An aged Italian-style cheese laced with peppercorns
A wonderful artisan cheese made by a family-run dairy in the Ohio town of Mt. Gilead. Spotted Owl is a beautifully aged, full-flavored, raw sheep milk tomme made by the good folks at Kokoborrego Cheese. Laced with cracked black peppercorns, the Spotted Owl sits squarely in the tradition of aged Italian Toma Pecorino Pepato—a terrific grating cheese for pasta, salad, or soup, and also, as I’ve been doing, just cut into nice chunks and eaten as is. I love it at room temperature, along with fresh vegetables, some Bakehouse bread, and maybe some thick slices of one of the great artisan salami.
Aside from the fact that the Spotted Owl itself is exceptional, I’m all the more supportive of this project because the Sippel family has pushed through a huge amount of hardship to get to this point. Their story is an inspiration. They have faced the loss of one of their founders, devastating fires on the farm, and the challenges of the pandemic—yet they have stayed kind, generous, and humble, steadfast in their long-term commitment to the land, their Central Ohio community, and crafting high-quality cheese.
All their milk comes from a herd managed by an Amish family, the Yoders, just a bit up the road. The consistently high quality of the milk most definitely informs the quality of the cheese that’s made from it. The Spotted Owl cheese has won a wide range of awards over the years! Its subtle hints of pistachio and maybe even pineapple in the flavor, balanced against the spice of the pepper and the salt, make for a lovely eating experience.
Kudos and appreciation to everyone at Kokoborrego for crafting this terrific cheese! We’re honored to stock it, and I’m very happy to get to eat it!
