Announcement: Summer Break!

@birchrunhills/Instagram

Summertime is when cheesemakers and dairy farmers are at their busiest — and that’s saying something. So we’re taking a little break to make hay (literally!) while the sun shines, with brand new episodes with more cheesemakers we admire coming at you this fall. In the meantime, catch up on our back catalog, be sure to subscribe, and please rate and review us — it means so much! Thanks to all of you for your support, and we’ll be back in your ears soon with more cheesy content!

An Interview with Rebecca Seidel of One Horn Farm

Startup dairy, diversifying the industry, creative milk marketing, racism, income inequality, the urban-rural divide — we dig into all these important topics and more in today’s interview with our good friend Rebecca Seidel, farmer-cheesemaker at the forthcoming One Horn Farm! She’s a third-generation dairy farmer reviving her family’s Berks County dairy who brings a really unique perspective on dairy thanks to her agricultural upbringing, off-farm education, and a decade of experience in dairy and cheesemaking. Such an inspiring chat! Follow Rebecca on Instagram @caseinmicelles and Twitter @casein_micelles for more of her thoughts on ag and news about One Horn Farm’s upcoming debut.

An Interview with Mark Gillman of Cato Corner Farm

On today’s episode, the cheese dames chat with Mark Gillman, second-generation cheesemaker at Connecticut's Cato Corner Farm! Mark is one of the crew of cheesemakers collaborating on the Cornerstone Project, using an open-source recipe for making cheese with native cultures harvested from his own herd to best express the terroir of his farm. He’s also an award-winning cheesemaker — and his Bloomsday, a cheddar-esque washed rind wheel, is a featured guest cheese in Collective Creamery shares this coming week!

An Interview with David Major of Vermont Shepherd

Our cheesemakers are back from their whirlwind trip to Vermont, where they got the chance to sit down with a true OG of American artisan sheep cheese, David Major of Vermont Shepherd! David has been raising sheep and making award-winning wheels on his Putney farm for 30 years, and now, the third generation of his family has joined in on the cheesemaking fun.

In this episode, we talk with David about what it was like to start a sheep dairy way back when (buying plastic bowls from the drugstore and drilling holes in them for molds, for example), cheese marketing, and how much the sheep cheese scene has changed.

An Interview with Kate Turcotte of Orb Weaver Creamery

Kate Turcotte (L) with her husband Zack Munzer and Orb Weaver founders Marjorie Susman and Marian Pollack.

When we first interviewed Kate Turcotte at the American Cheese Society Conference last summer, she and her husband were preparing to take over cheesemaking operations at Vermont’s iconic Orb Weaver Farm. Now, they’re up and running as Orb Weaver Creamery and experimenting with new cheeses, so we went back up to Vermont to get an update. Plus, you’ll get to hear from our amazing producer, Jordan Heil, on mic for the first time!

Don’t forget: Collective Creamery subscriptions for Summer 2019 are on sale now! Households in Southeast PA and Spring Lake, NJ can sign up for our summer season of cheese (shipping to surrounding states will return when the weather cools in the fall). Click here for more info.

An Interview with Sean Fitzgerald of Cherry Grove Farm

Our cheesemakers spent this past weekend cruising through the farm fields of New England, gathering even more maker interviews for future episodes — so we’re busting this interview with Sean Fitzgerald of Cherry Grove Farm out of the archives! This episode is a perfect companion to our last ep featuring Sean’s co-cheesemaker Paul Lawler. We hope you enjoy!

For Pennsylvania folks: our Summer Cheese Share is now open! Find out more and sign up for a season of cheese with Collective Creamery here.

An Interview with Paul Lawler of Cherry Grove Farm

Cheesemaker Paul Lawler of Cherry Grove Farm

Our cheesemaker crew stopped by Cherry Grove Farm in Lawrenceville, NJ to interview their longtime head cheesemaker, Paul Lawler! (You can hear his colleague Sean Fitzgerald on one of our earliest episodes.) Even before he was a cheesemaker, Paul was a cheesemonger working to help makers in the region get their products to consumers in Philadelphia, and now, he makes some of the best cheeses in New Jersey. Get the scoop on their cheeses (and hear what music cheesemakers listen to while they’re working) on today’s show!

An Interview with Pete Demchur of Shellbark Hollow Farm

On this episode, the cheese dames sit down with longtime southeast PA goat farmer and cheesemaker Pete Demchur of Shellbark Hollow Farm! He and Sue were two of the earliest artisan cheesemakers blazing a trail in the region’s artisan cheese movement more than a decade ago. Enjoy — and stay tuned for the Spring-Summer Collective Creamery cheese share to open very, very soon!

We want your feedback! If you listen, please take our brief survey about the podcast: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V7LDT29

An Interview with Jessie Dowling of Fuzzy Udder Creamery

In this episode, the Cheese Dames look north to Maine, where a campaign for food sovereignty has made the state a haven for artisan cheesemakers. We sat down with Jessie Dowling of Fuzzy Udder Creamery discuss the opportunities and challenges Maine’s regulations around dairy and cheese — the most permissive in the country — have created for the state’s bustling cheesemaking community.

We want your feedback! If you listen, please take our brief survey about the podcast: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V7LDT29

An Interview with Rynn Caputo of Caputo Brothers Creamery

Rynn Caputo (L) with husband David Caputo and the Caputo Brothers, Giovanni and Matteo

The cheese dames sit down with Rynn Caputo, head of the amazing Caputo Brothers Creamery! Their frozen cagliata curd and 95% whey ricotta — made with local milk from a neighboring Animal Welfare Approved dairy — have changed how we think about Italian-style cheeses and what “fresh mozzarella” really is.

We want your feedback! If you listen, please take our brief survey about the podcast: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V7LDT29

An Interview with Sam Kennedy and Stacey Gentile of Doe Run Farm

Sam Kennedy and Stacey Gentile of Doe Run Farm | Photo by Madame Fromage

Did you miss us? The Collective Creamery crew is back with more cheesy episodes for your listening pleasure! In today’s ep, we sit down with Sam Kennedy and Stacey Gentile the PA cheese power couple behind Doe Run Farm, one of the winningest cheese outfits in the state! Their wheels have won multiple ACS awards and Best in Show ribbons from the PA Farm Show — the numbers don’t lie! We also dig into one of cheese’s most intriguing ingredients — rennet — in the first episode of our new season.

We want your feedback! If you listen, please take our brief survey about the podcast: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V7LDT29

An Interview with Vito Forte of Meadow Creek Dairy

Vito Forte

This week, Sue and Stef chat about the connection between the hospitality world and cheesemaking, then dig into an interview with our good friend Vito Forte, cheesemaker of Meadow Creek Dairy in Galax, Virginia! Vito made the transition from bar owner in north Jersey to fermentation nerd and home cheesemaker to full-fledged professional, and now he’s making award-winning cheeses at Meadow Creek. Sue and Stef caught up with him at the Cheesemakers’ Resource Conference in Lancaster County back in February over Pennsylvania Dutch treats like ham balls and potato cakes. Listen in and follow Vito on Instagram @vitofermente.

An Interview with Kate Turcotte of Orb Weaver Farm

Kate Turcotte

Today’s interview is with an amazing cheesemaker who represents a new era of artisan cheesemaking in Vermont. After several years as Shelburne Farms’ head cheesemaker, Kate Turcotte and her husband are taking over the iconic Orb Weaver Farm as founders and longtime cheesemakers Marjorie Susman and Marian Pollack retire from the dairy side of their farming careers. Our crew chatted with Kate at the American Cheese Society Conference in Pittsburgh over the summer about this exciting new phase for Orb Weaver and for her as a cheesemaker.

Also, if you’re in the Philly area, don’t miss Madame Fromage’s biennial Cheese Ball in Philadelphia on November 10! Get the details and score your tickets here. This year, proceeds will be donated to support Collective Creamery!

And there’s still time to sign up for the Collective Creamery fall-winter share, which starts Oct. 18! We’ll be selling prorated shares for the next few weeks, too. Cheese up your life with us this season!

An Interview with Molly Kroiz of Georges Mill Farm Artisan Cheese

Today’s interview is with Molly Kroiz, owner and cheesemaker at http://georgesmillcheese.com in Virginia! Our crew met Molly through the PASA conference and the Pennsylvania Cheese Guild, and she’s one of our favorite badass cheesemaking women! After studying fisheries management, Molly met her husband Sam, and the two of them headed back to his family farm in Lovettsville to raise a sprightly herd of Alpine goats. Today, Molly makes beautiful goats’ milk cheeses, raises two little ones and and welcomes their community onto this 250-year-old farm property with activities like barn dances and baby goat feeding sessions in spring. We hope you enjoy this chat we had with her at the American Cheese Society Conference in Pittsburgh over the summer!

An Interview with Matt Spiegler of Cheese Notes and Churchtown Dairy

Matt Spiegler

Just about every cheese lover dreams about becoming a professional cheesemaker — but it takes real dedication to make that dream a reality. Matt Spiegler started out as a blogger in Brooklyn, exploring the world of artisan cheese and writing about it as he went on his website Cheese Notes. Soon, he was making cheese at home — and eventually, Matt quit his day job to intern and then work at one of the country’s most esteemed cheese houses, Jasper Hill Farm. Today, he’s the head cheesemaker at Churchtown Dairy, a biodynamic farm in New York’s Hudson Valley, only a few miles from where Matt grew up. Plus, we taste some delicious Churchtown cheeses!

An Interview with Peter Dixon and Rachel Fritz Schaal of Parish Hill Creamery

The Collective Creamery crew gets a visit from Parish Hill at Covered Bridge Farm in Oley, PA. From left: Sue Miller, Rachel Fritz Schaal, Peter Dixon, Alex Jones, Stefanie Angstadt

During the American Cheese Society Conference in Pittsburgh last month, we sat down with two of our good friend in cheese, the iconic duo of Peter Dixon and Rachel Fritz Schaal, owners and cheesemakers at Vermont's Parish Hill Creamery! They make the most enticing Alpine-style cheeses using grassfed milk from the neighboring Putney School's herd of cows, and they even create all their own cultures using milk from specific ladies in the herd. They've even gotten together with a crew of awesome cheesemakers in the Northeast (our very own Sue Miller is one of them) to create Cornerstone, a recipe for a true American original cheese that makers can use to express their own unique terroir from the milk down to the microbes. Listen in to find out how they make it all happen! 

An Interview with Brent Zimmerman of Lime Kiln Farm

Brent Zimmerman of Lime Kiln Farm

We took a field trip to meet up with Brent Zimmerman of Lime Kiln Farm in Coxsackie, New York's beautiful Hudson Valley! Brent has one of the most fascinating stories of any cheesemaker we've come across: decades ago, he followed his heart to Tuscany, found a job as a herdsman, and then spent 25 years making amazing cheeses the Italian way. Several years ago, he and his partner headed back to the States and bought the 400+ acre farm in where he's making the same fantastic aged and fresh cheeses and raising goat, cows, sheep, and more. Brent welcomed us into his farm store for a chat and a tasting of his truly fabulous cheeses, which have an Italian soul adapted to American regulations. 

Find Lime Kiln's cheeses (plus pasture-raised meats, eggs, and other goodies) at their farm store, and follow them on Instagram to see when they're at farmers' markets in the region. 

Bonus Minisode! A Chat with Simran Sethi

simransethi.com

Last week, our crew spent five magical days at Cheese Camp — a.k.a the American Cheese Society Conference in Pittsburgh! We made sure to sit down and interview some of our cheesemaking idols, and you'll hear those conversations in future episodes.

But first, since we missed last week's drop, we have a special treat: Alex sat down with journalist, author, and podcaster Simran Sethi, who spoke about biodiversity and cheese at the conference! They talk similarities between the cheese and chocolate worlds, food justice in the specialty food space, and about Simran's next project, which examines the relationship between food and identity, starting with cheese. Check out her excellent book, Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of Foods We Love, and give her excellent chocolate podcast, The Slow Melt, a listen! 

Bonus Minisode! Cheese 101 with Madame Fromage: Building an American Cheese Board

Photo by @mmefromage

Join the Collective Creamery cheese dames and their pal Madame Fromage for a preview of what we're excited about at the upcoming American Cheese Society Conference in Pittsburgh, plus a chat with Madame on how to assemble a delicious cheese board of domestic artisan wedges you'll love.

Collective Creamery, Valley Milkhouse, Birchrun Hills Farm and Madame Fromage will all be at ACS in less than 2 weeks! Come say hi! And check out info/get tickets on the events we mentioned below.

Cheese & Beer at Southern Tier (ACS Pittsburgh): https://www.facebook.com/events/216965062280830/

Cheese Defects Workshop with Dr. Montse Almena (Sept. 17, 2018 in Exton, PA): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cheese-defects-workshop-with-dr-montserrat-almena-tickets-47192224213

An Interview with David Rice of Clover Creek Cheese Cellar

David Rice of Clover Creek Cheese Cellar | Facebook

In today's episode, the Collective Creamery crew has some summertime updates in addition to a fantastic interview with farmer and cheesemaker David Rice. Along with his family, David has been raising a mixed heritage breed herd of cows on pasture and making artisan cheeses in Central Pennsylvania for 26 years. We talk with David about transitioning the dairy from conventional to grass-based, how he and his family make their award-winning raw milk wheels, and bringing the next generation into the cheesemaking business.