Meet River Whey Creamery of Schertz, Texas
Planning a road trip this summer through the southwest? Plot River Whey Creamery from Schertz, Texas, a little town just 25 minutes from San Antonio, on your itinerary.
Launched by a California native whose parents were involved in Silicon Valley’s early tech industry, then moved out to Texas in the nineties, River Whey Creamery is a growing creamery that just made it to Whole Foods. Meaning, we might see them out in California in the future, fingers crossed. Owner Susan Riggs learned artisan cheesemaking at Cal Poly and Vermont, then honed her skills in England and Wales. You can taste this last bit.
Reminiscent of two of the British Isle’s best cheeses, my two favorite River Whey’s wheels are Whey Blue, and Keystone.
Whey Blue is a double-creme blue that tastes somehow like a classy mix between a Stilton and a Cambolooza. Evidenced by the number of people in my classes that say they don’t like blue, but love Cambolooza, and the die-hards who swear Stilton is the best cheese on earth, Whey Blue is the perfect meeting point for blue-newbies and afficianados alike. This cheese loves sweet things like rose petal confit, honey, or a heady sherry.
Keystone is a cousin to British favorites Wensleydale, Lancashire and Cheddar. Though I found it more lemony than those territorials, it has a sharpness to it that mature cheddar lovers would appreciate . It’s crumbly, citrusy, tastes like fresh buttermilk, and is ready at anytime to be paired with a spicy red wine blend or fancy pickle. So… it’s a perfect picnic cheese!