Milk isn't just milk for an artisan cheesemaker. It's an ingredient with its own story, and its hundreds of components—protein, fat, minerals, and more—shape a cheese just like the choice of apple variety shapes a pie. We asked our creameries what makes their milk their milk, and how it creates their incredible cheeses. Here's what 12 of them had to say.
Keep it in the family
We only make cheese with the milk from our herd, which is pretty small for a dairy farm: we milk 120 registered Holsteins, and they're almost all bred, born, and raised here. So when you think about it, we've really got two sets of generational families here on the farm, working together to do what we do. Maybe it's because we think like that, but we've always worked hard to take great care of our cows, and you definitely see that in the milk. It's very clean, has great protein and fat levels, and the consistency of it lets our cheesemaker Leslie do this magical thing: make hand-made artisan cheese that's consistent. Now that's an art. — Kate Leach, Woodlawn Creamery
Milk begins in the pasture
We are 100% farmstead, so I never even think of the separation of milk and cheese. It's all just one big thing to me. Our land, our goats, our milk, our cheese. Everything is so connected that it's hard to think about the interplays. I'm sure my husband, who is in charge of the goats and milking, would be better at telling you how our milk is influenced by pasture rotations, time of year, weather, etc. He often talks about wanting to make a video "How to Make Cheese" and have it start with the first grass to emerge in summer. — Rebecca Velazquez, Barn First Creamery
Taking complete control
Our niche in the market, and one of the greatest assets of our company, is the fact that we control the milk and cheese from cow to consumer. Hauling the milk in, being on the farm, and knowing what's happening on a daily basis with the herd, helps us shape how we make our cheese. Having full control over the make process and affinage process is also a big part of our story. — Chris Roelli, Roelli Cheese Haus
A unique texture
Our milk comes exclusively from our herd of Brown Swiss cows that feed on our pasture directly or eat hay made from that pasture. Our milk encapsulates our farming practices. Using Brown Swiss milk isn’t common for cheddar cheese. It has a nice creamy texture not often found in cheddar cheese. Tom Perry, Shelburne Farms
So fresh you can hear the goat shout
Right now we've got 14 farmers and they're all within 20 miles of our facility, and we pick up their milk three times a week. This means the milk we work with is extremely fresh. As a counter example, when those farmers send their milk to Wisconsin, it's on the farm for five days, and then it takes 36 hours to get to Wisconsin, and then it sits in the plant for a couple of days. But for us, when our milk comes in Saturday morning, we're pumping it within 20 minutes and turning it into cheese within eight hours of milking. It's always very fresh, and it's hyper-local to our facility. That definitely sets us apart from anyone other than a farmstead creamery. If you're trucking your milk in and it's sitting around, it's not going to be the same quality. Our relationships with farmers are probably the most valuable part of our brand. The ability to source milk out of the community is something you can't just take for granted. — Dan Porter, FireFly Farms
Happy cows make good milk
Milk is everything—it is the foundation of everything we do. Our cows live in a comfortable open-sided barn where we can manage their comfort year-round with shade, fresh air ventilation, fans and sprinklers, sand bedding (think laying on the beach!), cow brushes (on-demand massages!), and easy access to fresh feed and water. Healthy, relaxed cows produce beautiful milk with the butterfat and protein that give gouda its smooth texture and rich flavor. Because we feed them consistently, the milk stays very stable, which helps us make consistent cheese. — Marieke Penterman, Hollands Family Cheese
A bespoke mix of breeds
As a raw milk cheesemaker, we are very particular about our milk! First, we only use the milk from our own herd. Next, we've selectively bred our herd just for cheesemaking: a cross of Jerseys for their famously rich, yellow milk; New Zealand Friesans for their grazing prowess and sturdiness; and Montbeliardes, the cattle traditionally used in making Comte, for their high protein. And finally, we only make cheese while the cows are grazing our mountain pastures. This, along with a lot of care and management in the dairy parlor, lets us use only the highest quality and cleanest milk in our cheesemaking. — Kat Feete, Meadow Creek Dairy
Eyes on the herd
We are truly an artisan cheese company. The farmers, Kerry Gawalt and Stephen Leslie, own both the farm and cheese company. Every cow is seen by us every day. They all have different personalities. Our herd has award-winning show cows with deep pedigrees and genetics. We are able to select the best cows for our herd. — Kerry Gewalt, Cobb Hill Cheese
An agricultural ecosystem
We only make cheese when the animals graze outside on diverse, unseeded pasture. We'll go on at length about the research connecting this kind of production with cheese quality and complexity, but there is also an important connection between the health of the air, water, and soil with that of the animals, farmers, and makers. We can't make good cheese without good milk, and good milk for cheese is not the same as good milk for a carton. Good quality cheese milk may be better suited for certain styles depending on the breed, feed, region, and farming methods. There is no one best milk for all cheeses, and we find magic in seeing what happens when our milk and making melds with particular recipes and techniques. — Rachel Fritz Schaal, Parish Hill Creamery
Keep calm (to make better milk)
The quality of our cheese begins long before it reaches the creamery. It starts with the animals and the land that sustain them. Our sister, who manages the herd, has spent years breeding her goats for exceptional protein and butterfat in their milk, as well as for gentleness and temperament. Calm, well-cared-for animals give better milk, and she treats each one with the respect and patience they deserve. Our cheeses capture that unique flavor and high quality. Sustainable farming, thoughtful breeding, and genuine care for our animals are our way of life, and they're reflected in every wheel that leaves our caves. — Anne Doe, Boston Post Dairy
Close local roots
Grafton Village Cheese continues its 134-year-old tradition of supporting small local dairies by purchasing milk within the smallest radius possible to make our products. Our cow’s milk comes primarily from Jersey cows, which produce a rich milk known for its high protein and high butterfat components, making it ideal for cheesemaking. Our sheep's milk comes from an Amish cooperative that milks primarily East Friesian sheep, considered one of the best breeds for cheesemaking because the sheep have been bred specifically for dairy. As a result, their milk has a superior fat and protein content that results in rich, creamy cheese of exceptional quality. — Meg Gonazalez, Grafton Village Cheese Co.
Fine-tuned adjustments
Our milk is our best ingredient! We must have Jersey cow milk for the nice fat content it provides to make our cheeses. It's sourced locally from a beautiful herd of Jersey cows that are treated kindly and make amazing milk. All of our milk comes from the Chittenden Family at Dutch Hollow Farms, about 30 minutes away from our creamery. Our cheesemaking often has to adjust to the milk and how the cows are feeling that day. Was it too hot or too cold? Is the fat up or down that day? Is the protein up or down? We don't standardize the milk, so it's a more natural product, but we do need to adjust things weekly, especially when the seasons change and there are big temperature swings. — Shaleena Bridgham, Four Fat Fowl
Thanks to all the cheesemakers that participated in this roundtable! Learn more about all of them in our Farm Focus profiles, and shop our bestselling artisan cheeses here.
Photos courtesy of Woodlawn Creamery, Roelli Cheese Haus, Hollands Family Cheese, and Parish Hill Creamery.
