Posts from — December 2007

Well folks, I had hoped to dive a little deeper into the subculture of culture and draw up a more cohesive image of what’s going on in that cheese you are eating. Alas, the holidays are upon us and that means a quiet storm is brewing at Sweet Grass. For the most part, my work is done. Raw milk cheeses need two months of aging to be legal for sale, so the big wheels were cranked out some time ago. However, our most popular cheese is Green Hill, which is made from pasteurized milk and needs only a few weeks to ripen. As fast as I can make ‘em, Jeremy and the gang in the packing room are wrapping and boxing them ten times faster. Let me give you an idea of what I’m talking about. In the regular season, we make Green Hill roughly twice a week and if the milk is luscious and fatty, we can get 440+ cheeses in a day. During the holidays, we are making Green Hill four times a week! And remember that this time of the year is a transitional one for the cows- they are calving- so the milk quality varies. We have started getting milk from Grassy Flats- the newest member to our family of farms- and I can tell the differences and nuances between it and Green Hill’s. Needless to say, our yields are not what we’d always wish, especially now when it’s more crucial than ever. I’m lucky if I get 400 cheeses a day. I know 400 seems like a lot but I just back from the airport where I dropped off a thousand or so destined for the west coast. While we are on the topic, remember that when you are eating artisanal cheeses- you are subject to the whimsy of the seasons. The goats and cows graze upon different grasses, flowers, and herbs throughout the year and the milk reflects the variety and changes in their diet. In addition to diet, stress, health and weather are factors. All of this affects the raw product I work with in the cheese room- recipes change because variables in production change. So, when the milk isn’t as fatty or chock full of protein, as it is now, I have to be extra careful because the curd isn’t as resilient as it is in the spring. As I commented earlier today to Jeremy, it’s the same thing everyday but different everyday. So the moral of this story is to make it your New Years resolution to taste Green Hill or any other cheeses at different times of the year and savor the subtleties of the seasons, particularly the extra care put into your winter cheeses!