Humboldt Fog
Humboldt Fog is a truly original California artisan cheese.
Conceived in a dream (yes, really!) by founder Mary Keehn, this masterpiece paved the way for soft-ripened goat cheeses in America. Each handcrafted wheel features a distinctive ribbon of edible vegetable ash.
Made from local goat’s milk and lightly aged, Humboldt Fog boasts a fudgy texture and typically tangy goat’s milk flavor. The creamline develops as the cheese ages, resulting in oozy goodness meeting firmer cheese towards the center. HFog’s rind is paper-thin and brimming with minerality.
The shape and look of a whole wheel have always reminded me of birthday cake. So, have a party and enjoy its flavors of buttermilk and fresh cream, complemented with floral notes, herbaceous overtones, and a clean citrus finish.
The cheese is creamy, light, and mildly acidic with a stronger flavor near the rind. This cheese won first-place awards from the American Cheese Society in 1998, 2002, 2005, and 2019.
Its origins date back to the 1970’s, when Mary Keehn became interested in goats while searching for a healthy source of milk for her young daughters. After starting with two animals, she quickly developed a passionate interest in breeding high-quality Alpine goats. Within a few years, the herd increased significantly; finding herself with excess milk, Keehn began experimenting with cheesemaking, founding Cypress Grove in 1983. Keehn first dreamed up Humboldt Fog in 1993 after returning from a trip to Europe, inspired to create a cheese that visually echoes the typical thick white fog that frequently settles over the dark green landscape of her native Humboldt County.