More Cheesy Vermont

Recently, we were lucky enough to visit some points of cheese interest in Vermont.

Taylor Farm, right outside of Londonderry is a small farm of 50 dairy cows that produces some EXCELLENT local Gouda-style cheeses. They are open to the public, and while you are at the farm, you are free to take a walk around the grounds and meet the chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, goats, and cows!! When we drove in around 4:00pm, the cows were literally coming home; it was milking time!

We walked in the shop/welcome center and sampled some of the cheeses. Again, Taylor Farm makes Gouda-style cheeses—Vermont's only! In addition to original, they also have maple smoked, Chipotle, Garlic, and Nettle. My personal two favorites were/are the Nettle and Maple Smoked versions.

After tasting some cheese and talking to the fun fowl, we went to visit the ladies in the barn.

We were able to see the milking process—and even taste some of the fresh milk. I'd never tasted better milk. It kept saying it tastes like the field—in a good way. I wish we were able to buy more raw milk products in the US.

Before leaving, we went back into the shop and began asking some questions. Before we knew it, we were shown the cheese-making room! They'd just made cheese that morning, so we missed seeing the cheesemakers in action, but it was still very interesting.

After the curds are separated out from the whey, they are cut, cooked, salted, pressed and formed, and then placed into a brine/whey mixture.

After brining, the cheese is set to dry and cure in a refrigerated room. In the photo above, you can see the difference in the batches made, I believe, a week apart.

Cheese coated in wax and set to age.

I definitely recommend stopping by Taylor Farm if you are ever in the area of Londonderry, VT. Our next plan is to do an entire Cheese Tour of Vermont. I'm excited for that. I would love to visit some of the farms making the cheeses we sampled last year in Vermont as well as the many others the state has to offer. If anyone knows of a particularly good local dairy farm or cheese maker we should include on our tour, please let us know!

Sustainable Farming at Merck Forest

This past weekend, Bryan and I headed up to Vermont. While we were there visiting family, we made our way over to Merck Forest. I've been going up to Merck Forest ever since I was little for small hikes with my family but this time, Bryan and I were excited to see the farm on the property. Merck Forest is comprised of 3,000 acres of land; a consolidation of three declining farms back in the 1940's. Two hundred acres of that land is reserved for farming. Merck Forest farm's mission is "to teach and demonstrate the benefits of innovative, sustainable management of forest and farmland". The forest not only offers numerous educational programs but also provides a working example of sustainable farming. The farm has sheep, cows, chickens, pigs and other animals that are fed with crops from the same land. The farm is powered mostly by a single wind turbine and a few solar-power cells. The farm produces its own maple syrup and you can buy wool from the sheep as well as purchase meats and vegetables from the farm. It's a great example of how farming can have a low impact on the land and still benefit people. Oh, and the views are incredible!

Vermont's so cheesy!

I love cheese! I also love good Farmers' Markets. Can you imagine how I felt when, on our most recent trip to Vermont, we stopped at the Dorset Farmers' Market and found not one but FOUR cheese makers selling their goods?! It was awesome. 

I chose 4 cheeses and spent under $20 for about a 1/4 lb. hunk of each. I couldn't wait to get back and try them all.


From Consider Bardwell Farm in West Pawlet, VT:

Dorset
Cheesemaker's notes: An aged, raw-milk, washed-rind Jersey Cow’s milk cheese made in the style of Italy’s Taleggio region.

LGdSE's notes: When I tasted this at the market, I had to buy it. I love soft ripened cheeses, and this one had a great favor and wasn't "stinky," so I knew Peter might like it too. (Stinky cheeses are high on my list, but not so much for P.) Anyway, when we got home, I thought the particular wheel from which our cut came could have ripened a little further, but it was still delicious--and, yes, Peter liked it too.

Rupert
Cheesemaker's notes: An aged, raw-milk Jersey Cow’s milk cheese inspired by European Alpine cheeses.

LGdSE's notes: I was particularly excited about this one, since Comté is one of my all-time favorite cheeses, and I thought it'd be awesome to find a local variety that was comparable. Rupert was similar in style with Comté, but was not as strongly flavored. But, it was a great Gruyère-style cheese.

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From Dancing Ewe Farm in Granville, VT:

Prima Caciotta
Cheesemaker's notes: A unique rendition of a classic Tuscan style Caciotta. With its high content of butterfat and protein, Caciotta is a well-balanced table cheese that offers subtle complexities.

LDdSE's notes: The Caciotta was Bryan's overall favorite. This cow's milk cheese was nice and tangy with a good, strong (but not overpowering) flavor.

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From Maplebrook Farm in Bennington, VT:

Cherrywood Smoked Mozzarella
Cheesemaker's notes: The delicious mozzarella cheese is made daily in the mountains of Vermont so that every bite is fresh, all natural and full of homemade goodness. Only our unique old-world approach of stretching and molding premium raw cow curd in small batches and using all natural ingredients with no preservatives can deliver such a smooth, moist and refreshingly distinct mozzarella cheese. Fresh cheese is held in the smoker for approximately 2½ hours after which it is wrapped and refrigerated.

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I think it's important for many reasons to support our small, local farms and food producers, and delicious cheeses like the ones we bought in Vermont make it so easy.