Franklin’s Teleme, made by MidCoast Creamery, has cult status. Franklin Peluso, whose grandfather came up with the original recipe in 1927, makes this pillowy cheese into a six-pound two-inch-thick square. Adam, his son, is right there by his side, taking this secret recipe into the future. For that we are all grateful.

Teleme, the only cheese made by MidCoast, has no rind. Instead it’s dusted with a thin coat of rice flour and aged for three or four weeks. The rice flour dries the edges of this soft-ripened cheese to almost a chewy exterior. Teleme is a staple in many polenta recipes and is unique in its style and flavor. It has been likened to a ripened Italian stracchino. It’s not easy to find, but very worth the experience.

Some people may know Teleme as “Tomales Bay Cheese” as, long ago, it was crafted in the little town of the Tomales, in western Marin County.

Ingredients: Cultured Pasteurized Cow Milk, Salt, Microbial Enzymes.

San Francisco Chronicle (January 12, 2024): "This rare cheese with a cult-following vanished from the Bay Area. Now, it’s making a comeback"
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Milk: Cow' Milk -- Style: Soft Ripened -- Rennet: Vegetarian

Wholesale Distributors: Tony’s Fine Foods, World’s Best Cheeses