by Kelly Levoir
On Monday morning a lucky group of mongers from The Pasta Shops Cheese Counter took a drive north to visit the Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company and learn more about cheesemaking. The Point Reyes Original Blue is probably the only artisan (or handmade) blue cheese being made in California at this time. At the counter, I have definitely heard the word wow in response to tasting to this blue cheese more than any other, and with good reason...
The flavors of this cheese begin with the sweetness and creaminess of exceptional raw milk and then dance with the sharpness and acidity of the blue mold.
Meanwhile, to the farm as we rolled in on a single lane road through the hills just above Tomales Bay, we were stunned to find a large dairy plant nestled between miles and miles of low rolling hills. Sisters Jill and Karen welcomed us to the 700-acre property that their family has owned for fifty years. In what was originally the hay loft (now an inviting kitchen and dining area decorated with farm memorabilia and panoramic views), Karen pointed out the different areas of the farm and shared the story of how they began making cheese nine years ago. In the loft we were able to look through an open window connected to the cheesemaking room, watch the cheesemaker, Kuba at work, and smell the warm milk. In a large vat of cultured milk, (which could easily fit the entire cheese counter at our Oakland store), we watched the solid curds rise to the top. In under an hour, those hundreds of gallons of milk would be converted to popcorn-like curds and clear whey.
While the curds continued to form, we met the sisters father, Bob, who began the dairy and cheesemaking business. Bob took us outside and demonstrated that the quality of the milk begins with the quality of the feed. In the lush spring months, when the ground is not too damp, cows graze the bucolic hills. The excess grass is mowed and preserved through fermentation as silage, a nutrient-rich feed that will last through winter. And each week the farm receives a variety of other feeds depending on seasonality and availability (when we were there, the menu was alfalfa hay, almond husks, corn mash, and cotton seed). The cows diet will also vary based on the recommendation of the nutritionist, who visits twice a month to monitor the nutrient properties of the milk, and adjusts the diet to produce the best milk possible. Bob also helped us understand the cyclical processes in motion as part of the farms ongoing sustainable practices. We watched as whey drained from the curds and was mixed with the feed to help supplement the 35-45 gallons of water that each cow drinks every day. And we saw one of the farms most recent accomplishments: the methane digester that powers the entire farm.
From there, Bob led us up to Lucy, the cow who enjoys a good squeeze. We each took a turn perfecting our milking technique and Caitlin Appert got a taste of fresh sweet milk. We then headed up to the main office just in time to watch the hooping process, where the curds are distributed into cylindrical forms like water into an ice cube tray. Then we headed back up to the loft to enjoy a very special lunch with Jill, Karen, and Kuba, who gave us some of the first tastes of a new cheese in progress a secret that we have promised not to leak... And Point Reyes Original Blue had never tasted better than at that table.
Following the meal, we traipsed out to a small field to meet the newest calvessome just a week old. What is the cutest thing in the world? A Holstein calf sucking on the edge of your palm. And finally, we got to see the heart of the dairy farm: the milking process. The milking herd of 300 is milked twice a day from 1-5 AM and 1-5 PM, by one man. Juans work is quick, thorough, and the process is mesmerizing to watch. He stands on the inside of a triangle-shaped pen with fifteen-foot sides, and lines up five cows on each side tilted at a thirty-degree angle. The cows waiting to be milked stood in a holding pen behind this and cows that had been milked were directed out to a field. At each milking station Juan types a cows unique number into a small electronic box that collects 
information about the milk. Jill remarked that he doesnt need look up at the number on each cowhe just knows. After every udder is cleaned, the electronic milker (it looks like the letter X with one-foot sides made out of a floppy rubber hose) is put onto the cow and will fall off when the cow is finished giving milk. I probably could have watched the rest of the herd be milked, but it was time to go. We packed up, said our goodbyes, and the sisters graciously invited us back to come see them when their new building (which will feature a commercial kitchen for cooking classes) is finished. As we left the farm on the single lane road, we looked back at the happy cows dotting the hills behind the dairy, and in a single moment the farm was completely hidden in the hills again.
Show/hide comment form