Some of the delicious Sweet Grass Dairy Cheeses.

America used to be a grim place for cheese lovers. The only remedy for a cheese hankering was to get to a big city and pay way too much money for a European cheese that may or may not have survived the journey from across the pond.

For travelers like us, the dairy cases of most supermarkets were places to whine and stamp our feet, refusing to believe that an otherwise beautiful country could so offend our palates. Well, luckily for all cheese lovers, a small army of American cheese makers is ready to fill this void. Okay, maybe army isn't the right word. Small, however, is definitely the right word.

For places like the Sweet Grass Dairy, staying small has become the key to making the best possible cheese. Making small batches by hand gives them the flexibility to allow for some experimentation in their cheeses. This can lead to some delicious "mistakes."

Their small size also allows Sweet Grass to take a holistic approach to farming. Pigs, chickens and sheep all share space with the goats and cows. Livestock sample summer clover, cow peas, millet and sunflowers from beautiful green pastures and woods. Whey, pressed from the curds in the cheesemaking process, becomes an excellent source of protein for the pigs. This is definitely the antithesis of factory farming.

And you can taste the difference in the 15 varieties of cheese made by the Sweet Grass Dairy. From their Georgia Pecan Chevre, a wonderful pecan-encrusted fresh goat cheese, to their Thomasville Tomme, a hard, aged cow cheese, Sweet Grass makes not only delicious, but uniquely American cheese.

In fact, maybe someday the phrase "American cheese" will no longer refer to the individually wrapped, bright orange rubber found at the local superstore, but to the tangy, creamy, fresh delights from places like the Sweet Grass Dairy.