by Kelly from The Pasta Shop Cheese Counter
On Monday, Colter and I went up to Petaluma for the 4th Annual California Artisan Cheese Festival. We heard from quite a few new California cheesemakers...
...including Rick Lafranchi of Nicasio Valley Cheese, located eight miles southwest of Novato. The dairy farm has been in his family since 1919 and became the Marin Agricultural Land Trust’s fifth easement (meaning the land will be only worked for agriculture throughout future generations) in 1986. In February of this year, they began selling cheese for the first time and it is delivered to our shop on Fridays. They are off to a confident start with four specialized types of cheeses that showcase the quality of their milk—fresh cow, bloomy rind, aged mountain style, and a washed rind. The small-format round Foggy Morning is light, refreshing, and would be delightful at breakfast with slivers of strawberries and a zig-zag of honey on a slice of warm walnut levain. We were also introduced to three new sheep milk cheesemakers who can hardly keep up with demand! First, a little background...
There are only a handful of sheep milk dairies in California and sheep have a limited milking season — it begins at least a month after lambs are born, and ends about six months later as pasture fades. Bellwether Farms in Sonoma began aging sheep milk cheese in 1992 and was the only California sheep dairy until 2004. Liam Callahan’s San Andreas is a rich and tangy raw sheep milk cheese and its fraternal twin with a twist, Pepato, has peppercorns. Aside from aged cheese, Bellwether recently began making a Cultured Jersey Milk Ricotta — this is a whole milk ricotta instead of whey-based and it has a firm texture with buttery and grassy flavors for the best pancakes of your life.
Newcomer Marcia Barinaga of Barinaga Ranch began producing raw sheep milk cheese in 2009 and already has fans waiting with bells on for her next batch. In her first year she made 600 pounds of cheese using a Basque recipe inspired by her heritage and a recent visit to that region. Baserri and the smaller format Txiki became available in August and sold out in less than four months. This year she plans to increase her production to 3,000 pounds, milking 50 ewes, and remain the sole cheesemaker.
In December 2009, Seana Doughty of Bleating Heart in Sonoma County was driving across the country to Wisconsin in a 4x4 to pick up her first flock on an excursion she calls Operation Sheep-O-Rama. Each of these ten ewes was named after a female comedian (Whoopi, Lily, Cho, etc.) and she makes the cheese Fat Bottom Girl. Yes, Seana listens to Queen and the title seemed appropriate as the aging wheels began to take on a squat shape. The only thing better than the playful names Seana bestows is her cheese — Fat Bottom Girl is made of raw milk, has a washed rind with remarkably sweet and nutty flavors and a dense texture.
And if you needed another excuse to get away to Santa Cruz this summer…Rebecca King’s cheeses are featured at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing Co. in a tasting flight of beer and cheese. She began Garden Variety Cheese in North Monterey County in 2009 making four raw sheep milk cheeses and one sheep and cow blend which Rebecca sells at farmers markets and to restaurants in Santa Cruz County. Cosmos is a raw sheep milk feta with craving potential and has become quite popular at the farmers markets. Her goal for this year is to be milking 100 ewes and produce 7,000 pounds of cheese, making cheese every two days. Rebecca has also developed an Adopt-A-Ewe program to help sustain her business when she isn’t making cheese — after a $500 investment, there will be a $600 return through dairy products the following season, and options of a lamb or wool comforter. Hollyhock is the cheese she is most excited about — it is a raw sheep milk cheese aged for at least eight months and she describes flavors reminiscent of browned butter and pistachios.
Miriam Block from Bohemian Creamery in Sonoma County started making cheese in 2008 and within the next month will be moving into a revived creamery in Sebastapol. She works with Lisa Gottreich to create two aged goat milk cheeses Capriago and Caproncino from their own herd (I am ready for new California goat cheeses!) and also makes two washed rind cheeses from their neighbor’s organic Jersey milk. The Bo Poisse is made using a washed rind recipe similar to Epoisse.
And some new things from familiar faces…Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. will introduce Toma to cheese counters in June. It is a gorgeous golden wheel available in ten or twenty pound formats, with a dense and creamy paste and lingering tangy finish. And the Giacomini Family just completed the Fork at Point Reyes — a Culinary Education Center with a gorgeous commercial kitchen. This is shaping up to be an exciting year for California cheeses!
For more information from the cheesemakers:
- bellwetherfarms.com
- barinagaranch.com
- bleatingheart.com
- gardenvarietycheese.com
- bohemiancreamery.com
- pointreyescheese.com
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