Man, Tillamook Cheese products are showing up on shelves and restaurants ALL over Nashville! Love it! I remember seeing Tillamook thick-cut style shredded cheeses a number of months ago, They're great, by the way. Now, it appears there are number of copycats of that variety out there - including Sargento and Kroger. Whatever the marketing department is doing at Tillamook, they certainly seem to be doing things right!
Tillamook is the best cheese. Better than anything the Wisconsin folk are making. Sargento sucks. Don't bring them up again in relation to Tillamook. Bandon cheese is pretty good. I believe they were bought by Tillamook over a decade ago.
When I arrived in Music City, my wife had never heard of Tillamook. Boy, she knows about them now! I'm happy she's sold on them!
Crap, I said the B word. Wasn't there controversy awhile back in another thread regarding that term? At any rate, no potential insults intended.
The wife loves cheese but had never had Cougar Gold (of course I fixed that in a hurry) or Tillamook living down here in South Texas. Got the CG shipped down here but couldn't find Tillamook until a couple years ago. Now our main grocery store is selling it and adding more of their products, even found the individually wrapped Sharp White Cheddar at Target. Along with the cheese, the ice cream started showing up on shelves as well, really seems like they are making a nationwide push and I'm here for it. This summer finally took her to the factory and I think that's where most of our souvenirs from the trip came from. On a side note, I know Cougar Gold can get expensive in retailers, but if you buy straight from WSU it's $25 for a can (still pricey but better than the $40-$50 I know most retailers sell it for). https://cougarcheese.wsu.edu/
I preferred Bandon cheese over Tillamook before they bought them out. Now its pretty much the same as Tillamook but a little cheaper. Kerrygold Cheeses, Dubliner and Skellig (Costco carries it) are my favorites. I cold smoke 20-30 lbs of cheese a year and those are two that I won't touch because smoke doesn't/can't improve the flavor. Boarshead Chipotle gouda and Horseradish cheddar are next on my list. A little smoked Chipotle and horseradish right outta the smoke, they darken up quite a bit overnight.
