AMERICA’S BEST : Ohio’s Big Cheese

Yaggi Cheese House, P.O. Box 203, New Philadelphia, Ohio 44663. (216) 339-5067

Free Price List . Billed after delivery . Shipping and handling extra Yaggi’s is not your ordinary cheese shop. In Ohio’s Tuscarawas County, it’s an institution. It has been since 1925, when Dave Yaggi’s grandfather arrived from Switzerland carrying his recipe for Swiss cheese. He set up business in the rolling hills between New Philadelphia and Stone Creek, and local folks have been buying their cheese here ever since.

These days, cheese is no longer made at the Yaggi farm; the cheese house now stocks the finest selection of locally made cheeses. These include Cheddars (which range from medium to a very crumbly sharp at $2.69 a pound), soft and creamy brick ($2.25 a pound), or, for those brooding over their cholesterol count, a low-fat farmer cheese with a slightly sour tang.

But Yaggi’s reputation was built on Swiss cheeses, and that is still what the shop is famous for. The cheeses, which are made in small batches, have flavors that range from mild to sharp, but all have a firm, nutty character not found in mass-produced cheeses. The wine-cured Swiss is especially popular: It’s an old-fashioned wheel cheese that is treated with white wine to enhance its naturally sweet flavor. A rind cut runs $2.89; a center cut is $3.59. “The wine-cured Swiss, made last July, will be available for cutting from the end of November till it’s gone,” Yaggi says.

Yaggi’s also stocks a couple of locally smoked meats including Troyer’s trail bologna ($2.69 a pound) and Strebs smoked pork sausage ($2.79 a pound). The pork sausages in casing contain no preservatives, have a nice smoky flavor and are great thrown on the grill.

There’s a handling charge of $1.25 per address on each order. UPS charges run $4.01 on 5 pounds, $5.64 on 10 pounds. If you prefer second-day air, the shipping charge is $7 on 5 pounds, $12 on 10 pounds.