Dang, my smoked cheese guy is going out of business.

[Mosca]

Shpoppy Shawn’s Shmoked Cheese

Damn. This is a smoked cheese like no other; he won a Gold Medal at the International Cheese Contest in 2022.




Shawn has had to jump through so many hoops. First had to get his proprietary process approved by the PA Dept of Agriculture. Then he had further regulatory hurdles to clear, including that he couldn’t sell cheese past a 30 day expiration window… which is BS, smoked cheese lasts like Velveeta does. With those limitations, plus he’s basically an old hippie kind of guy who has had some health issues, I guess it just isn’t sustainable.



I’m giving him a call later today, I’m going to head down to his store and load up. (Just when I thought I was going to make it out, they pull me back in.)

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

That's a bummer, but I bet you can still buy tamales out of a random car in a parking lot... I hate when govt goes after people TRYING to do the right thing

[Mosca]

Up here it’s pierogies, but same idea. And yes you can, they show up at the farmers markets with coolers full of them.

[STEbbq]

To be fair, the fact that a “my smoked cheese guy” existed at all is pretty special. You are a lucky man Tom.

[58limited]

This is sad news. Everyone should have a local smoked cheese guy

[acorgihouse]

Guess you have a new project?

[yakima]

You might be able to continue a personal relationship with him. Perhaps trade brisket/ribs for cheese periodically.

Or buy his smoker.

[STEbbq]

I like it. Outside the box thinking here.

[Skip]

This sounds like a great idea. I've Smoked cheese myself, stored it in Foodsaver bags and kept it in the refrigerator for several months. Get him to smoke it and you can save it for a long time.

[Mosca]

My first trip…

[Mosca]

Idk? Just reporting what we talked about.

You scared me with that “botulism” comment! I googled it, botulism in cheese is rare, and mostly in cheese sauce. My biggest problem is with blue cheese; it’s hard to tell when it’s gone sideways when it already looks rotten. That’s when I pay attention to the texture, and if it’s gotten more ripe smelling. Bad blue cheese smells worse than it should, and has an odd sourness to it.

[Jerod Broussard]

Those facilities I mentioned are doing canned goods which are hermetically sealed.

[acorgihouse]

Unusual for botulism to affect dairy. Dairy, if it goes bad after processing, is usually from a streptococcus, lactobacillus, various bacteria. If raw dairy goes bad, it's listeria, e.coli, salmonella. All bacteria. Botulism is unusual for dairy, because it requires very low oxygen (it's an anaerobe), and one of the cases where it might be more common would be "hermetically sealed", meaning sealed air and water free. No air/no oxygen. Soft cheeses have other issues, hard cheese gen okay.

[mrteddyprincess]

Time to start smoking cheese, Tom.

B