Comments on: Miller’s “Aged” Cheddar

By: Haim

Haim — Sun, 06 May 2007 20:02:40 +0000

i was wondering if the miller’s cheese “semi-sharp cheddar” was considered hard cheese making a person wait 6 hours before eating meat? I saw the comment about the aged cheese but am not sure about the semi-sharp and how long it is aged for. Thank you

By: Steve M.

Steve M. — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 22:54:49 +0000

I purchased some of the varieties of Sugar River Cheese at Shalom’s in Wheaton, Maryland, and they were superb. I would certainly buy more (have tried to purchase at the local Whole Foods-one says they no longer have it as it wasn’t selling enough and the other hadn’t heard of it; the one that heard of it suggested trying other Whole Foods stores which were larger and carry more variety). These cheeses are a real step up for kosher cheese.

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 30 May 2006 16:43:29 +0000

Any one know where one can order Jospeh Farms cheeses? Their web site did not have links for ordering cheese other than gift baskets. None of the local supermakets carry any cheese other than Miller or Haolom. The local kosher market also carries the standard kosher brands.

Does anyone know how their sharp cheddar compares with the OU cerified Cabot Sharp Cheddar?

By: Elisha

Elisha — Mon, 22 May 2006 18:03:21 +0000

Like everyone else here, I also love cheese and find that unfortunately I cant find any really good kosher cheeses. The Tillamook Cheddar is awesome, and the new Mitzvah Farms Meunster is also pretty good. Besides that (all the heimish brand)there really isnt much. Although I did hear of a new cheese company in Amish country that is going to start a line of real cheeses, that are actually kosher under a lesser known but strict hechsher. I hope its good cheese.

By: Iris Cox

Iris Cox — Wed, 10 May 2006 21:47:22 +0000

Please note that the OK now has issued a statement on its Alerts page stating that Joseph Farms cheese IS kosher:

Directly copied from the website:

January 19, 2006
Pursuant to our previous notice, we are pleased to inform the public that OK Kosher and Joseph Gallo Farms have corrected the Kashrus issues that occurred with the production of Joseph Farms brand cheeses.

Joseph Farms cheeses manufactured after January 16, 2006 with a “sell by” date beginning July 17, 2006 are kosher and dairy (cholov stam), ONLY WHEN BEARING THE OK-D SYMBOL.

By: jabbett

jabbett — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 13:43:19 +0000

The product you’re thinking of is Sugar River Cheese — we’ve reviewed it in the past. Maybe I’ll try to get some pictures up soon.

By: David

David — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 13:30:58 +0000

I did a search on Sweet River Cheese and found nothing. I’ve been to Whole Foods and never noticed it. What hashgagah is it under?

By: Devorah Allen

Devorah Allen — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 12:33:09 +0000

My husband and I have been purchasing Sweet River Cheeses (various Monterrey Jack combos and Cheddar combos) at Whole Foods here in Baltimore…we especially like the chipotle cheddar, being from Texas! However, we learned yesterday that they didn’t sell enough and will no longer carry it. We’ll have to find another source, but we recommend this brand. It is a little pricey, but we love our Mexican vegetarian food. We use the cheese with Morningstar Soy Crumbles for tacos, enchiladas, etc.

By: Craig Winchell

Craig Winchell — Thu, 12 Jan 2006 05:34:48 +0000

Here’s the reply I got from Rabbi Eidlitz:

Both pieces of information came from the o/k. They seem to have been misinformed on the subject and are aware of the difficulty. The cheese as far as I understand from them now was never certified. Kol Tuv

By: Craig Winchell

Craig Winchell — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 14:48:40 +0000

BS”D

I’m still waiting to hear from Rabbi Eidlitz concerning the Joseph Farms cheese (he did not daven at Shaarey Zedek mincha/maariv yesterday). At issue to me is the fact that he said that “Joseph Gallows” cheese from Food For Less correctly bore the OK. Joseph Farms packaging only has a small label bearing the name Joseph Gallo (there is no such cheese as “Joseph Gallows”, so it is obvious that this is the cheese Rabbi Eidlitz meant, and he attributes that information to the OK). Then, there is a blurb on both his and the OK web site that the Joseph Farms brand is not under supervision. It could be that “Joseph Gallo” cheese is under OK supervision, but the “Joseph Farms” brand name is not registered with them. Having seen firsthand how kashrus agencies, both for-profit and not-for-profit, it’s entirely plausible to me that even on this massive scale, this is a simple misunderstanding between Joseph Gallo Farms and the OK. Happens all the time. So I”m keeping the cheese(not eating it), not throwing away any keilim until I hear further. I kashered other keilim so I could use them in the meantime. Kashrus agencies are notorious for licensing brands, and not companies, to use their symbols. If the brand wasn’t registered, who knows how long this could take to clear up? If everything else is kosher, it may not be cleared up until another fee is paid. Or, this could be a matter of blatant fraud on the part of Joseph Gallo farms. It would be nice if it is the former rather than the latter. Then, my keilim would be kosher and I wouldn’t need to throw out the cheese.