US and Canadian cheesemakers recently competed at the American Cheese Society annual contest, which took place in Iowa at the end of July. Five small Massachusetts farms earned a total of 12 awards, including five first-place honors. The winners were Couet Farm & Fromagerie (Dudley) for its tangy, fresh cow’s milk Franciszka; the Grey Barn and Farm (Chilmark) for the delicate yet pungent washed-rind Prufrock; Ruggles Hill Creamery (Hardwick) for its special goat cheeses Claire’s Mandell Hill and Hanna’s Awashed; and Westfield Farm (Hubbardston) for Bluebonnet, a blue chevre. Ruggles Hill and Westfield, along with Great Hill Dairy (Marion), for its cow’s milk blue, also claimed a few second- and third-place finishes. The total field included 1,800 entries from 260 companies. All five cheesemakers are members of the Massachusetts Cheese Guild, a nonprofit organization supporting and promoting its 28 current members, which produce more than 100 varieties of artisan and farmstead cheeses. Available at the Cheese Shop, 29 Walden St., Concord, 978-369-5778; Verrill Farm, 11 Wheeler Road, Concord, 978-369-4494; and Boston Cheese Cellar, 18 Birch St., Roslindale, 617-325-2500.Lisa Zwirn

Lisa Zwirn can be reached at lisa@lisazwirn.com.