efficiency.

The purpose of this market test is to get an idea of the interest for this product. Success in the test could lead to a rollout, which would mean higher volume, larger distribution, and lower costs.

Your announcement of an OU-certified variety stated that it was a result of consumer comments. When did you start to hear demand for Orthodox Union-certified cheese?
As Cabot’s distribution grew beyond the East Coast, and the certification of our products became known, a larger audience has enjoyed Cabot’s kosher products. In the last few years, we have been contacted about our kosher standing more frequently and with varied requests.

Did it increase when Cape Cod’s “Shapes of the Cape” was released (OU-certified featuring Cabot cheddar)?
Other national brands, such as Coca-Cola and Oreos, had caught our attention earlier, but the request from Cape Cod to have the cheddar ingredient from Cabot certified by the OU heightened our awareness of the Orthodox Union’s national presence.

What makes OU-certified cheese different from your other varieties - with the OU on board, were you once again required to make changes to your cheesemaking process?
The rigorous inspection conducted by the Orthodox Union confirmed that our ingredients and processes are in compliance with their requirements. The standards for our dairy products have been maintained diligently since our cooperative’s founding in 1919 and were instrumental in our being awarded “World’s Best Cheddar” at the 22nd Biennial World Championship Contest. Personal supervision by a rabbi from the OU confirms those standards are maintained to their satisfaction.

[KB Note: See the Kosher Bachelor's discussion of Cabot's OU Cheddar for more detail on the difference in supervision.]

There are many widely-recognized national kosher certifiers, like Star-K of Baltimore, OK of New York, Kof-K of New Jersey, and others. What led you to choose the OU as your new certifying agency? Did you consider any other major organizations before choosing to work with the OU?
Our butter and cultured products have been certified by the Orthodox Union for several years, and the OU has been diligent in their efforts to work with us to develop an OU-certified cheddar. We called representatives from synagogues in several states and asked what the predominant and most appropriate certification would be for our products in their area. Our initial impression of the Orthodox Union’s national recognition was corroborated.

In your professional opinion, would you say the texture and flavor is equal to your award-winning standard sharp cheddar?
Absolutely! All our cheddars are produced to achieve the same highest standards for taste and texture. In a blind taste test, you would not be able to distinguish the OU kosher sharp cheddar from the Cabot cheddar that has won every major award for taste.

Kosher cheeses, aside from a few exceptions, are much more expensive than non-kosher cheeses. The average Jewish consumer chalks this up to the cost of supervision, but relatively little is known about the phenomenon. To what do you attribute the price premium of your OU-certified variety over your other varieties? If the demand were great enough, could your OU-certified price equalize with the lower, standard price?
If this test of OU-certified sharp cheddar is successful, the next step is to make it available for kosher and general retail stores. The cost of certifying our entire production by the OU, when only a portion of our sales are impacted by the certification, burdens the cost of all our products. If national retailers see a value to offering this cheddar, and are willing to pay the incremental cost, volume and efficient distribution will drive down the incremental costs associated with certification.

If the demand were great enough, would it be economically feasible to use a widely-recognized, national certifier like the OU for your entire line? Would you consider such a change?
After analyzing the costs and discussing this possibility with the Orthodox Union, we have determined we will proceed on a step-by-step basis to find the point of optimal value to our customers and farmer owners as our sales develop. To misquote a famous book and movie, “If you come, we will build it.” We will be learning a great deal about this product’s impact in the marketplace if this test is successful and the roll out begins.

Any plans to produce other OU-kosher varieties? As I recall from my non-kosher childhood, your Monterrey Jack is stellar.
Thank you for the endorsement. It’s too soon to consider that yet, but not at all out of the question.