Cheese by Hand

Beecher’s Handmade Cheese Interview

sasha — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:15:37 +0000

Kurt Dammeier is a unique and welcome addition to the world of artisan cheesemaking. People might wonder why an entrepreneur like Kurt would be interested in the cheese business- if you’ve listened to any of our other interviews via Cheese by Hand you know it couldn’t possibly be for the money. Well, Kurt is a believer in and backer of the “know where your food comes from” movement and given that his offices are kitty corner from Pike Place Market- it was only a matter of time before he leased a retail spot with huge windows so that he could show the masses how one of their favorite foods is made and thus Beecher’s Handmade Cheese was born.

While the vision of cheese production that Beecher’s provides isn’t as romantic as some wish that artisan cheesemaking was- no farmer, no cow, no milk cans on the premises- it is amazing to watch the throngs of market visitors press their noses and fingers against the glass to watch fluid milk transform into solid cheese.

Credit and thanks for music pieces used in this piece goes to Matty Charles, and Kevin Macleod.

Beecher’s Handmade Cheese Interview

Find previous posts about Beecher’s Handmade Cheese here.

Up next: Cranberry Ridge
Again, if you want to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes, just search for Cheese by Hand in the iTunes store and click “Subscribe.”

River’s Edge Chevre Interview- aka Three Ring Farm

sasha — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 03:29:52 +0000

Even before we moved to Pat Morford’s neighborhood I was a huge fan of her cheese. Her legendary, smokey, leaf-wrapped chevre- Up in Smoke- landed at Murray’s Cheese just in time for Thanksgiving back in 2004 and my enthusiasm for her products is still going strong. Her herd has grown some since we visited her farm on our tour but she is still cranking out some of the best goat’s milk cheeses to be found in the U.S. Pat’s personality really comes through in this piece- she’s direct, quick to laugh, and very much present to the risks and challenges inherent in the artisan cheese business.

River’s Edge Chevre Interview (Three Ring Farm)

Find previous posts about River’s Edge Chevre click here.

Up next: Beecher’s Handmade Cheese
Again, if you want to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes, just search for Cheese by Hand in the iTunes store and click “Subscribe.”

More from Rogue Creamery

sasha — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 03:21:53 +0000

You would think that I would tire of these cheesemakers but I swear they just keep getting more interesting. There were entire chunks of footage from my interview with David that didn’t necessarily fit into the “story of Rogue Creamery” but were still super interesting. Similar to the bonus footage I posted for Fiscalini this piece has minimal editing, narration, etc.- just bits I thought any cheese enthusiast would enjoy.

Rogue Bonus Reel

Rogue Creamery Interview

sasha — Fri, 15 May 2009 02:01:25 +0000

Anyone who has ever visited Rogue Creamery in Central Point, Oregon will understand what I mean when I say that this interview delivers on the “Rogue Experience”. Owners David Gremmels and Carey Bryant have approached their management of this creamery with such careful consideration to its history that it is hard to believe they were only four years into their journey when we did this interview with David. Rogue has managed to be true to their past while continuing to mesmerize us with new, groundbreaking blue cheeses. Beware listeners, you’re about to get Rogued.

Rogue Creamery Interview

Find previous posts about Rogue Creamery here.

Up next: Rivers Edge Chevre
Again, if you want to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes, just search for Cheese by Hand in the iTunes store and click “Subscribe.”

Cypress Grove Chevre Interview

sasha — Tue, 05 May 2009 17:18:02 +0000

Talk about a cheese legend! Mary Kheen is the creator of one of if not the most widely recognized American original artisan cheese: Humboldt Fog. Our conversation with Mary left us with a lot to think about in terms of how much the industry has changed since she started making cheese. If you listen carefully you will also hear that while Mary loves cheese, her business offers her the opportunity to fulfill dreams beyond producing delicious products. This encourages us to see cheese as a vehicle- a vehicle for building a wonderful workplace in a challenged community and even for creating better possibilities in agriculture. Food for thought while your palette ruminates on that nugget of Truffle Tremor…

Cypress Grove Chevre Interview

Find previous posts about Cypress Grove Chevre here.

Up next: Rogue Creamery
Again, if you want to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes, just search for Cheese by Hand in the iTunes store and click “Subscribe.”

Bonus Fiscalini Footage

sasha — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:36:47 +0000

I could not pass on all the footage from our time spent with Mariano Gonzales, head cheesemaker at Fiscalini. It, or rather he, speaks for himself. This segment is longer than usual and less edited but no less good. Enjoy.

Bonus Fiscalini Footage Audio

Fiscalini Farmstead Cheese Company Interview

sasha — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:04:16 +0000

John Fiscalini is a straight-shooter. This interview provided wonderful insight into what it means to be an ethical dairyman. My respect for the Fiscalinis is tremendous largely because they stand so firmly behind what they do and how they do it. If you have tasted their cheeses, you know that they hold on their own in terms of quality and listening to John talk about how he has gone about building and operating his dairy and creamery might shift your presumptions about mid-sized dairies like his. And it is worth nothing that, by California’s dairy standards, Fiscalini might still be considered small…

Fiscalini Farmstead Cheese Interview

Find previous posts about Fiscalini Farmstead Cheese Company here.

Up next: Cypress Grove Chevre
Again, if you want to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes, just search for Cheese by Hand in the iTunes store and click “Subscribe.”

Big thank you to Matty Charles and My Morning Jacket for permission to use musical pieces.

Back on the Cheese Trail

sasha — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:30:46 +0000

You may have noticed that we have been working hard to crank out the audio pieces from the majority of our farm visits. In addition to listening, editing and posting the voices of cheesemakers from our tour I have donned my shoe covers again and paid visits to a handful of dairies on the west coast in preparation for my upcoming BOOK!
I just inked the deal to create a cheese-driven reference guide to west coast cheeses. Check out the description posted under the new “Book” tab above. I will keep you posted as I visit creameries in California, Oregon and Washington.

In the meantime we will continue to bring you the voices of cheesmakers across America.

Thank you for your continued support and interest.

The Mozzarella Company Interview

sasha — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:31:22 +0000

There is never a dull moment with Paula Lambert. Spend just a couple minutes with her and you can understand immediately how it is possible that fresh mozzarella went from being virtually unknown to award-winning in a matter of years. The Mozzarella Company is one of our industry’s founders in that she helped create the market and the movement of artisan cheese. Listen closely to her stories- they contain invaluable insight into how to make an artisan cheese business successful.

Mozzarella Company Interview

Find previous posts about The Mozzarella Company here.

Up next: Fiscalini Farmstead Cheese Company
Again, if you want to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes, just search for Cheese by Hand in the iTunes store and click “Subscribe.”

Pure Luck Dairy Interview

sasha — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:54:29 +0000

Sometimes the most we can hope for in times of transition is that we will look back on them and feel proud of how we conducted ourselves while we were going through them. One of the benefits of the audio portion of our project lagging so seriously behind our actual tour is that there is an opportunity to listen to these segments and learn where some of our favorite farmers have come from- to honor their journey in this industry. Dripping Springs, Texas is fortunate to have this family-oriented, farmstead producer in their community. I hope to make it back there soon so I can ask Amelia how many goats they’re milking now…

Pure Luck Dairy Interview

Find previous posts about Pure Luck Dairy here.

Up next: Mozzarella Company
Again, if you want to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes, just search for Cheese by Hand in the iTunes store and click “Subscribe.”

Bittersweet Plantation Dairy Interview

sasha — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:45:07 +0000

Character. That is the first word that comes to mind when I think of Chef John Folse- followed closely by Dreamer. I’ve never met anyone like him and it was such a pleasure to spend a day with him learning about Cajun and Creole traditions. His passion is palpable and his projects are huge. We really dig this about him. Since we visited, Bittersweet has come out with a few more dairy products- namely yogurt, ice cream, cottage cheese and a cheese called Vache Sante.

Bittersweet Plantation Dairy Interview

Find previous posts about Bittersweet Plantation Dairy Farm here.

Up next: Pure Luck Dairy
Again, if you want to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes, just search for Cheese by Hand in the iTunes store and click “Subscribe.”

Sweet Home Farm Interview

sasha — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 02:51:17 +0000

Honestly we could have almost posted this interview in its entirety because Alyce and Doug are so engaging. I never get tired of listening to them talk about cheesemaking or dairying let alone any of the other million hobbies they do. Listening to them over the past weeks I have been reminded of how absolutely they achieved their mission to create an operation that works for the two of them. They are back down to about a dozen milkers- all Guernseys and Alyce has taken on a big role as the president of the Raw Milk Cheesemakers Association. Listen and enjoy.

Sweet home Farm Interview

Find previous posts about Sweet Home Farm here.Up next: Bittersweet Plantation Dairy

Again, if you want to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes, just search for Cheese by Hand in the iTunes store and click “Subscribe.”

Let’s do our part to help the hungry

sasha — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 21:31:02 +0000

Times are tough for many these days. We want to do what we can to help members of our new community here in Oregon and we’re inviting you to help too. It does not take much to make a difference and we can’t think of a more worthy organization at this time than the Oregon Food Bank- a wonderful and effective organization that helps hundreds of thousands of people throughout Oregon and southern Washington. The Oregon Food Bank supports a network of food distribution centers throughout the state and works to eliminate the root causes of hunger through advocacy, nutrition education, learning gardens and public education.

As the economy slides the number of people relying on the programs supported and administered by the Oregon Food Bank is steadily rising. Many of us are consumers committed to supporting local growers, producers, and chefs because we believe not only in agriculture but in the importance of healthy regional food systems. Organizations like the Oregon Food Bank work to ensure that none of the food produced goes to waste- every day they are out there recovering and redistributing food from individuals, wholesalers, retailers, and also gleaning from regional farms- this work honors the value of food and the resources that go into producing it. This is an important time to support this part of our food system and those in need. If everyone does a little bit (or a lot!) we can have a huge impact during these challenging times.

Help us reach our goal to raise $5000 for the Oregon Food Bank! To donate you can click here or on the Blog for Food logo above. When you make your online donation please enter ‘blog for food’ in the tribute section of the Oregon Food Bank page so that your donation counts toward our campaign. You can also send checks directly to the Oregon Food Bank at PO Box 55370, Portland, OR 97238- be sure to mention the Blog for Food campaign!

Sweet Grass Dairy Interview

mclaypool — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:46:44 +0000

Sweet Grass Dairy Interview

Listening to our conversation with Jessica and Jeremy Little is a perfect reminder of just how accessible the people making our food can be. Their honesty and humility still blow me away, not to mention their tenacity. Their operation is an inspiring example of the generation of cheesemakers who are broadening the artisan cheese market with high quality products. The real beauty of what they do (beyond their delicious cheeses) is that they do it with gratitude for the founders of the artisan cheese movement who, in addition to developing the products we’ve enjoyed for the past decades, also developed the market that newcomers get to step into today.

Read our other Sweet Grass Dairy posts here.

Up next: Sweet Home Farm

Again, if you want to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes, just search for Cheese by Hand in the iTunes store and click “Subscribe.”

We were on the radio!

sasha — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 02:07:59 +0000

I have been an avid listener of KCRW’s weekly show Good Food for a couple years now. Recently the show’s host, Evan Kleinman, interviewed me about our project. Please take a listen to the segment and keep listening to Good Food. Progress on our podcasts has been slow but we promise we’re still plugging away at it and hope to offer new posts more expediently.

Thank you to everyone who has sent us such positive feedback on the podcasts that are already out there.

-Sasha

Goat Lady Dariy Interview

sasha — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:53:53 +0000

Steve Tate does such a nice job articulating the vision of the farm and dairy that his family runs. We tip our hats to Ginny Tate, Steve’s sister, who mustered the confidence years ago to continue developing and restoring her farm in the face of doubt and ridicule from local residents. Their farm is a beautiful example of the impact one single farm, and family, can have on its surrounding community.

Goat Lady Dairy Interview

Read our other Goat Lady Dairy posts here.

Up next: Sweet Grass Dairy

Again, if you want to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes, just search for Cheese by Hand in the iTunes store and click “Subscribe.”

Meadow Creek Dairy Interview

sasha — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:57:31 +0000

How fortuitous that we would hit this farm in our audio chain a couple weeks after their landmark cheese, GRAYSON, was announced runner up for Best in Show and First Place in the Farmstead Cow’s Milk category at the 2008 American Cheese Society Competition in Chicago. This may sound like a podunky thing but there were over 1,100 cheeses entered in this competition- such high ranks are a big statement.

Helen and Rick Feete have an amazing farm in Southwestern Virginia and they are so engaging and interesting that we seriously considered posting the entire two hour interview but then thought better of it (we wanted to edit out as much of ourselves as possible). I will leave it to them to tell you about their herd of Jersey and Jersey crosses and their philosophy on farming.

Meadow Creek Dairy Interview

Read our other posts about Meadow Creek Dairy here.

Up next: Goat Lady Dairy
Again, if you want to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes, just search for Cheese by Hand in the iTunes store and click “Subscribe.”

Cato Corner Farm Interview

mclaypool — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:15:17 +0000

Cato Corner Farm was the final stop on our 4 month trip but being part of the Northeast we decided (like 3 Corner Field Farm) to include it now to stick to regionalism! Cato Corner is run by Elizabeth McAllister and son Mark Gillman. They have created a serious following for the breadth of cheeses they make from the milk of their small herd. In our new Pacific Northwest location (we moved about three months ago), I hear more people lament the absence of Hooligan- a pudgy and pungent Cato favorite- than just about any other east coast cheese. As we discovered during our visit to their farm, Mark and Elizabeth are firmly committed to their region and are unlikely to consider shipping cheese cross-country seeing that they currently sell out completely between regional farmers’ markets and a handful of specialty cheese stores along the eastern corridor.
Cato Corner Interview

Read our other posts about Cato Corner Farm here.

Up next: Meadow Creek Dairy.
Again, if you want to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes, just search for Cheese by Hand in the iTunes store and click “Subscribe.”Or just click here!

Protecting raw milk cheese in the U.S.

sasha — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:55:39 +0000

Most cheese enthusiasts in the U.S. are familiar with the impassioned debates about raw milk and raw milk cheese. Considering the massive amount of press time spent covering food safety issues I am doubtful that this issue will be resolved in the near future. Basically the laws within the U.S. prevent the production or importing of any cheeses made from raw (unpasteurized) milk that are not aged for 60 days or more. So all fresh cheeses and the majority of soft, gooey ones are made from pasteurized milk. Most cheesemakers have accepted this and developed cheeses accordingly- some masterful enough to create bloomy rind and pudgy washed rind cheeses that can clear the 60 day mark and still showcase flavors other than amonia. This is a real triumph considering that most cheesemakers here are learning affinage from scratch- not learning from their predecessors like producers can in Europe.

But there is still a lurking risk that at some point the FDA will decide that cheeses aged beyond 60 days should also be made from pasteurized milk. Thankfully we have a band of producers who are proactively working, with the FDA I might add, to prevent this from happening. A small, producer-run organization called the Raw Milk Cheesemakers Association has formed quietly and is working to support raw milk producers in developing their cheeses and also to develop plans called HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points). HACCP plans focus on examining the production process and creating many checkpoints and safeguards throughout production rather than relying on post-production inspection for food safety so that if/when the day comes that the FDA moves to strike raw milk cheese completely, the producers can present a united, organized front and show what they do make their products safely.

I spoke with Helen Feete of Meadow Creek Dairy recently about the development of the Raw Milk Cheesemakers Association (RMCA) and also the Slow Food Raw Milk Cheese Presidium. She has been involved with both efforts extensively as she believes strongly in protecting raw milk cheese production here in the U.S.

Before you listen to the first bit it is important to understand a bit about Slow Food and how the RMCA relates to it. Slow Food International and Slow Food USA both have been instrumental in fostering the development of this group. It all began with the formation of what Slow Food calls a “presidium” for American raw milk cheeses. As Slow Food puts it,

“Slow Food Presidia work in different ways, but the goals remain constant: to promote artisan products; to stabilize production techniques; to establish stringent production standards and, above all, to guarantee a viable future for traditional foods.”

In the case of raw milk cheeses, Slow Food wanted a group of producers to work towards protecting the right to make cheese from raw milk- the most obvious approach being to methodically prove that these products can be produced safely. The American Raw Milk Cheese Presidium has developed protocols or rules that define specifically how raw milk cheese must be produced if they want to be part of the presidia- similar to production requirements of AOC or DOP products. The cheeses included in the Presidium are also representing American raw milk cheese at events home and abroad. Out of the work done by the presidium came the development of a related group called the Raw Milk Cheesemakers Association. This group is intended to be more of a working resource for raw milk cheesemakers to help them develop their products and practices.

One final important point: Membership in the Presidium happens only when a cheese is evaluated and accepted because it meets a set standard of taste and quality. The guidelines or protocols set by the Presidium for raw milk cheese production can be met over time but the producer must show a commitment to the protocols. Membership to the Raw Milk Cheesemakers Association is open to all- and that group exists to offer education and support to cheese producers in the U.S.
Here is Helen talking about getting the RMCA started:

RMCA purpose and development

Next Helen talks about the FDA focus on raw milk cheeses. She mentions Cathy Donnelly, a food safety expert at the University of Vermont who has been instrumental in creating a bridge between raw milk producers and the FDA.

Scrutiny of raw milk cheese in US

Helen on partnering with the FDA rather than fighting against them… Partnering with FDA

There have been some complaints about the protocols or guidelines set by the Presidium- some cheesemakers feel that the requirements are so stringent that they are unattainable for most small producers. Here is what Helen had to say about this:

Debate over protocols

Here are two other clips from my conversation with Helen that I find interesting:

Do producers agree about why raw milk cheese is important?

What can consumers do to support these groups?

The Storque is Talking about us…

sasha — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:22:38 +0000

Etsy (the Storque’s mothership) is a business that is all about helping people who are making things by hand get their products to people who want them. Very cool and very much in line with our project all about cheesemakers who craft cheeses by hand. They put up a post about the project today and also gave a nod to an upcoming event here in NYC that I’m organizing with my former colleague Tom Mylan (aka Grocery Guy). It is called the UnFancy Food Show and features local producers and their wares. This year we’ve got double the vendors we had last year and of course there will also be beer. Check it out!

What: An opportunity to meet the people who make your food, maybe even have a beer with them and then take home some tasty eats.
When: June 29th, 12-6pm
Where: East River Bar, South 6th Street between Bedford & Berry in Williamsburg
How much: Suggested $5 Donation

And we have a modest website where you can check out the producers that will be there.

3 Corner Field Farm Interview

sasha — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:17:07 +0000

We actually visited 3 Corner on our way back into NYC at the end of our trip but felt that they ought to be included in the Northeast push because there are some common themes we find interesting. Stewardship, values, integrity- these are all things that Karen and Paul use as their guiding principles in their day to day operations. Every time they spoke we learned something- we hope you do too.

3 Corner Field Farm Interview
Read our other posts about 3 Corner Field Farm here.

Up next: Cato Corner Farm

Again, if you want to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes, just search for Cheese by Hand in the iTunes store and click “Subscribe.”

Westfield Farm Interview

sasha — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:55:10 +0000

Bob and Debbie at Westfield Farm are a rare find. They slipped into the artisan cheese business more serendipitously than many. After spending hours talking to them we felt lucky that Bob had followed his instincts right on out to Hubbardston, Massachusettes. Their frankness and candor get right at the heart of what it is to make a product with your own hands and then educate the public about it.

Westfield Farm Interview

Check out our other posts about Westfield Farm here.

Next up: 3 Corner Field Farm

Again, if you want to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes, just search for Cheese by Hand in the iTunes store and click “Subscribe.”

Appleton Creamery Interview

mclaypool — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:58:53 +0000

After leaving Vermont, we headed to Maine to visit Caitlin Hunter at Appleton Creamery. Appleton is nestled among a number of popular vacation spots near the coast of Maine. The operation is aptly called a creamery as Caitlin makes cheese with milk from her own goats, a neighboring sheep dairy, and also milk from a cow dairy nearby. Their cheeses are available within the borders of Maine so be sure to look for them if your travels take you there.
Appleton Creamery Interview

You can read other Cheese by Hand posts about Appleton Creamery here.

Next Up: Westfield Farm.

Again, if you want to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes, just search for Cheese by Hand in the iTunes store and click “Subscribe.”

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Willow Hill Farm Interview

mclaypool — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:38:22 +0000

Our next visit is with Willow Smart & Dave Phinney at Willow Hill Farm. They manage a herd of approximately 85 sheep. Willow and Dave produce a number of cheeses (including Autumn Oak, Fernwood and La Fleurie) but also yogurt, lamb and wool. When we visited them, they were in the middle of construction on their new cheesemaking facility. Now that new space is operational.

Willow Hill Farm Interview

You can read other Cheese by Hand posts about Willow Hill Farm here.

Next Up: Appleton Creamery.

Again, if you want to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes, just search for Cheese by Hand in the iTunes store and click “Subscribe.”

Vermont Butter and Cheese Interview

mclaypool — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 23:20:14 +0000

Today we visit with Allison Hooper of Vermont Butter and Cheese. Allison and her business partner Bob Reese started out making fresh goat cheese nearly 25 years ago and have since brought a myriad of European style dairy products to the American market. We spoke with Allison about the transformation of her own business and progress within the American cheese industry.

Vermont Butter and Cheese Interview
You can read other Cheese by Hand posts about Vermont Butter & Cheese here.

Up next: Willow Hill Farm

Also if you want to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes, just search for Cheese by Hand in the iTunes store and click “Subscribe.”

Interview clips from Dancing Cow Farm

sasha — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 04:17:39 +0000

This is the first cheese producer that I’ve posted about here and spoken to without visiting their operation. It is definitely a different experience and it presented some technological challenges like recording a phone conversation with decent enough quality to then serve it up on the web for others to hear. Steve and Karen Getz of Dancing Cow Farm were gracious enough to give this newfangled method a chance.

My interview of the Getz’s was prompted by a short cheese write up that I did for a fantastic, food website: thestrongbuzz.com which is relaunching with a new design (and my cheese blurb) in a couple weeks. It is somewhat focused on the New York food scene but its founder, Andrea Strong, writes about a breadth of food-related subjects. I wrote about one of the three cheeses produced by Dancing Cow Farm (Sarabande) and then spoke with Karen and Steve about how they got into farming, their approach to dairying, and of course, their cheese.
We started out talking a bit about how Dancing Cow is run, the farm is certified organic although their cheeses are not. Their decision to become certified was largely about financial stability within the fluid milk market. Organic milk prices are not only higher than those for conventional milk but are also much more stable. As you listen to this clip I think you’ll find that it is clear that they are also motivated by a desire to do right by their herd and the landscape.

About the farm

This next clip might be my favorite because it touches on some of the challenges that the farmers really struggle with, things we would not think of when considering all the potential hurdles to pass in starting a dairy farm…things like naming your farm and your cheeses.

How the farm became Dancing Cow

Producing beautiful, clean and flavorful milk and transforming it into cheese are just the beginning for this new generation of farmers. In today’s savvy food market, the farmers also have to understand how to talk about their cheeses with consumers. Often it is small cheese purveyors, who are deeply committed to the industry, walking the farmer through their first batches of cheese- helping them refine and make them more desirable in the market.

Learning to speak “cheese”

The final clip touches on something that I think it truly the next wave in the artisan cheese industry, the advancement of an infrastructure that will not only support producers in distributing their cheeses but also in marketing and even aging their cheeses. Dancing Cow Farm is part of the first group of farmers partnering with the Kehler brothers at Jasper Hill Farm. Jasper Hill has constructed a massive, in-ground cheese aging complex that will undoubtedly alter the landscape of cheesemaking in Vermont let alone its impact on the entire industry.

Partnering with Jasper Hill

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Twig Farm Interview

mclaypool — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:50:34 +0000

Today is our interview with Michael Lee at Twig Farm. Twig Farm is in West Cornwall, VT. Michael and his wife Emily moved from Boston to West Cornwall and have been making cheese for over three years. Very much a small farm operation, Michael milks 25 goats seasonally (meaning they are dried off in winter months) and purchases some cow’s milk from neighbors. They make aged, raw milk cheeses, creatively named: Twig Farm Goat Tomme, Square Cheese and Soft Wheel.

Twig Farm Interview

You can read other Cheese by Hand posts about Twig Farm here.

Up Next: Vermont Butter & Cheese

As a reminder, you can subscribe to Cheese by Hand on iTunes and have the interviews automatically downloaded to your computer / iPod. Just search for Cheese by Hand in the iTunes Store and click on Subscribe… iTunes will take care of the rest!

Also, thanks to Matty Charles who generously allowed us to use his music!

Jasper Hill Farm Interview

mclaypool — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 00:49:45 +0000

Today is the first of our audio installments from our four month trip around America visiting small scale cheesemakers. Jasper Hill Farm is in Greensboro, VT. The farm is run by brothers Andy and Mateo Kehler. They are milking 40 cows and producing five raw milk cheeses. Currently they are nearing the end of construction on a massive in-ground cheese aging complex where they will age their own cheeses along with those from other established Vermont cheesemakers. We interviewed Mateo Kehler outside the make room after a day of cheesemaking.

Jasper Hill Farm Interview

You can read other Cheese by Hand posts about Jasper Hill Farm here.

Our goal is to publish a new podcast every 10 -14 days and can be found here or on iTunes.

Up Next: Twig Farm

Also, Thanks again to Matty Charles who generously allowed us to use his music!

Austin- CKC Farms

sasha — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 17:52:53 +0000

We had a magical experience in Austin, Texas last Friday- regardless of the previous night’s stay at the O’Hare Best Western (missed our connection en route to TX). Our friend and Cheese by Hand designer, Nancy Nowacek got to see what it was like to visit a dairy Cheese by Hand style. The visit was even cooler because it was the Chrissy Omo and her family at CKC Goat Dairy in Blanco which is about an hour outside of Austin. Chrissy is currently a college student at Texas State- she juggles that committment with dairy farming by restricting her school schedule to morning classes. This means that she has two distinct mornings during the week- one milking goats at dawn, and a second a few hours later in a classroom at the university.

Austin in located in the region of Texas known as Hill Country. Because it is Texas, and everything is bigger in Texas, the hills there are long and rolling- stretching out as far as the eye can see. The landscape was much greener than expected for September because the area has gotten so much more rain that usual this summer. Driving around in such a vast expanse of space so soon after leaving New York City blew my mind- even the sky appeared to have grown overnight.

Chrissy got into goats by participating with FFA as a youngster. She raised meat goats and quickly realized that she wanted goats that would stay around longer than those sold off for meat so she switched to dairy goats. As it goes with so many goat enthusiasts there is a sudden rush of milk at some point and the next logical step is to make cheese. This is exactly what Chrissy did. CKC is currently milking 16 goats but the total herd is up to 87, including a couple billy goats for breeding. They are bred rotationally so that the dairy has a year-round milk supply. The total acreage on the farm is almost 70 and there is plenty of pasture and brambly stuff for the goats to get most of their diet from forage with a minimal supplement of grain.

The whole family pitches in to support the CKC business. When we stopped by Chrissy’s father was busy painting the tasting room area that had just been completed. One of their local food heroes, Sibby Barrett is bringing a group of her culinary students out to the farm next weekend as part of her “Random Acts of Cooking” courses where the students visit a number of local farms and producers to gather the goods for their cooking lesson. You can read about Sibby’s local, culinary courses here.

CKC produces a wide variety of goat’s milk cheeses- spreads, small disks reminiscent of the French classic selles sur cher, marinated feta, a blue cheese, and soon to come some natural rinded tommes. Their cheese production room is simple and spacious- with ample room to increase volume. They sell their output at a farmer’s market nearby in San Antonio and to a number of small food purveyors local to them and also a number in the Austin area.

We sat around the table with Chrissy, her mother, and her two younger brothers to taste some cheese and hear about the time they spent in Europe together as a family- this is where their love affair with handcrafted cheeses began. Their cheeses are delicious- on par with many American goat’s milk products let alone European imports. I look forward to re-visiting Austin and sampling the aged cheeses as they roll out.

It was a fantastic afternoon. The entire family just could not have been any nicer or more welcoming. We were there for a little over an hour and I think we laughed (hard) more than ten times- always a solid indicator of good company. They enjoy what they do, working hard and making sure to have a good time while doing it. When we got back into the car nancy asked if that visit was representative of what we’d done on our tour last summer. I replied with a resounding “Absolutely!” while Michael said wistfully, “Man, that was a great summer.”

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Cheese by Hand goes to San Francisco (in October)

sasha — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 18:02:09 +0000

More specifically, we are going to be at the Cheese School of San Francisco. Better yet we are going to teach a class about our cheese voyage while we are there. Come check us out on October 11th for a great nuggets of American cheeses and information! Call (415) 346-7530 to sign up.