Blakesville Creamery
Essays by Chris Loughran
About Blakesville Creamery, but First a Brief History of Wisconsin Cheesemaking
Cheesemaking has been a part of Wisconsin since the mid 1800s, and in its nearly two hundred years of cheese production, its reputation as a (the) Cheese State has meant different things at different times; it’s been known for making great cheese, fraudulent cheese, the most cheese, and, of course, the foam hats adorning the heads of Green Bay Packers fans.
But first, Wisconsin was a wheat state. The cheese obsession began out of economic desperation, as wheat production suffered and farmers looked for better ways to use the land. This crisis coincided with an influx of immigrants with rich cheese cultures; German, Swiss, Italian, Dutch, and Hispanic. The rise of agricultural cooperatives and cheese factories led to increases in production, as cheesemaking started its turn from individual farmsteads (where women were cheesemakers) toward industry. The pooling of milk from neighboring farms allowed workers to specialize in cheesemaking, and for a while this resulted in improvements in both efficiency and output.
By the 1880s, however, greed had seized control. Farmers and cheesemakers began to skim cream for use in other products, replacing it with cheaper lard, resulting in inferior products and destroying the quickly growing reputation of Wisconsin cheese. Up against this wave of fraud in the industry, dairymen from the state banded together to form what would become the Wisconsin Cheesemakers Association. Strengthened by the progressive political movement of the time, the organization would help develop industry standards based on science. The Wisconsin Idea promised that resources from the University of Wisconsin would be devoted to improving the lives of these farmers and cheesemakers.
Today, cheesemaking in Wisconsin is serious business; the only state to require cheesemakers to obtain a professional license and the only state with a Master Cheesemaker Program. Serious business, but also big business. The major social aspects of the progressive movement never really fulfilled the promise, and eventually the industrialists won out. In the past hundred years, the number of cheese factories in Wisconsin has dwindled from its peak of over two thousand to only 115 by 2021. Considering that in this time production has also swelled from about 300 million pounds per year to over 3.5 billion. The compromises made in the pursuit of profits have had negative impacts on quality, human health, animal welfare, and our environment. More milk produced every year on fewer and fewer dairy farms.
Into this void steps Blakesville Dairy and Blakesville Creamery, where they’ve converted an old conventional dairy farm into a farmstead goat cheese operation. The dairy opened in 2012 with the creamery eventually following in 2020, both as a part of owner Lynde Uihlein’s “commitment to thoughtful land use and environmental protection.” Blakesville is focused on raising goats using sustainable practices, managing a herd of around 1200 goats, which are mostly Saanen Goats with some Alpine and La Mancha “mixed in for fun.” These breeds were specifically selected for the quality of milk. Blakesvile crops 100% of their own feed, and to ensure a healthy diet the goats are fed a Total Mixed Ration, consisting of hay, corn, minerals, and some molasses.
Blakesville Creamery is led by Veronica Pedraza, head cheesemaker who designed the creamery, a massive four million dollar project completed in 2020. Their line up of farmstead goat’s milk cheese has been a hit from the very beginning. In the short time they’ve been in operation, they’ve already racked up awards, including medals at the American Cheese Society and the World Championship Cheese Contest. But our introduction to their cheese came when Anaïs attended the First Annual Meeting of the Milkmaids in May of 2023, a small gathering of women in dairy. Each attendee was asked to bring a cheese they loved from a woman cheesemaker, and someone brought Shabby Shoe (Anaïs brought Marigold from Valley Milkhouse.) Shabby Shoe was an instant hit for us, and we are so happy to have it included here in this box. Along with that you’ll find two other farmstead goat’s milk cheeses as well as two sheep’s milk cheeses, for which Blakesville sources milk from Ms. J. & Co. a nearby farm. These have also been incredible, and we hope you enjoy the box!
An Interview with Head Cheesemaker, Veronica Pedraza
Q: What got you in the cheesemaking business to begin with?
A: I was a disillusioned line cook that wanted to get out of the kitchen but still work with food. I was working at a restaurant where we had a composed cheese plate (like a dish centered around a single cheese). I was fascinated that all the cheeses we got were so different but were all made from just 4 ingredients.
Q: When did you start making cheese?
Veronica: In 2007. I was an apprentice at Sweet Grass Dairy in Thomasville, GA. I then spent a year mongering at Saxelby Cheese in the Essex Market in NYC. From there I went to Jasper Hill for a few years. In 2012, I started making sheep’s milk cheeses at Meadowood Farms in upstate NY and did that for 5 years. In 2017, Andy Hatch introduced me to Lynde Uihlein- the owner of the farm. She wanted to build a creamery and we spent a few years developing a business plan, designing and building the creamery- which opened in 2020.
Q: What’s your favorite part of cheesemaking?
A: It provides both instant and delayed gratification. Instant gratification in that in the morning I have all this milk I need to do something with and by the end of the day, I can actually see a physical transformation from milk to cheese. It’s very tangible. Delayed gratification in that you have to wait to see how everything ripens and tastes. Sometimes you are surprised by your work.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about the cheese industry?
A: It is a really friendly group of people who are collaborative, supportive and helpful. The lines between customer and friend are very blurred.
Q: What are the biggest challenges of artisan cheesemaking, in your experience?
A: For me, artisan cheesemaking is hand-made. Those hands are expensive and we are increasingly competing with cheese produced by automation/robots/technology. The average consumer can’t really tell the difference save for the price. This is why mongers are so important. To tell the story of the people and community behind a product.
Q: What’s your favorite type of cheese?
A: Something I don’t make. It is hard to enjoy your own work when you are trying to evaluate it objectively. My favorite cheese is Colston-Bassett Stilton
Q: What’s your perfect bite?
A: Probably Shabby Shoe on a baguette with some local honey and champagne to wash it all down.
Q: Where does the name Shabby Shoe come from?
A: Shabby Shoe is an homage to being a young monger. One of my first days at Saxelby, I asked Anne what her favorite cheese was. She told me “chabichou” but I had no idea what it was. I nodded like I did and then when I went home- googled “Shabby Shoe Cheese” and just got pictures of old shoes. A few months later I saw Chabichou in another shop and the light in my brain went off.
… and now onward to the cheeses!
Pecuri in i Vigne
Milk: Pasteurized sheep
Rennet: Traditional rennet
Age: Fresh
Ingredients: Pasteurized sheep’s milk, cultures, rennet, salt, grape leaves (grape leaves, citric acid), wine (grapes, sulfites)
Texture/profile: Soft and rich, delicate sweet and floral notes
Pairing idea: Dried Cherries
Pecuri in i Vigne is one of Blakesville Creamery’s sheep’s milk cheeses, hand-wrapped in Antoine Arena’s Coriscan muscat-soaked grape leaves. Leaf-wrapping cheese is a traditional method of protecting a cheese from the elements popularized throughout the Mediterranean, where the hot dry climate is not ideal for storing or aging cheese. The leaves were often soaked in the local eau de vie, or fruit brandy, for added moisture and flavor.
Fresh and fluffy, Pecuri in i Vigne develops a pleasant sweetness, floral notes, and a faint booziness courtesy of the dessert wine, adding to the complexity of fresh sheep’s milk tang. Pairing this with the dried cherries accentuates the fruity notes of the cheese.
Shabby Shoe
Milk: Pasteurized goat
Rennet: Traditional rennet
Age: 6-8 weeks
Ingredients: Pasteurized goat’s milk, rennet, cultures, salt
Texture/profile: bright and rich; citrusy
Pairing idea: Integration Acres Pawpaw Spiceberry Jam
This wrinkly rinded pun/homage to Chabichou du Poitou has everything we love in a young goat’s milk cheese; a dense, cakey center with a beautiful creamline, a fresh bright acidity with balanced grassy notes. It is no small compliment to say that the playful name only adds to our joy when eating this cheese. Invoking the name Chabichou brings to mind one of our favorite cheeses and sets a high bar. The original hails from the Loire Valley of France, a region famous for the quality of their young goat’s milk cheese. The history of Chabichou (likely) dates back to the 8th century, the recipe and goats are thought to have been introduced to the region during the Saracen invasion and left behind after their defeat at the Battle of Poitiers. The name Chabichou derives from the Arabic word for goat, chebli.
It’s all quite a lot to live up to! But we absolutely adore Shabby Shoe, and hope you’ll love it to. Enjoy it with the Pawpaw Spiceberry Jam from Integration Acres in Athens, Ohio.
Linedeline
Milk: Pasteurized goat
Rennet: Traditional l rennet
Age: 8 weeks
Ingredients: Pasteurized goat’s milk, rennet, cultures, salt
Texture/profile: Rich, creamy, notes of mushroom
Pairing idea: Emile Vergeois Black Currant Nectar
These cheesemakers certainly have a sense of humor. With its ash-lined center, Linedeline is a tribute to Blakesville’s owner, Lynde Uihlein. Cheesemaker, Veronica Pedraza, says that “sometimes solicitors will call and ask to speak to Linedeline.
As for that ash, which lines the center and coats the rind, well its use in cheesemaking is an old tradition. Its original purpose was as a pest deterrent. As farmers combined cheese made from the morning milking with cheese from the evening milking, they would use a layer of ash to protect the morning cheese from flies and other insects. Today, it is used for its pH neutralizing properties, allowing the Geotrichum mold to thrive, which helps make the rind inhospitable for undesirable molds and balances the flavor of goat’s milk cheese. The dark ash also looks pretty cool, cutting through the powdery white rind and chalky interior paste, striking a sharp contrast, that of rock hiding behind freshly fallen snow.
Compared to Shabby Shoe, Linedeline has a bit more acidity, a profile of crème fraiche and mushrooms. Enjoy with the black currant nectar which can be spiked with gin or vodka for a lovely, easy summer cocktail.
St Germain
Milk: Pasteurized goat
Rennet: Traditional rennet
Age: 4-5 months
Ingredients: Pasteurized goat’s milk, rennet, cultures, salt
Texture/profile: Smooth, milky, grassy
Pairing idea: Dried Cherries
Cheesemaking in the Pyrenees (the mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain) dates back thousands of years and includes some of the oldest known recipes, such as that for Ossau-Iraty. Traditional cheesemaking in the region has an ancient connection with transhumance, shepherds moving their flocks of sheep seasonally from the low valley pastures of winter to the high mountain pastures of summer. The most well-known cheeses of the region are made from cooked and pressed curd, formed into cylindrical wheels with rounded edges, and aged with a natural rind. Although historically, these were sheep’s milk cheeses, today they are also made using cow and goat’s milk.
St Germain is made in this style, from farmstead goat’s milk. Its name is a nod to a local bird sanctuary, which explains the artwork on its label of a goat wearing binoculars. Pairing with the ramp crackers highlights the grassy notes alongside the garlicky notes of the crackers.
Piedras
Milk: Pasteurized sheep’s milk
Rennet: Traditional rennet
Age: 8 weeks
Ingredients: Pasteurized sheep’s milk, rennet, cultures, salt
Texture/profile: Semi-firm, smooth, nutty, meaty
Pairing idea: L’Epicurien French Tomato Pesto
The name Piedras comes from the word for stone in Spanish, and it is also a nod to head cheesemaker, Veronica Pedraza, whose last name means red rock. And yes, the cheese looks strikingly like a beautiful red stone, its red hue from the b-linens that develop on washed rind cheese, which are periodically brushed with brine as they age. The first iterations of this cheese were small discs which were less than one pound each, but since moving to this larger format, five pound wheels, we feel Piedras has really hit its stride with a consistent, rich and nearly spreadable paste.
Our pairing suggestion includes the French Tomato Pesto, which will work well with the more savory elements of this cheese. But we also think you might enjoy it with the Pawpaw Jam, which we have found to have some unexpected fireworks when paired with washed rind cheeses.
The Farm at Doe Run
Essays by Chris Loughran
About The Farm at Doe Run
We knew we wanted to carry cheese from The Farm at Doe Run. Before we found our location on Penn Ave, before we settled on the Chantal’s Cheese Shop logo… we knew whatever happened we had to have The Farm at Doe Run cheese in our case. We even reached out to them more than a year before we opened our shop to ask about getting their cheese!
The Farm at Doe Run had been winning awards for a few years at that point (from the PA Farm Show to the American Cheese Society Competition to The World Cheese Awards,) and in a certain sense you couldn’t really open a cheese shop in Pennsylvania without the best cheese made in Pennsylvania. But for us, it was about so much more than awards. It was about the cheese, so many of which are a beautiful combination of world class and crowd pleasing. It was about the farmstead nature of the operation, where they manage three herds of their own; cows, sheep, and goats. And it was about connection to place, as The Farm at Doe Run is only about a ten minute drive from the house I grew up in (where my parents still live.)
When we first visited the Farm at Doe Run in 2019, when it was run by Sam and Stacey Kennedy, we toured the cheesemaking room and the affinage caves. I was struck by the beauty of the place, the panoramic windows stretching the length of the cheesemaking room overlooking the sprawling, lush green pastures; the connection between milk and grass ever present. The three underground caves (a room each for their natural rinds, wax rinds, and bloomy/washed rinds) built with high arches from local limestone were impressive as well.
On our most recent visit this past April, we were welcomed graciously by the whole team. For the first part of the tour, we spent time in the cheesemaking room while Ana Mitchell (assistant cheesemaker) made a batch of St Malachi. We watched Olivia Haver (head affineur) flip some cheeses in a brine bath before touring the caves where we tasted a few cheeses at different levels of maturity.
From here, Olivia, Anaïs, and I piled into the front of an old pickup truck and we were off to tour the property (all of which is closed to the public.) The cheesemaking operation began with seven Jersey cows and a commitment to sustainable farming practices, and has grown since. Today, they have three grazing herds (Jersey and Normande cows, Nubian goats, and Fresian sheep) grazing year round on about 350 acres of pasture. A sprawling property with old stone buildings, beautiful pastures, and in April, newborn lambs and kids.
It was a humorous time indeed! The baby lambs wanting nothing to do with us while the little goats tried to eat our pants!
At the end of our tour, we were graciously invited to the home of Miguel Vivanco (head cheesemaker) and Hope Vivanco (assistant affineur) for dinner with the cheesemaking team, including Olivia and her partner Dave. It was a night to remember, as we enjoyed a delicious spread of cheese, tinned fish, numerous wines, and just chatted away about cheese and farms and life and music and took in all the beauty of The Farm at Doe Run. Just a crew of absolutely wonderful people.
Hear from the Team: Interviews with the people of The Farm at Doe Run
Q: What got you in the cheesemaking business to begin with?
Miguel (Head Cheesemaker): I was working in a Korean restaurant and became very interested in fermentation. I was not seeking work in cheese but an opportunity became available when I decided to leave the restaurant industry.
Olivia (Affineur): I started over a decade ago when I was looking for a part time job in a small town I had just moved to. I have a degree in upright bass playing and was still navigating what my career would look like. Like everyone else in the cheese industry I couldn’t help but fall in love with the flavors, history, and lore of the cheeses I spent time with. Before I knew it, I was taking a 3 month apprenticeship with Jasper Hill in Vermont which turned into a 6.5 year stay.
Q: What’s your favorite part of cheesemaking?
Miguel: The large number of cheeses that can be produced from the same basic process. So many variables can be adjusted to deliver different results. The variability of the components and environment can require you to engage with the process in a different way each day.
Olivia: Affinage is a slow process that can take a week for some cheeses and years for others. Knowing the alchemy that is happening on the rind and in the paste while I slowly watch the cheese transform is my favorite part. Cheese tells you what it wants- being a patient listener and bringing a curious palate opens doors for each batch to guide you.
Q: What does the affinage process look like for each of these cheeses?
Olivia: One of the most important steps in affinage is flipping a cheese over. This allows for even rind development, moisture distribution and fat/protein breakdown. Flipping happens across our collection. Everything you do or don’t do to a cheese that day will stay with it for the rest of its life. Soft cheeses are higher moisture and require more immediate attention day to day. This could include washing, rubbing, and dry brushing. Our hard cheeses are more low maintenance and come into their own by living in a consistent environment. The hard cheese caves have humidity levels that are provided by just the cheese “breathing.” Sometimes they get a brush, and in the case of Seven Sisters or Black Swallowtail they will receive several coats of wax.
Q: How many people work here?
Meredith (Sales): We have 3 herdspeople that focus on the milking & care of our animals. 6 people work in the creamery: 4 focus on cheese production (2 cheese makers & 2 affineurs) & 2 focus on sales.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about the cheese industry?
Miguel: Making cheese is an excellent workout mentally and physically.
Olivia: The community is amazing. It’s a group of passionate people who love to learn and share their knowledge with each other. Every time I go to a cheese gathering there is an “a ha!” moment I didn’t see coming.
Q:What does the herd eat?
Meredith: All of our herds are raised in our beautiful sprawling pastures. Throughout the seasons we feed them hay that has grown on our farm. When the animals are producing milk, we feed them a locally sourced grain that helps to increase the protein in their diet to keep them healthy.
Olivia: The herds live outside all year round grazing on the seasonal offerings of the land. This lends itself to a milk that is truly a reflection of the flora of Southeast Pennsylvania. When you are milking dairy breeds it is important to provide ample energy to keep them healthy. We work with a local nutritionist to balance out their diets and take into consideration the breed and grass intake.
Q: What kind of music do they enjoy?
Meredith: In the pastures, our animals hear the music of the local wildlife, which we had a lot of on the farm! Standing outside they hear a medley of birds…robins, wood thrush, goldfinch, house sparrows, & cardinals are often singing in nearby trees. The other day I heard 2 redtail hawks fighting while taking pictures in the fields with the cows.
Who is your biggest influence?
Miguel: The entire community of cheesemakers. I don’t necessarily find a single person to be an influence on my work, but the collective efforts of everybody producing the variety of incredible cheeses we get to enjoy today.
Meredith: For this job specifically, I am inspired by all of the cheese shops that are telling the stories of how each of the cheeses they are selling is special. When I visit a cheese shop & listen to a cheesemonger talking about one of our cheeses to a customer…it makes all of the work week after week worthwhile.
Olivia: My family. They are very warm, appreciate a sense of community, and love to sit down and enjoy a delicious meal. My sensory training started early observing the women in my family cook and listening to the adults at the dinner table discuss food. In addition, my mom has taught me grit and how to have fun along the way.
What’s your favorite type of cheese?
Miguel: Washed rind sheep cheeses, current favorite is a softie called Mesta from Spain.
Meredith: Of course, aged goudas! I’ve learned so much since I’ve started working here 4 years ago about the diversity that the aging process creates for cheese. I love comparing the creaminess of a younger Seven Sisters to the mature fruit flavors & crunchy tyrosine crystals in Aged Seven Sisters. Both are so delightful & present as two different cheeses!
Olivia: Washed rinds are my favorite style. They are stinky, meaty, and exciting to eat. They are also the most finicky style to work with.
Q: What’s your perfect bite?
Olivia: Crusty bread, with a yeasty, umami forward washed rind on top (ideally with a tropical fruit rind profile!) paired with a dry champagne.
Meredith: St. Malachi Reserve on a slice of apple with a little drop of honey. It makes me dance with joy!
Miguel: Bread and butter
On Lactose Intolerance, or What We Think We Can Eat vs What We Can
At the cheese counter, one of our major roles as mongers is navigating our customers’ various dietary choices and restrictions to help guide them through our specialty shop. Every day, we engage in conversations about vegetarianism, allergies, gluten… and as a cheese shop, of course, something we talk about perhaps more than any of these is lactose, the sugar found in milk that can be disruptive to many stomachs. Discomfort, bloating, diarrhea – nobody wants these things, and nobody wants to be the one stinking up the room, either. (Let’s leave that to the washed rind cheeses!) So it’s understandable that people who are lactose-intolerant might cut dairy from their diet entirely. But even Anaïs is lactose-intolerant, and she owns a cheese shop! So, really, what’s the deal with lactose?
In order for our stomachs to digest milk, our bodies must produce lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose. Prior to the domestication of ruminants (which most likely occurred 10000 years ago in Anatolia – present day Turkey – and the Zagros Mountain range in present day Iran) and for a few thousands years afterward, adult humans would not have produced this enzyme. Milk consumption would strictly have been for infants prior to weaning.
However, at some point in the last 20,000 years, a genetic mutation arose that kept lactase production active through adulthood. This became an advantageous trait that spread amongst the people of various dairying cultures, likely especially during times of famine or drought where having the ability to drink milk would have led to higher survival rates. Despite this proliferation of lactose tolerance (or lactase persistence,) the majority of the adult population worldwide today are lactose intolerant. Without the necessary enzyme, the stomach is unable to break down lactose, and our gut microbes ferment the lactose, creating the acid and gas that wreaks havoc on our system.
The good news is that, through the magic of cheesemaking, starter cultures added to the vat, along with naturally occurring bacteria, convert the vast majority of lactose to lactic acid during the crucial step of fermentation. As coagulation occurs (curds form and whey expelled) some lactose remains in the curd, but most residual lactose migrates to the whey, a byproduct of cheesemaking composed of water, fat, lactose, and protein. This means that in comparison to milk, cheese has significantly less lactose.
In general, fresh and young cheeses – those that retain more moisture – will naturally have more lactose than aged ones. (Processed cheeses also typically contain more lactose – just another reason to avoid them.) This means that for the particularly sensitive, fresh cheeses such as ricotta or fromage blanc, and young cheeses like those beautiful bloomy rind Hummingbirds in this box, might still be cause for concern.
But once we start to get into hard, aged cheeses, we are talking about cheeses that are virtually lactose free, which at this point probably seems obvious enough – they are drier after all. In some cases, such in Parmigiano Reggiano, it is simply that bacteria is active enough to convert nearly all of the lactose into lactic acid. In others, specific cheesemaking techniques contribute as well. In Alpine cheeses, such as Gruyère and Comté, for example, a step known as pressing the curd expels additional whey, as does the step in cheddar making known as cheddaring, where slabs of cut curd are stacked on top of each other. In the production of Gouda, whey is diluted through the steps of draining and subsequently washing the curd. Essentially, water replaces whey allowing for a higher moisture content without residual lactose sugar.
It is clear there are a lot of cheeses left to be enjoyed, even for the lactose intolerant. Still, there is another component of dairy that can lead to digestive discomfort as well: protein. Specifically the A1 variant of β-casein, which when digested can cause symptoms similar to those experienced by the lactose intolerant. While A1 protein is found alongside A2 protein in cow dairy, it is not found in the milk of humans, goats, or sheep. Since the milk of goats and sheep more closely resemble human milk, cheeses made from these milks may also be easier to digest for some. Recently, cow’s milk labeled as A2 has become widely available, as farms genetically select for cows that only produce milk with the A2 protein. Some breeds that naturally produce higher levels of A2, such as Jersey, Guernsey, and Normande, happen to already be popular for artisan cheesemakers. Possibly, we’ll start seeing more cheeses labeled as A2 cheese in the future.
… and now onward to the cheeses!
Hummingbird
Milk: Pasteurized cow
Rennet: Traditional calf rennet
Age: 6 weeks
Ingredients: Pasteurized cows’ milk, salt, rennet, and cultures
Texture/profile: Soft, buttery and hay with mild notes of mushroom
Pairing idea: L’epicurien Bruschetta w/ Eggplant & Red Pepper
These adorable little oval-shaped bloomy rinds are named after the birds found on the farm, which “sometimes fly up to the windows in the creamery and say hi!” They are based on Robiola – an Italian cheese similar to French Brie. A thin, lactic set cheese made with minimal amounts of culture and rennet, Hummingbird is mild yet flavorful; buttery when young and slightly firm, with stronger vegetal notes as it ages and starts getting a little gooey. We love this one spread over some bread, and think you’ll love it with the Bruschetta.
This cheese won a gold medal at the 2022 World Cheese Awards.
Seven Sisters
Milk: Pasteurized cow
Rennet: Traditional calf rennet
Age: 7-8 months
Ingredients: Pasteurized cows’ milk, salt, rennet, and cultures
Texture/profile: Semi-firm, smooth, milky
Pairing idea: Birdy’s Smooth Whole Grain Mustard
The flagship cheese of The Farm at Doe Run, Seven Sisters has been around since 2010, and with its bright orange wax, you can’t really miss it! Named for the original her of seven Jersey cows who started the whole thing, Seven Sisters is based on a Gouda recipe, using the technique of washing the curd. In fact, this cheese is washed twice (goodbye lactose!) From that step the curds are placed into molds and pressed. Before moving the wheels to the cave, they receive a brine bath.
As its ages in the limestone caves, Seven Sisters received occasional coats of a more permeable wax (that is specially brought in from The Netherlands) that allows for more complex development before the thicker final coat seals it all in.
The cheese everyone’s going to love, we often describe Seven Sisters as a cheese with many notes but nothing overpowering. Buttery with a bit of the nuttiness and sweet notes you’ll find from goudas, a little tang reminiscent of cheddars, and flourishes of grass and hay. Enjoy it with the mustard from Birdy’s a French-inspired recipe made without heat and only few ingredients to highlight the amazing flavors of the mustard seed.
Black Swallowtail
Milk: Thermized cow, sheep, and goat
Rennet: Traditional calf rennet
Age: 6-7 Months
Ingredients: Thermized cow, sheep, and goat’s milk, salt, rennet, cultures
Texture/profile: Firm, flaky, piquant and nuttty.
Pairing idea: Tait Farm Apple Pepper Jelly
A dry, crumbly Manchego-style cheese that brings together all of the milks of the herd. Named for the butterflies that pollinate wildflowers on the farm, the cheese features a black wax coating that fits the color theme. Black Swallowtail is produced during the summer months.
A beautiful balance of the three milks, which brings together some of the best elements of each; the fullness of the cow’s milk, the brightness of the goat’s, the nuttiness of the sheep’s.
The texture of the Apple Pepper Jelly reminds us of a classic Spanish Membrillo (quince paste) which is often paired with Manchego, so here with Black Swallowtail we’ve got something of a slightly-spicy-Pennslyvania-twist on a classic. Enjoy!
St Malachi Reserve
Milk: Thermized cow’s milk
Rennet: Traditional calf rennet
Age: Minimum 1 year
Ingredients: Thermized cows’ milk, salt, rennet, and cultures
Texture/profile: Firm, toasted nuts, caramel
Pairing idea: Island Bakery Oat Crumbles
St Malachi Reserve is really an all-time favorite at Chantal’s Cheese Shop, a staple in our cheese case since day one. Named for the small church down the road from the farm, the younger version of this cheese just won Best of Show at the American Cheese Society Competition 2023, but the reserve has earned many honors of its own, including a Super Gold at the 2022 World Cheese Awards.
St Malachi is a gouda-alpine hybrid, combining cultures and techniques from each style of cheese. We were so excited to watch parts of the St Malachi cheese make, which we already talked about a bit in these essays and the photos in the lactose section are all from this day. Really, we got to see different wheels of St Malachi at different stages of the process. From the vat to the press to the brine bath to the caves. The end result is just marvelous, Reserve or otherwise. But we do have a personal preference for the Reserve, which we are so happy to share with you in this box. You’ll find those little tyrosine crystals delightful alongside the rich, nutty flavor with a balanced sweetness.
Creamery Collection Batch #51
Milk: Thermized goat’s milk
Rennet: Traditional calf rennet
Age: 14 months
Ingredients: Thermized goat’s milk, salt, rennet, and cultures
Texture/profile: Semi-firm, smooth, buttery, earth and hay, cream
Pairing idea: Fennel Taralli
Oh, the Creamery Collection, how we’ve loved you over the years! Small batch experiments still considered in the R&D stage but always a delight for ourselves and for customers at our shop. We are so happy to have one of these in the box!
In Batch 51, we have a clothbound cheddar made with 100% goat’s milk. It is a throwback to the an old style of cheddar production, before the advent of wax rinds and modern plastic wrap, wheels would be wrapped in cloth (which, it’s important to point out, was cheap only due to slavery) and rubbed with lard in order to protect the cheese during the aging process. This process creates a much more complex cheese that has more in common with natural rinds than it does with the sterile environments in which block cheddars are made. Still, there is that distinct cheddar sharpness alongside a brothy depth and notes of hay. Try it with the taralli for a crunchy pairing.