While wandering through the New York State Fair’s dairy building, I happened upon a display of purchasable cheese snacks from Yancey’s Fancy, an artisan cheese manufacturer from New York’s Finger Lakes region. I’ve snacked on Yancey’s Fancy cheese curds before, mostly when I need to get a fuel-and-food break on the Northway.
Well, they didn’t have cheese curds for sale, but they did have a selection of cheese spreads. Okay, maybe I’ll sample one …
Wait, what’s this?
You know what Hatch Chile is?
Of course you don’t. Not unless you live in the Southwest.
Hatch Chiles are grown in one specific region of New Mexico, and the chiles pack a tremendous amount of flavor with their heat. Hatch Chiles are roasted for optimum flavor, and there are some companies that will even ship the tasty treats to you, so you don’t have to make a road trip to Albuquerque for a bagful.
So somehow, some fromagerist thought it might be a waykewl idea to mix Hatch chiles with Yancey’s Fancy cheese spreads.
Okay, shut up and take my money.
I drove home with the cheese spreads (it was a sale, $5 each ,or 2 for $10) (yeah, you saw what I did there). Tried to dip some potato chips in the spread. No dice. All that did was just give me a bunch of cracked potato chips that got stuck in the spread.
I need something stronger.
Hello, Triscuits.
Spread a little of this mixture on a Triscuit, and…
You know what? It’s not bad at all. Very tangy. Very flavorful. And definitely not what I was expecting for my first foray into Hatch chiles. Okay, yeah, probably true Hatch chile aficionados don’t have them with cheese, but your mileage may vary.
No, this was plenty tasty. I could order more of these.
And maybe I will. Yancey’s Fancy cheese is associated with Kutter’s Cheese, which can be ordered and shipped online at this link.
I mean, it’s worth a try. And you don’t have to drive all the way to Syracuse during Fair season to get your hands on this stuff.
FTC NOTICE: At no time did I receive any compensation for, nor payment related to, discussing Yancey’s Fancy cheeses or its subsidiary products. All reviews are of my own testimony, free and clear. This was an unsolicited review and not an advertisement for Yancey’s Fancy cheese, Triscuit crackers, or Hatch chiles – or any associated products with those companies or entities.
Chuck The Writer 