Podcasts about raw milk cheese

Joe reflects on Morbier's triumphant return and chats with veteran cheese monger Matthew Rose, who went 'All In' on Cheese, and is now partner at the venerable Fairfield & Greenwich Cheese shops in Connecticut after working there for the past 7 years. Hear about Matthew's path in cheese and what led him to this opportunity while fostering his team's passion at the counter.Photo courtesy of New England Food and Farm.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Cutting the Curd by becoming a member!Cutting the Curd is Powered by Simplecast.

In this episode, we discuss Max's experience working as a cheese maker on a dairy farm in the Alps. High alpine dairy farming has a strong tradition in the European Alps that came about 3000 years ago. Every year tough farmers make their way into the mountains to herd cattle and preserve the precious milk into cheese, butter, and other dairy products.Episode Overview:Max's experience managing a high-elevation dairy farm in the Alps together with 2 of his friendsHow cheese is made in the Alps and some of the differences between the types of cheese and their regionsBest practices for aging and storing raw milk cheeseSeveral alpine cheese-making traditions, like backpacking giant wheels of cheese down the mountainUse code “yearofplenty” (all lower case) for 15% OFF at www.mtblock.comMY ULTIMATE FORAGING GEAR LIST - Check it outLeave a review on Apple or Spotify and send a screenshot to theyearofplenty@gmail.com or my Instagram to receive a FREE EBOOK with my favorite food preservation recipes.Support the podcast via donations:https://www.patreon.com/poldiwielandhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/yearofplentyWatch the Video Podcasts on X:https://x.com/yearofplentypod/status/1756019357015228865?s=20Sign up for the newsletter:www.theyearofplenty.com/newsletterSubscribe to the Youtube VLOG:https://www.youtube.com/@yearofplentypodcastDo you follow the podcast on social media yet?IG: https://www.instagram.com/poldiwieland/I want to hear from you! Take the LISTENER SURVEY: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KZW53RT

Siobhán Ní Gháirbhith shares details about the 2023 Irish Raw Milk Cheese Week which takes place 8-14 May 2023. The aim of the campaign is to showcase the variety and quality of Irish raw milk cheese.

In this episode, we catch up cheese monger extraordinaire Lassa Skinner about the many hair pin turns she has taken in her storied career as a cheese professional. Lassa is co-founder of Culture magazine, author of two books; 'Cheese for Dummies' and 'Cheese Boards to Share', and also is the mind behind Counter Culture events to help further cheesesmongers' education.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Cutting the Curd by becoming a member!Cutting the Curd is Powered by Simplecast.

This episode is a conversation with my stepbrother Max Kuehnhoefer, a wholistic farmer. Max has dedicated the past 7 years of his life to learning as much about natural, biodiverse farming systems as possible.Episode Overview2023 Foodie GoalsBarriers to entry fishing in GermanyDefining Quality FoodMax experience at a conventional mass pig farmCheese making at a wholistic farm in northern GermanyMy first time attempting to make Mozarella from Fresh Raw MilkWholisitc vs conventional milk productionDairy cattle herding in high mountain pastures in the alpsSupport the podcast via donations:https://www.patreon.com/poldiwielandhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/yearofplentySign up for the newsletter:www.theyearofplenty.com/newsletterDo you follow the podcast on social media yet?IG: https://www.instagram.com/poldiwieland/Twitter: https://twitter.com/theyearofplentyFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/theyearofplenty/Or subscribe directly using your podcast app. The show is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and many other platforms!Please rate and review the show in the Apple Podcast and Spotify apps. This always helps the show get ranked so that more curious foodies can explore real food and drink with us.I want to hear from you! Take the LISTENER SURVEY: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KZW53RT

A two episode show on the difference raw milk and unpasteurized. In the second episode, Carlos Yescas speaks with Jonny Crickmore, cheesemaker at Fen Farm Dairy in England.Photo Courtesy of Fen Farm Dairy.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Cutting the Curd by becoming a member!Cutting the Curd is Powered by Simplecast.

A two episode show on the difference between raw milk and unpasteurized. In this first episode Carlos Yescas speaks with Mariano Gonzalez, head cheesemaker at Grafton Village Cheese Company. Mariano also talks about his experience trying to set up a cheese program in Paraguay and assisting USAID.Photo Courtesy of Grafton Village Cheese Company.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Cutting the Curd by becoming a member!Cutting the Curd is Powered by Simplecast.

Carlos Yescas (guest hosts) talks to Arnaud Sperat­-Czar and Susan Sturman about the new book Raw Milk Cheese: Mission Reconquer and shares their vision for the future to save raw milk cheeses in France.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Cutting the Curd by becoming a member!Cutting the Curd is Powered by Simplecast.

Our raw milk cheese creamery was the center of the day today. The construction is moving along nicely. Our state inspectors made an appearance and helped us out with details on safety measures. We work with them every step of the way to make sure all safety concerns are addressed. I want to take a minute and say welcome to all the new listeners and welcome back to the veteran homestead-loving regulars who stop by the FarmCast for every episode. I appreciate you all so much. I’m so excited to share with you what’s going on at the farm this week. Our Virginia Homestead Life Updates Winter animal care was high priority today. Let’s talk about that before we get into the details of our lovely raw milk cheese creamery project. We check up on the animals regularly. Some we can easily see in the front fields and every time we go out the driveway. Others are out there in the back fields. It takes a bit more effort to check up on them, but rest assured, they are not out of sight, out of mind. I’ll start with the cows. Cows Our beautiful Normande cows are the centerpiece of our small farmstead raw milk cheese creamery. It is our habit to check on them first. I say first, but they are all out there together. And while we may be aiming at the cows, sometimes it is the sheep or goats that we encounter first. Many times, it is the donkeys. More on that later. There are five big girls in our current herd. I say big girls because these five have already had a calf. We have our newest arrival, Rosie, who is still known has a heifer. That means she has never had a calf. I guess technically she is a bred heifer. She has never had a calf but is currently pregnant. Currently she is in a pasture with the younger calves so we can keep a closer eye on her as her pregnancy progresses. The “Big” Girls Anyway, of the five big girls, four are pregnant. Everyone looks healthy and happy. Claire barely looked up as I approached. She was far too busy eating grass to give me much notice. Violet always looks up whenever we come near. She wants attention and yet she doesn’t want attention. I guess what she really wants in a treat. But they don’t get treats in the winter. Only during lactation. So, she will have to wait until late March or early April to get any more treats. Butter is quite open to petting, while Buttercup avoids it at all costs. Cloud has had her hooves repaired but she is still quite standoffish when out in the field. All of them are easy to get close to when they are up in the milking shed. Funny how that goes. Grazing Abundance The grass in those back fields is holding up very well. They are literally still eating green grass and it is coming on close to mid-December. Scott believes they will not need hay until late February. I can’t tell you how great that is for a couple of reasons. The cost, of course, is always the first concern in my mind. I do all of the accounting and cost is always on my mind. The next great thing is that the green grass is always going to be better nutrition and the animals truly prefer grass to hay. We want to keep them on green grass for as long as possible. Ideally, we would be able to graze them all the way through the winter until the spring grass appears in late March. That is a goal we likely will not meet for many years. We would need additional pasture, especially as we are on a path to grow our herd. Hay is Still Needed If we double our herd size, having green grass available to them for the entire winter is a really long shot without clearing some of our wooded areas and turning them into pasture. That’s a huge job for the distant future. They do fine on hay. It’s just similar to having a burger and fries when you really want a nice traditional home-cooked dinner. Sure, the burger and fries will keep you fed. But the real treat is that homemade roast leg of lamb with macaroni and cheese on the side. Throw in some crowder peas and it is a meal to be savored. Sheep Speaking of savoring a good meal, the sheep will continue to eat as much grass as they can scrounge. When the pickings get slim, the cows will rush to the hay as Scott brings it into the pasture. However, even when they have hay available, the sheep are going to go for every little bit of grass they can find. They eventually go eat the hay. And shortly thereafter, they are right back out there grazing on little bits of grass. Counting Sheep One of the regular exercises we do when checking on animals is counting them. Well, we don’t really count the cows. They are all grazing quietly in the field and we simply identify them by name. The sheep can be a little trickier. They hang out in a bunch and they move together almost as one unit. Trying to pick out individual animals is nearly impossible. Even counting bodies can be a challenge. One method that works well is for Scott to walk toward them from one side and I hang out toward the other side. As they move away from him, they will string out just a little bit and I can more easily get an accurate count. Because they can see me, they walk or trot in my direction more slowly and I can get that accurate count. Eventually, they make a turn away from both of us and bunch up again. I gotta be quick with the count. It’s important that we count regularly and make sure they are all there. If a predator starts picking them off, they will continue one by one until we do something. We have to be vigilant in protecting the sheep. We accounted for all 12 that are in the flock with the big cow girls. This includes three younger girls from spring a year ago and all nine of the lambs from this past spring. Goats As far as the goats, well there is no goat counting. At least not nearly as often. There is little we can do to protect them that they cannot do for themselves. Goats are quite different from sheep in their herding behaviors. For one thing, they can go places sheep wouldn’t dare. Case in point, they were all in a different field than the cows and sheep. It seems that no matter which field that everyone else is currently occupying, the goats find a way to get into the next field. Another disadvantage to counting them easily is that they mill around much more randomly than the sheep. They do cluster together but it is a much larger circle. The space separating each animal is quite a bit larger. And when they see someone approaching, they all get up and start moving about in varying directions in small groups. Eventually, one will take the lead and start to move the herd in a particular direction, everyone else follows – sort of. Goat Herds Again, this is a little different than sheep as they will be farther apart and then bunch up and then spread out again with one or two moving in a random direction. It’s kind of like they are trying to do a goat “head fake” trying to fool you into thinking they are going to run in a different direction from the rest of the herd. Lots of times it is not a fake and they bolt in that direction, taking 1/3 to 1/2 the herd with them. They split up into two or three groups and then rally back together after they run past you. This is what I am talking about when I refer to their self-protection against predators. They go in so many directions, it’s harder to catch them. It’s also harder to count them. Their speed and agility are phenomenal. Today, when they saw us approaching, they immediately moved into the woods. Not running away in particular. Just moving out of sight and into the cover of trees. That’s a signal that these beauties are going to make you work hard for a head count. Maybe we’ll get them counted next time. Donkeys While we were checking on everyone, the donkeys came up for a cuddle and to say “hi”. They have their fuzzy coats on for winter and look so sweet. Just about every day, they wander up to the milking shed and bray at us, well mostly Scott while he is out there working on the building next to them. Have I mentioned how people friendly donkeys are? According to what I’ve read, they are even more personable than horses. I can believe it. They followed me around while we were checking on the other animals. And Daisy likes to come up behind me when I stop and give me a little shove with her head. You know, just a little notice that, “Hey, I’m here. Give me some loving.” And one of the greatest things is that Cocoa will come up behind Daisy and put her head across Daisy’s back trying to get close enough for a nice nose rub, but keeping her mom between us. After that, she will come around and get a more proper petting. What would we do without our donkeys to brighten the day? Raw Milk Cheese Creamery I didn’t give an update on our raw milk cheese creamery last time and lots has happened. There were special panels planned for the milking parlor and in the cheese make room. These panels are specifically chosen because they can be cleaned easily. That work is currently in progress. Milking Parlor Scott started with the milking parlor. The special panels are smooth, white panels that are glued to the wall. It was a little tricky getting them to stick strongly enough for the glue to set up in the cooler weather. In fact, they never did stick completely. So, plan B had to be put into action. Scott found appropriate screws to hold the panels in place. So far, so good with that plan. The milking parlor is done. There was a small run under the ledge where they stand in front of us. And then there was a larger bit of paneling along the wall in front of the cows. On to the cheese make room and more challenges. Raw Milk Cheese Make Room The cheese make room is designed to be cleaned easily and efficiently. These panels run from floor to ceiling, all the way around the room. I’m impressed with them. Clean up before, during and after cheesemaking is an important, necessary and time-consuming effort. These panels are going to be excellent for helping me out with keeping the room immaculate in the least amount of time. Part of the challenge with getting the glue to stick relates to the ambient temperature and the temperature of the walls themselves. Even though screws have been added to the mix, they are really only there to hold it up against the wall until the glue can set. The panels are only screwed into the wall around the edges. The center is still held against the wall with glue. A few days ago, the temperature quite strongly took a downward turn. Additional techniques had to be employed to get the cheese make room warm enough to keep going with construction. It’s always something, right? Heating Up the Room We have a couple of small space heaters we used during our time living in a camper in South Carolina. Those had to be dug out. One was already in use in the small cheese room to keep the temp up to the proper level in there. Scott tried to use the other, lesser unit to heat up the cheese make room. He had even tacked up heavy plastic on the ceiling beams to hold in some of the heat. Imagine the extra time added for that little bit of unplanned construction. He added the heater but it wasn’t strong enough to do the job. The cheese make room is quite large. The cheese cave is much smaller than the cheese make room. The remedy for that was exchanging the radiant heater out of the cheese cave with the weaker heater. The lesser unit is adequate for the job of keeping the temperature up to the target in the cheese cave, though it does not hold the temperature with the same steadiness as the radiant heater. Anyway, the radiant heater worked well enough when moved to the cheese make room, keeping the temperature up to 50 degrees or so. The work on the wall is now progressing quite well in there. Stairways to Attics Moving on to stairways. There will be two very long stairways from the ground to the attics. Attic space is in use above the creamery and then a half stair up to the attic above the milking parlor. There is an outside door into each of these areas. What’s missing is an easy way to get into those doors. Temporary methods using the tractor to lift a pallet full of stuff or simply climbing a ladder with your arms full are inadequate. Scott is working hard to get those stairs designed in between waiting for the cheese make room to be warm enough in which to work. Yay! I’ll be glad when the stairs are done. I sent lots of stuff up there for storage – stuff that I use but perhaps not that often. Being able to just climb the stairs to get it back will be great. And then of course, once I’m done using it, back up the stairs I go to put it back into storage. Lots of herd share jars, canning equipment, and so on. The dehydrator just made a trip back down and will go back up in a few days. Stairs are going to be great. The Roof Another huge step forward is the ordering of the materials for the roof. That was a big deal. Many hours went into the estimates for how many and which pieces are needed to do the job. It is going to cost lots more than I expected, but in the end, you just pay for it and move on. You gotta have a roof and the roof area for this project is huge. Take a look at some of the photos and videos on our Facebook page. There will be much more to report on that coming up soon in future podcasts. The materials are ordered but have not yet arrived. The VDACS Inspectors The last bit of info I want to share about the progress of the creamery is the visit from our local VDACS inspectors. VDACS is the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The state version of the USDA. We have a great guy that we have been working with for quite a few years, beginning long before the first tree was cleared from the land. For this visit, he may brought along another inspector that will likely take over our inspections should he retire. She had been to our farm a couple of years ago and it was great seeing her again. Both of these great people offer lots of pertinent information to keep us out of trouble. We work together to spot areas where contamination may occur and how we might avoid the situation. New procedures, additional pieces of equipment and altering the work flow are all discussed. We are getting closer and closer to completing this project and becoming a fully inspected USDA facility. At that point we will be ready to start selling our cheese to the local restaurants and wineries. Our dream gets closer every day, every moment.   Final Thoughts That’s about all I’m going to cover in today’s podcast. A brief trip around the homestead with updates on the animals and bringing you up to date on our progress with the creamery. I didn’t talk about the quail. I’m figuring out how to pickle quail eggs and I’ll wait until next time to give details on that. There are five different flavor recipes I’m trying out. Christmas is fast approaching. I hope you are enjoying the season. We don’t celebrate the commercial Christmas. It has been many years since I had a tree or a wreath or lights or anything. Sometimes I think about it but the effort to make it happen does not fit into my schedule. My children are long grown and my youngest grandchild is now 16. How about a nice nativity scene? I can go with making that happen. Family visits mostly happen over Thanksgiving so Scott and I generally celebrate the birth of our Lord with just the two of us. There are a few other family members that we may visit sometime after the 25th. And who knows who might pop in to see us? We shall see. It’s always great to get together with those we love and Christmas provides the time off from work for others making it easy for us to catch them at home and unburdened by work. I do hope to work in a short visit or two between now and New Years Day. Once again, I want to thank you all for listening to me ramble on about our traditional raw milk cheese and traditional homestead living and I hope all your dreams come true as well. If you enjoyed this podcast, please hop over to Apple Podcasts or whatever podcasting service you use, SUBSCRIBE and give me a 5-star rating and review. If you like this content and want to help out the show, the absolute best way you can do that is to share it with any friends or family who might be interested in this type of content. Let them know about the Peaceful Heart Farmcast. Thank you so much for stopping by the homestead and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace. To learn about herd shares: Visit our website Herd Share page To share your thoughts: Leave a comment on our Facebook Page Share this show on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram To help the show: PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW for Peaceful Heart FarmCast on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music, TuneIn or Spotify Donate on Patreon Website www.peacefulheartfarm.com Patreon www.patreon.com/peacefulheartfarm Facebook www.facebook.com/peacefulheartfarm Instagram www.instagram.com/peacefulheartfarm/

As we look into the next four years under a new US President, we explore some of the issues around regulation and production of raw milk cheeses in the United States. Guest host Carlos Yescas is joined by two academics of cheese to share with us their thinking about the work of the FDA, the CDC, the USDA and the USTR.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Cutting the Curd by becoming a member!Cutting the Curd is Powered by Simplecast.

If we're talking RAW milk cheese in Australia, it would be remise, if not near impossible, to not talk about Will Studd. Will's impact on the cheese world in Australia is significant if not profound. Establishing Calendar Cheese company in 1995, the impact this had on Australian cheese is quite phenomenal. Hand on heart I can say my cheese education in my hospitality days, in particular at Punch Lane Wine Bar, was due to Calendar Cheese. He's written two books and produced an incredible 68 odd episode global TV series on cheese which I'm sure you all know, Cheese Slices. Add to that, there was the ‘Roquefort' incident, and a court challenge all about advocating RAW milk cheese in Australia. Will is joined by another person who probably needs no introduction, Nick Haddow of Bruny Island Cheese. Aside from making incredible cheese, it was Nick who made the first commercial available RAW milk cheese in Australia some 12 years a go. He's also a writer, presenter and when it comes to cheese communication, it would be hard find any one better. Nick and Will have known each other for a long time and have many shared journeys and experiences. Which is we're handing the reins over to him tonight to interview Will on all things RAW milk cheese so we can get into the nitty gritty of what it is, isn't, where it is in Australia today and what it could hold in the future.

Welcome to RAW month at MOULD, where we shine a spotlight on the makers, growers, farmers, and families who are making the best raw milk cheese in the country. Every Thursday of the month of October you'll be able to tune in LIVE at 5.30pm Australian eastern Daylight time) as we chat to the maker growers farmers and families who just happen to make the best RAW milk cheese in Australia. Expect to hear from Nick Haddow of Bruny Island Dairy as well as the teams at Pecora Dairy, Section 28 and Prom Country who have made the first RAW milk cheese in Victoria for over 80 years. If you can't tune in live, don't fret, we'll be posting the conversations here as well for we think it's vital to document what's happening in and around this movement right now. But most importantly, this is your chance to ask any question you may have about RAW milk cheese. So please, make sure you tune in and submit your questions live, or send us a message on the socials on @mouldcheese or email us at hello@mouldcheesefestival.com. But for more information, and or to grab a RAW milk cheese box (if you're so inclined) head to mouldcheesecollective.com As always, thank you so much for listening, and we look forward to sharing some #RAWesome (sorry!) cheese stories throughout the month. —— BE SURE TO JOIN IN LIVE ON INSTAGRAM! Each Thursday throughout October we'll be doing LIVE interviews at 5.30pm AEDT where we encourage you post questions with the cheese makers. Just follow @mouldcheese for more! October 8 - Nick Haddow, Bruny Island October 15 - Burke Brandon, Prom Country October 22 - Cressida and Michael Cains, Pecora October 29 - Kym Masters, Section 28 Plus a few other special guests along the way!

We check-in with raw-milk advocates from around the world to learn about what is going on in Europe, Latin-America, and Australia. For a transcript of the show visit: https://www.lacteonetwork.com/ctcshowHeritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Cutting the Curd by becoming a member!Cutting the Curd is Powered by  Simplecast.

Today I’m going to review how to get raw milk cheese in Virginia via our herd share program. And, because I have lots of new listeners, I’m going to review our creamery project. I do want to take a minute and say welcome to all the new listeners and welcome back to my veteran homestead loving regulars. Thank you so much for stopping by the FarmCast every week. I appreciate you all so much. As always, there’s a lot going on and there is not nearly enough time in the day to get everything done. And as always, I love it. It’s so good to be alive. Homestead Life Updates We are finally getting a break from the heat. Rain has finally returned – at least for the time being. There is still quite a bit of summer left to go. Herd Share Program It has been a while since I talked about our Herd Share program. We offer you the opportunity to have your own part of our dairy herd. You too can experience what we are blessed with by virtue of operating our homestead. I know all of you cannot possibly do what we are doing, but you’d like to have the benefit of fresh dairy products from pasture raised cows. The way you obtain raw milk cheese in Virginia is to purchase part of the herd and then simply pay a monthly boarding and maintenance fee and we will take care of everything else for you. On a weekly basis, you come to the farm and pick up your fresh milk products. We have butter and cheese year-round. During the active milking season we also have fresh, raw A2A2 milk and Yogurt. We guarantee fresh milk from the first Saturday in May through the last Saturday in October. Sometimes we have milk earlier and sometimes it lasts longer into November. As I said earlier cheese and butter are available year-round. We have many members who are only in it for the cheese and butter. If you are not familiar with A2A2 milk, I have a podcast on that topic titled, “What is A2A2 Milk?”. Link in the show notes. Or just go to our website (give web address), click or tap the podcast menu item and browse for it. It’s a way down the page as it was well over a year ago that I did that podcast. The Area We Serve For those of you out there listening to the sound of my voice, if you are in the southern/southwestern Virginia area or northern North Carolina area, we are here for you. It is about an hour trip from Winston-Salem, North Carolina and perhaps an hour and a half from Greensboro. In Virginia, Martinsville, Hillsville, and Galax are all less than an hour away. Wytheville is slightly over an hour. It takes us an hour and 10 minutes to get to the downtown Farmer’s Market. Roanoke is 2 hours from us. Floyd, Christiansburg and Blacksburg are somewhere in between. Herd Share Pickups We are open for on-farm sales and herd share pickups: Saturdays 3 - 5pm and Tuesdays 10am - 12pm. Come on out and get yourself some homestead sunshine. Take a look at how our animals are raised. We’ll answer all of your questions and make sure you get the best grass fed and finished beef, lamb and goat on the market today. Tuesdays 10am – 12 pm and Saturdays 3 – 5 pm.  Creamery For new listeners I want to go over what we are doing with our creamery. My husband, Scott, is single-handedly building our USDA inspected dairy facility. It is a monstrous task. He has been doing the physical work on it for three and a half years. Long before that he was drawing up the plans. He was born with a hammer in his hand so he is very skilled at doing these drawings. We had long discussions about what we needed to include. The dairy inspector has been involved every step of the way. Many hours went into the design before the first bit of ground was dug up for the foundation. Once it is complete, we will be able to offer our raw milk cheeses to the general public. Right now, it is only available via our herd share program that I just talked about. The milk, butter and yogurt will only ever be available via herd share. Unless and until the laws change in Virginia. There are many different sections to the creamery building project. There is a barn, a milking parlor, a milk storage room, a full bath, the cheese make room, two cheese caves, a commercial kitchen and a storefront where I will do business with all of you. Barn The farthest away from my back door is the barn and animal loafing area. This is where we will collect the cows for milking. It is covered and will keep the donkeys out of the rain and snow. There is also a small area on the other of a wall from the stanchion platform. That will be used for various other aspects of animal husbandry. Milking Stanchions and Milking Parlor From the loafing area, the cows walk up four short steps to get to the stanchions. This area is set up with metal bars that keep the cows together and at the perfect angle for milking. The cows walk into the stanchions and eat a little snack while we are milking them. We are standing below them where the floor of the milking parlor and the rest of the building is about 2 and a half feet lower than the elevated barn floor. Let’s do a virtual tour of the rest of the building. You are currently standing on the floor of the milking parlor. It is open and breezy. The design is one we saw at another dairy near us. They got the idea from a trip to New Zealand. Most milking parlors are closed in, dark, and humid. Ours has a roof but no sides. The air freely circulates. Imagine you were facing the cows in their stanchions. Now turn around and face the other way. The rest of the creamery is now in front of you. Milk Room Directly in front of you is the doorway to the milk room. This is where the milk is stored. There is a direct pipeline from the milking parlor to the milk room. Its main feature is a large stainless-steel bulk milk tank. Our tank will hold up to 80 gallons of milk. The milk must be cooled quickly and this is the piece of equipment that makes that happen. In accordance with USDA inspection rules, it must be emptied, cleaned, and sanitized at least every three days. Directly to your left would be the wall of the large cheese cave. There is no access from this side, called the dirty side. To the far left is a utility room. It holds the washer and dryer and the pipeline milking system. That thing is really loud. I’m glad it will be behind closed doors in the utility room.   Full Bath You are still standing in the middle of the parlor floor. Directly to your right is a doorway to the clean side. Walking through the doorway, immediately on your right is a bathroom complete with shower. We will be able to come in dirty and sweaty from milking and take a quick shower and get into clean clothes before entering the “clean side”. When you walk into this section the bathroom is on the right and in front of you is storage area for clean clothes, aprons, gloves, boots and so on that are used within the cheese make room. It is the ultimate in clean spaces. There are even pans of bleach water at various locations to keep the soles of boots clean and sanitized. Cheese Make Room Past the storage areas is the entrance to the cheese make room and a hard-right turn will lead to an entrance/exit door to the creamery on the right. We are going to enter the cheese make room. In here we find all of the tools and equipment used to make the cheese. A vat is the centerpiece. But there are lots of cheese forms or molds for shaping the curd. There are sinks and tables – all stainless steel. Shelves contain various sets of weight, measuring tools, and cleaning supplies. In the corner is the magnificent cheddar cheese press we special ordered from the Netherlands. The floors have a tile with a special and very expensive grout that will hold up to the acid pH of the cheese whey. It empties out of the vat directly onto the floor and flows down to a floor drain in the corner. The Cheese Caves After entering the room, turn left and walk all the way across the room to the exit door. It leads to a common area between the cheese caves and the kitchen. Directly in front of you is the door to the small cheese cave. To the left is the door into the large cheese cave. To the right is an open doorway to the commercial kitchen area. The raw milk cheese caves are heavily insulated rooms that will maintain specific temperatures and humidity. We are currently using the small cave to age the cheeses we are making for our herd share members. It is complete except for electricity. Scott has something rigged up that works quite well for the humidifier, a small lamp, the window air conditioner and Cool Bot. The Cool Bot is an electronic device that fools the air conditioner into thinking it is warmer than it actually is so the air conditioner will continue to run. Most won’t cool a room below 60 degrees. But with a Cool Bot we can get our temperature down to the low 50’s which is ideal for aging cheese. The small humidifier keeps the humidity well over 70% and sometimes as high as 83%. I’d like to get it to go higher. Still working on that detail. The large cheese cave will be similarly equipped and has enough space to house an entire year’s worth of cheese. Some of our cheeses need at least 8 or 9 months to reach a decent maturity and will only get better with time. Commercial Kitchen Standing in that entry alcove, large cave on the left, small cave in front of you, turn right into the commercial kitchen. You can see yet another entrance/exit door. It’s not there yet, but you will eventually see a large stove to the left of the door and a triple sink to your left against that wall. Stainless steel tables will be in the middle of the room. Freezers and refrigerators will be lined along the wall opposite of the door. A window above the chest freezers will give visitors a view into the cheese make room. Far to the right you will see the door to the storefront. And that is the last room in the building. Of course, it also has an entrance/exit door. This door is where you guys would enter the building to pick up product. Another window here that looks into the cheese make area. When it is finally complete, we will have an open house for you all to come and see how it all turned out. Classes in cheesemaking and food preservation will also be a time where you all can see the final creation. And if you are a herd share owner, weekly and/or monthly visits bring you even more access to all of it. That went a little longer than I originally intended but I get so excited when I’m talking about our creamery. I want everyone to know how wonderful this project is and what a wonderful job Scott is doing to bring our dreams to life. How about some homestead updates on the animals, gardens and orchard. Animals All of the animals are doing well, even in the heat. The cows produce slightly less milk on really hot days, but for the most part they are doing a splendid job of producing milk and otherwise munching lazily on grass all day. The calves are getting bigger every day. Luna’s eye is healed and it looks like she will have permanent scarring on her eyeball. We now have the flies under control and do not foresee any future issues with pink eye. We are down to just two bulls being raised for meat. I called the meat processor today to get them scheduled. It will be October 2021 before they can be processed. There are still hiccups in the food supply chain due to the virus. It looks like it is going to take quite a while to get that flow back to normal. The overflow from the closure or reduction of service from large processing plants keeps overwhelming smaller, custom processing operations used by small farmers.    The goats and sheep are also doing very, very well. I am pleased that we have had no issues with lambs this year. It is the first time in our history on this homestead that we have come this far without losing a single lamb. A 70% to 80% survival rate is much more common for us. I noticed the coats on the donkeys are really glossy today. Probably a month ago they finally shed all of their winter coat. Quite often they roll in the dirt and dull their coats, but we had rain last night and they were particularly glossy this morning. Garden The heat has kept me busy watering the garden. I don’t know if I mentioned this in prior podcasts, but I hope to have drip irrigation in place next year. We keep improving our gardens each year and I think it is time for the automatic watering system to get going again. We had it working for a couple of years, but we have not reconstructed it since the entire garden was redesigned four years ago. The peppers, tomatoes and sunflowers are the centerpieces of the garden at the moment. Many of the sunflowers have bloomed. They are gorgeous. The tomato plants are loaded with green tomatoes. I saw an orange one this morning I will have to go our there later and see if there are others. The peppers are producing well. Some of the peppers are smaller than I think they should be and I believe that is due to not enough fertilizing. I need to step up my game in that arena. Well now that I think on it, the basil, oregano and thyme are also worth note. I took an oregano leaf to Scott the other day and let him smell it and identify it. Don’t you just love the smell of fresh basil and oregano? I’ll be drying some of that for use this winter. Orchard A lot of the blackberries are getting eaten by the birds. There is a ground hog hole in there also. He is probably taking advantage as well. Scott went out there with the chain saw and cut a path between the rows. I might have mentioned that last time. He started last week and just yesterday finished all of the rows. I can freely pick berries now. But there is still so much that needs to happen with cleaning up those rows of blackberries. Now that I have a clear path, I foresee the final clean up happening much later. In the fall or perhaps even in the winter. The strawberries are completely overrun with weeds. I have a task on my calendar that says, “weed the strawberries”. It also says it is four weeks overdue. Do you have any idea how many weeds have taken over in four weeks? It’s a lot. There are far more weeds than strawberry plants. Looking on the bright side, the larger weeds are much easier to pull up all at once. And with just a little work, it makes a very big dent. Feeling you have accomplished something is very easy when you see the earth where previously it was covered in large green things with lots of stickers. Final Thoughts That’s it for today’s podcast. I hope you enjoyed the tour of the creamery. It’s good to review how far we have come every once in a while. If you looking for raw milk cheese in Virginia or nearby, I hope you’ll consider joining our herd share program. We make really fine cheese and our milk is rich, nutritious and, best of all, delicious. The butter I make is the best I have ever tasted and I have had other grass-fed raw milk butters. Mine is superb. You won’t find this kind of quality and flavor anywhere else. If you enjoyed this podcast, don’t forget to subscribe via iTunes or your favorite podcast listening app. Also, please share this podcast with any of your friends or family who might be interested in this type of content. Thank you so much for listening and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace. To learn about herd shares: Visit our website Herd Share page To share your thoughts: Leave a comment on our Facebook Page Share this show on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram To help the show: PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW for Peaceful Heart FarmCast on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music, TuneIn or Spotify Donate on Patreon Website www.peacefulheartfarm.com Patreon www.patreon.com/peacefulheartfarm Facebook www.facebook.com/peacefulheartfarm Instagram www.instagram.com/peacefulheartfarm/

Reblochon raw milk cheese is coming. There are other new cheeses that I will be making over the next few months, but this one is the one I’m most excited about. It gives me a chance to enhance my cheesemaking and affinage skills. And I love learning and practicing new things. It enlivens my soul to create new things. What about you? Do you like learning? If you ever find yourself saying, “I’m bored”, it’s time to expend some energy learning something new or doing something you’ve never done before. Let me take a minute here and say welcome to all the new listeners. I’m glad you found me and I hope you will stick around. And a hearty welcome back to my veteran homestead-loving regulars. Thank you so much for stopping by the FarmCast. I appreciate you all so much. As usual, there are exiting events and activities going on around the homestead. Our Virginia Homestead Life Updates The cicadas continue to sing. It gets louder and louder every day. I don’t know how much louder it can get. There are lots of empty exoskeletons under the trees and some dead cicadas. And lots of those perfectly round ½ inch holes under every tree. I never hear them in the trees out the back door. They always seem to be a couple of hundred yards away. But they must be there. I talked about their life cycle in the last podcast, “The Cicadas in Southwestern Virginia Have Emerged”. If you missed it, check out our website. Click or tap “podcast” on the menu and give it a listen. Kittens I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but we have feral cats that roam around our property. There is one in particular that we have seen time and time again over the past couple of months. She intimidates the quail, hanging around, always watching, drooling over their plumpness. Anyway, I saw her go under the carport a couple of times. I figured she was stalking mice or other small varmints under somewhere back there. I found out a few days ago that it was not the case. As I was about to pull the car back into the carport, I saw a black lump right in my tire track that was not there before. I stopped and got out to investigate. As I approached the black lump abruptly jumped up and dashed behind the air conditioner compressor. I calmly walked over there and peeked behind the unit and, sure enough, there was a little black kitten there. It had small white markings on feet, head and tail. It was quite cute. I looked a little further and found another black lump of fur hiding farther back in the corner. Two kittens. That explains the momma cat hanging out under the carport. Sheep and Lambs – Goats This morning I moved the goats back in with the rest of the girls, cows, sheep and donkeys. They moved easily. Most of them have shed their cashmere winter coats and are looking quite sleek. One is looking really ragged. I may have to sheer her. She has a very heavy overcoat which impedes the undercoat of cashmere from shedding completely. It mats and becomes impossible to comb out. But the clippers work well to get her cleaned up. We had our final lamb born two days ago. I thought we might get another set of twins. But no. Another giant girl. Nearly 12 pounds. She is healthy and active. So glad to be done with lambing. And for the first time in a long time, no issues with moms or lambs dying. No abandoned or neglected lambs that require bottle feeding. Yay. Let’s pray for their continued health. We end this lambing season with nine new babies. Well one is nearly four months old and harder to spot as a lamb every day. Just a few inches shy of being as tall as his mom. They will all be like that in a few months. They are the cutest animals on the homestead IMO, but only for a short while. Then they look and act like the adults. But until that time, finding them jumping and hopping in the evening during play time is a pleasure I never get tired of experiencing.   Cows I need to correct something I said last time regarding the cows and artificial insemination. It’s a small thing, but I like to be accurate. I said that the AI was initiated with a uterine implant and shot. Scott corrected me. It was a vaginal implant. On Monday there was a uterine implant. The artificial insemination took place. Now we wait for 21 days to see if they come into heat again. If so, we try again. I’m already counting the days. And I do it more than one time per day. It’s going to be a long three weeks. Quail We have 64 eggs in the incubator. On Friday, they go into lock down. That means the eggs come out of the automatic egg turner, the incubator is resealed and cannot be opened until three days after the first quail chick hatches. I expect to hear the first peeps on Saturday or Sunday at the very latest. I’ll be able to give you a total number of new chicks in the next podcast. Garden update Scott and I transplanted all of the tomatoes and peppers into the garden. I started them from seeds some time ago and they have been ready to transplant for more than a week, maybe even two. But the weather was not quite right. Having completed that part of the planting, nearly the entire garden is planted. Is still have a bunch of celery starts to transplant and lots and lots of culinary herbs. I have cilantro, parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary and mint still to transplant into the garden. However, today was not the day to do that. The temperature finally reached a nice mid-70s to low 80’s range for about 3 days. But I guess spring is already over. Today it reached 90 degrees. I can deal with that in the summer, but in the spring, I’ll just stay inside and imagine that it is balmy outside. I don’t want to lose that feeling of spring until much later. There is plenty of time for steamy hot days in July and August. I love to see the garden full of green. The potatoes are up. Sunflowers are planted along the entire west end – about 70 feet. I didn’t count the number of plants but I’m guessing about 50. These are mammoth sunflowers so they will get really big heads and have lots of seeds. I’ve watched a couple of videos on how to dry them so I am educated for the fall harvest of those giant flowers filled with seeds. I love having these new experiences. Literally, I am growing these for fun. I’ll probably feed them to the birds this winter.   Creamery This is the most exciting news. The small cheese cave is complete. Aaannndd – we moved all of our current cheese in there for aging. Today Scott ordered a humidifier that will assist with keeping the moisture at the proper level. I’ve never had this before. I either had to wax cheeses to keep them from drying out or make small batches and keep them in plastic containers with lids to keep the humidity up. This new setup offers a multitude of possibilities. Earlier this year I began working on what is called a washed rind cheese. In a nutshell that means that when the cheese comes out of the press, another process is started to create the perfect rind. It involves some kind of brining or salt water bath. It can be just salted water or it might be salted water with additional cultures designed to grow specific molds on the cheese surface creating a unique rind and adding flavor to the cheese. I am so excited at the possibilities. Recently I acquired some new cheese molds. One is designed to create a cheese called Reblochon. Some of you may know of this cheese, but for those that don’t about it, here is a short description. This is a French cheese originating in Savoie mountains. It is a washed rind cheese as I just described. The center is very soft, similar to a camembert. Officially, it is made with raw milk. However, the cheesemaking and aging is essentially complete just shy of the 60 days required for commercial raw milk cheese in the US. The only way to have this cheese in the US is to make it yourself. Oh, there is a pasteurized version, but it just isn’t the same. I’ll only be making very small batches for us and for any herd share owner that expresses an interest. I expect to perfect my washed rind cheese skills. Those perfected skills will assist me in creating a washed rind version of our Pinnacle cheese. It is an alpine-style cheese. You’ll find it to be similar to a traditional Swiss gruyere cheese. With the completion of the cheese cave, these kinds of new opportunities are just waiting to be explored. Final Thoughts There is never a dull moment here. Something new is happening each and every day. At least in the spring that is true. Most days, there is more to do than it is possible to accomplish. Spring bursts out of the ground at a dead run and sometimes it’s hard to keep up. The warm spring days also invoke a new creativity in me. New growth in me just as the new growth is literally springing out of the ground. I’m so excited about making cheese right now. With the new cheese cave and new opportunities to be a better cheesemaker with a larger skillset, I’m in seventh heaven. If you enjoyed this podcast, please hop over to Apple Podcasts, SUBSCRIBE and give me a 5-star rating and review. Also, please share it with any friends or family who might be interested in this type of content. Thank you so much for stopping by the homestead and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace. To share your thoughts: Leave a comment on our Facebook Page Share this show on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram To help the show: PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW for Peaceful Heart FarmCast on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music, TuneIn or Spotify Donate on Patreon Website www.peacefulheartfarm.com Patreon www.patreon.com/peacefulheartfarm Facebook www.facebook.com/peacefulheartfarm Instagram www.instagram.com/peacefulheartfarm/

Today I want to talk about our raw milk cheese and cheesemaking. We have 4 different types of cheese and I am working on a 5th. I am so glad the small cheese cave is nearing completion so we will have a place to store all of them.  If you are new to the podcast, welcome. It’s great to have you. And a shout out to the veteran homestead-loving regulars who stop by the FarmCast for every episode. You all make this show possible. I have so much exciting news this week. Let’s get to it.   Our Virginia Homestead Life Updates Cheese This week I made an absolutely fabulous raw milk cheese – Clau d’ville cheddar. Well at least it looks good so far. Sometimes we have trouble getting the cheese to come together and close up so there are no holes on the outside of the cheese. This is important. If you have opening on the surface of the cheese, unwanted mold can get inside and ruin the whole cheese. This is the first cheddar that I have made this season and I am well pleased with it. I started off the cheesemaking with creating a new cheese. The first wheel is nearly ready for tasting. It is a tomme-style cheese. Tomme is used to describe a generic group of cheese produced mainly in the French Alps and in Switzerland. This cheese is lower in fat than our other cheeses. It is made in a circular mold, has an earthy gray-brown natural rind and, hopefully, will have an intensely nutty taste. Additionally, in the last three of these cheeses I experimented with adding wasabi to the curds. The last one I made looked like the best one with the added wasabi. We shall see. At this point I am into a regular rotation of making Ararat Legend (a Dutch gouda-style) cheese, Clau d’ville Cheddar, Pinnacle (a swiss gruyere-style) and Peaceful Heart Gold (a Danish Havarti-style) cheeses. I’ll be talking about the small cheese cave next. That’s where all of this wonderful cheese will be aged to perfection. Creamery The creamery features two cheese caves. One is large enough to handle an entire year’s worth of our raw milk cheese. All of the cheeses we make are aged. That means we have them in the aging cave for a very long time. When we are in full production, the large cheese cave will have lots and lots of cheese in it all the time in varying stages of aging. At the present time, Scott is trying to get the smaller cheese cave ready for us to use. We are not at full production so the smaller cheese cave will be excellent. It will be a blessing to have more room and greater control of temperature and humidity. At first Scott was not going to put the tiles on the floor, but recently he changed his mind. Last podcast I said we would put it into use without the floor, but life changes daily on the homestead. This cave will have wooden shelves to house the cheese. These shelves are held up with cinder blocks. I believe his reasoning on going ahead with the floor tiles was the daunting task of taking all that apart to do the floor later. He is working on getting those tiles glued down as I speak. The grout between the tiles will come later. It has to be a special grout that can withstand dramatic alkaline and acid fluctuations and harsh cleaning compounds. Fortunately, we learned about the necessity for this based on someone else’s issue. There is a lovely dairy about an hour away from us, Meadow Creek Dairy. They milk about 200 cows and make lots and lots of cheese. They make 20 times more than we ever plan on making. Originally, they started out small, just like us, going to farmer’s markets and selling to local stores. Now they sell wholesale cheese internationally. They even had one of their cheeses featured at a White House dinner some years back. I know Scott would prefer working on the completing the roof but his priority is getting that cheese cave functional and he is nearly there. After that, nothing will hold him back from finishing the entire roof. And who knows what he plans after that. I’ll let you know when he lets me know. Lambs We have new lambs. Our first lamb – well first scheduled lamb – was born on May 7th. There is one lamb that was the first week of February. The unplanned one that resulted from one of our oopsie moments. We moved the animals around and somehow one of last year’s ram lambs got sorted in with the girls. Fortunately, only one unplanned birth. Anyway, May 7th was the first planned one and now we have 6 altogether. Three more ewes still need to have their lambs. So far. we have 4 singles and one set of twins. From the round look of the still pregnant ewes, we are on a path to have two more sets of twins. There have been no issues with any moms or lambs so far. We have no bottle lambs. Last year we had one. The mom of this year’s twins had triplets last year and one of them just wasn’t getting enough milk and attention. On day two or three we found him shivering and a little weak. I immediately scooped him up and brought him inside and got him warmed up. It took a little while to find the bottles and lamb milk replacer, but I soon had some warm milk in him. We had to keep an eye on him several times a day for a few days, but eventually, he perked up and is now in line to be our herd ram. We call him Lambert.  Cows The cows are giving us plenty of milk. We had our cows tested for A2A2 genetics and about half of the herd is certified A2A2. Over the next few years, we will be moving to 100% A2A2 genetics. If you are not familiar with what that means, I have a previous podcast on the topic. It is called “What is A2A2 Milk?” I’ll put a link in the show notes. Or you can go to the website and click or tap on the podcast menu item. I recorded that one nearly a year ago, so scroll down a little way and you will find it. I also have lots of good information on why we drink raw milk and lots of other information about raw milk. All of our raw milk cheese and dairy products are available via herd share. In Virginia that means if you want these products you need to own your own cow. We offer the opportunity for folks to buy into our herd via our herd share program. You pay a fee to get into the homestead herd and then a monthly service fee and we do the rest. We have lots of great people enjoying our milk, cheese, yogurt and butter. By the way, if you know of anyone in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina area that is looking for these kinds of nutritious products, let them know about us. We can’t deliver across state lines, but they can certainly come to the farm and pick up their milk or butter or whatever. We welcome our North Carolina neighbors into our herd share program. Quail The quail babies are fully feathered. Their heat lamp has been taken away and they are getting acclimated to keeping themselves warm without the additional heat the lamp provided. I believe tomorrow is their debut in the cages outside. It has been a bit too chilly to put them out there. But the temps are changing tomorrow. And once they are acclimated, they will be fine. Their parents survived the entire winter and did very well. Sometimes I am surprised by the hardiness of barely domesticated animals. Quail in the wild have always been born and lived outside their entire lives. Nature is tough. Garden Yesterday I spent quite a bit of time in the garden. We have this lovely ground cover on all of the beds. The places where the seeds go in the ground are clearly marked and a hole has been cut in the fabric to allow the seed to go in and the leaves to come out once the seeds sprout. This new system we are trying this year, if it works, will simplify gardening for us. Weeds are always a problem for every gardener. And we just have too much else going on to spend a whole lot of time battling weeds. We hope this ground cover is the answer we have been looking for to bring joy back to gardening. It will be at least another week or two before I plant my tomatoes and peppers out in the garden. Currently they reside in my living room with grow lights over them. In a normal year, I would have been planting them out in the garden but this year, it has been quite a cool spring. We actually had a frost a day or two ago. Typically, our last frost date is April 15th. That was three weeks ago. Oh well, as homesteader, we roll with the punches. Each year is unique.  Fruit On the bank just outside of the main garden is a bed of strawberries. At each end are alpine strawberries. They are very small and quite sweet and tasty. In the middle is an everbearing variety we got at Lowes. That bed is overrun again with weeds. We were going to put the landscape cloth there as well but haven’t gotten around to it. The result is weeds overrunning the strawberry bed. Sighhhh. It’s a never-ending battle. On the bright side regarding fruit, the blueberries bloomed nicely and should bear some great fruit in about a month. The blackberries are blooming. It is one of my favorite times of the spring season. Blackberry blossoms and wild rose blossoms fill the air with a lovely fragrance. The blackberries will be ripe about mid-July. If you are interested in picking your own blackberries, let me know. I can arrange a time for you to come out and fill up a bucket or two. Final Thoughts I’m sure I left out something. There is so much that happens in a day and time flies when you are living the life and having fun. I’ll let you know how the raw milk cheese and cheese cave turns out. Next week I hope to have more lamb births to announce. And who know what else will happen in the coming seven days. I hope you all can safely get back to work soon and get on with your lives. I cannot imagine what it must be like for you. Your lives upended. I hope my tales of the homestead are entertaining for you during this confined and uncertain time at home. If you enjoyed this podcast, please hop over to Apple Podcasts, SUBSCRIBE and give me a 5-star rating and review. The best thing you can do to help out the show is to share it with any friends or family who might be interested in this type of content. Thank you so much for stopping by the homestead and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace. References: What is A2A2 Milk? To share your thoughts: Leave a comment on our Facebook Page Share this show on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram To help the show: PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW for Peaceful Heart FarmCast on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music, TuneIn or Spotify Donate on Patreon Website www.peacefulheartfarm.com Patreon www.patreon.com/peacefulheartfarm Facebook www.facebook.com/peacefulheartfarm Instagram www.instagram.com/peacefulheartfarm/

This week on How on Earth, we speak with Professor Catherine Donnelly, of the University of Vermont, about her book, Ending the War on Artisan Cheese. She exposes the efforts of the corporate dairy industry, in conjunction with the FDA, to limit the use of raw milk in making artisanal cheese, despite a long track record of safety in artisans cheese. in this fascinating book, she discusses the art of cheese making, and the self-imposed guidelines that make using raw milk in the artisanal process safe. Hosts:Beth Bennett & Angele Sjong Producer:Beth Bennett Engineer:Maeve Conran Executive Producer: Joel Parker Listen to the Show:

Join us for part 2 of our conversation with Will Studd where we hear about Will's lengthy battle to have the importation and production of raw milk cheeses accepted by regulatory authorities in Australia.

Listen in as Jenn and Co-host Julie Fei-Fan Balzer dive into the tangy May Curdbox. Whether you like things spicy or sweet, this box has something for everyone. Learn how parings and great examples of cheese, can make you think differently about what you put on your next cheese plate.Julie and Jenn try cheeses from Green Dirt Farm, Marieke Gouda and Shelburne Farms and then play with the pairings from The Matzo Project, Sante Nuts, and Maui Fruit Jewels.This is the podcast for people who like to eat cheese. If you'd like to "eat along" subscribe to your own curdbox at curdbox.com!

This month on Herds and Curds, Carmen and Leanne chat to raw milk cheese advocate Will Studd about his life in cheese. This is a two part special. Part 2 will continue to follow Will's campaign for Australia to follow international common practice in allowing raw milk products to be available for import and production. The live program will air on the first Sunday of June at 7am on 3CR 855AM and be available via podcast. Instagram: @willstudd 

Listen in as Jenn and Guest co-host (and husband) Matt Mason celebrate Raw Cheese Month as the nibble through the "VERMONT IN THE RAW" collection in the April Curdbox. Matt steps in to mix things up but can he compare to Julie's witty banter and insightful cheese queries? Jenn mentions her recent visit to Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's Podcast (Curdcast's regular cohost) "Adventures in Arting" and their talk about The Art of Pairing. Matt and Jenn crack open a local hard cider Prospect's Paradise and then enjoy Grafton Village's 2 year aged cheddar, Ashbrook from Spring Brook Farm and Alpha Tolman by the Cellars at Jasper Hill—all delicious raw milk cheeses from Vermont!The pairings in this podcast celebrate more of the flavors of fall with Stewart Maple's crunchy maple popcorn, Brown Butter Bourbon goats milk caramels from Big Picture Farm, and a super tangy and bright Maple Sriracha Mustard by Butterfly Bakery. This is the podcast for people who like to eat cheese. If you'd like to "eat along" subscribe to your own curdbox at curdbox.com!

Raw Milk Cheese. Alan Glustoff does not think everything has to be pasteurized. This is not just about cheese, but about following your dreams.  Check out episode 383 of "Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do" and learn about the story of 5 Spoke Creamery.  Growing up in the Midwest, Alan learned to ride a two wheeler on an uncle’s old balloon tire bike that was way too big for him. He still remembers the people who were there, the surroundings and the smells of Spring in the air. He wasn’t afraid of falling; he was too busy taking it all in. Alan has always considered bicycling thebest way to really see what’s around him and be in the experience, rather than racing through it. That’s also how he views cheese making – you need to be able to see what’s going on, which means only working with small batches where you can react to what’s happening in front of you.You also need to start with superior quality raw milk from your own grass-fed cows. At 5 Spoke Creamery, they embrace the attitude that every turn in the road offers interesting possibilities and salute their willingness to approach life as a journey, one turn at a time. Alan calls this the “Art of Possibilities”. Believing in possibilities was key to allowing the company to follow Alan’s passion to make superior tasting, small batch raw milk cheeses (that happen to be kosher), let alone thinking it possible to buy and restore a 100 year old dairy farm and build a cheese making operation from the ground up. Finally, the company's name reflects the belief that like riding a bike, balance is the key to a healthy lifestyle; that it is possible to enjoy fine, artisanal cheeses if it’s balanced with physical activity.  This is a great interview with someone who bought a farm and started a cheese business in the last decade, while most farms are going away. Zig when others Zag.  http://www.5spokecreamery.com

Did you know pasteurization was first developed to keep wine from turning into vinegar? Join host Claire in Behind the Rind: The Story and Science of Cheese, to explore the misconceptions surrounding cheeses made from raw milk, including an interview with Andy Hatch, raw milk cheese maker at Uplands Cheese in Wisconsin.

Cheese made with raw milk has long been misunderstood; we’ll bring some serious science to what is often - an ugly yelling match. We’ll learn the history of raw milk cheese, how the FDA regulates it, and the recent culmination in 2014 when it seemed FDA might make it impossible for raw milk artisanal cheese to be produced. Lastly, we’ll talk terroir in farmstead, raw milk cheese with Cheesemaker Andy Hatch from Uplands Cheese and encourage you to get out there and eat some Raw Cheese!

Carlos Yescas of the Oldways Cheese Coalition loops us in on the budding Russian cheese movement, the David vs. Goliath war being waged in Normandy and how you can be a part of Raw Milk Cheese Appreciation Day! Cutting the Curd is powered by Simplecast

It's all in the family with cheesemaker Andy Marcelli of Marcelli Formaggi farms, importer of raw milk sheep cheeses from a town with 300 people and 1500 sheep. Join us for an on-air tasting and pairing of some of Marcelli Formaggi’s famous cheeses that look earthly but taste out of this world. Fuhmentaboudit! is powered by Simplecast

The Hedrich's know that "Great Milk Makes Great Cheese" and their award-winning cheeses consistently confirms their belief. Larry Hedrich shares the story of LaClare Farms with host Greg Blais.

We're debating whether raw milk cheeses are rad or risky at Noon on Tuesday with Christine, manager monger from Del Mar.

Cascadia Creamery in Trout Lake, Washington produces beautiful raw milk cheese made with USDA certified organic milk. In this episode of Cutting the Curd, Marci and John Shuman discuss the history of cheese-making in this region, the differences in using A2 milk, and the challenges and benefits of going organic.

The Bedford Cheese Shop's Charlotte Kamin and Nate McElroy join Diane Stemple in the studio to discuss their book - A First Course in Cheese.

On this episode of Week in Review, Jack and Erin cover yet another full week of HRN content — a fiery Trans-Pacific Partnership debate, how to appreciate raw milk cheese, and why Jose Andres is not a clown. “The Breakdown” is straight out of a converted VW Bus in Miami where Jack talks fried chicken and food dreams with two of our favorite chefs.

According to cheesemongers across the country, raw milk cheese is tradition, history, a taste of place, and, of course, it is delicious! Tune in to this special episode of Cutting the Curd in honor of the Cheese Coalition’s Raw Milk Cheese Appreciation Day to learn why raw milk cheese is so great, and what raw milk cheeses we’re obsessing over right now.

The Italian region of Abruzzo might bring to mind Montepulciano wine or national parks, but it's the elusive cheeses of the region that are receiving more and more attention here in the States. Tune in to learn more about the cheeses of Abruzzo from the Marcelli family - Bob, Andy and Tina - who import cheese and artisan foods from the small mountain village of Anversa degli Abruzzi.

Raw-Milk Cheese Appreciation Day is an international celebration of raw-milk cheese and the individuals who bring it to life from the pasture to the plate. On this episode of Cutting the Curd, hosts Greg Blais and Anne Saxelby discuss the importance of traditional cheesemaking with Brad Jones of the Cheese of Choice Coalition and Jeanne Carpenter, author of Cheese Underground Blog. Interested in checking out Raw-Milk Cheese Appreciation Day events? Click here! This program was brought to you by Academie Opus Caseus.

The food standards are changing here in Australia, and commercial cheese makers will be able to make a wider range of raw milk cheese.  I play an interview with Tom Ross from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture who explains the changes to the regulations. You can read the original article here; http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-03/raw-milk-cheese-regulation-changes/6066280 I also talk about two new cheese making products that I have developed namely a DVD and an External Cheese Fridge Thermostat.  These two products have consumed most of my spare time in the last two weeks.  I never thought that making a DVD, with menu structure, would be so time-consuming! For those of you in Australia, here are the links to those two products; Keep Calm & Make Cheese DVD - Volume 1 External Cheese Fridge Thermostat During the latter half of  the episode I answer listener questions about camembert, cheese making in Thailand, Traditional Mozzarella, and an innovative way to heat your milk.  I also mentioned that Colin, from New Zealand, sent in some pictures of his milk pot that he makes all his cheeses in. Colin's milk pot/double boiler system   A pot inside a pot.  He places water in the bottom pot that is heated with the electric element.   It is all controlled by this thermostat.  Ingenious invention. The engineering creations of the home cheese maker never fails to amaze me.  We are a creative bunch of curd nerds! If you liked the show then pop over to iTunes to give it a rating and review.  I would be honoured to read your feedback. Also, don't forget that you can leave a voicemail question to be answered on the show using the button below or this link; https://www.speakpipe.com/Gavin_Webber.  Please make sure you playback your recording to check for background noise before sending it to me.  Other than that, record away! Until next time curd nerds, Keep Calm & Make Cheese!

This week Branden talks about the loss of one awesome raw milk cheese from Wisconsin and genetically modified molds. Show notes: Fermentation on Wheels - a Fractured Atlas sponsored project [51: Fermentation on Wheels FermUp](http://fermup.com/podcast/51/) Farm to Fermentation Series Kickoff- Banh Mi and Beer!! Reedsburg Fermentation Fest The Everyday Fermentation Handbook [One of the best cheeses in America came from Wisconsin, until new regulation stepped in Bleader Chicago](http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2014/08/19/one-of-the-best-cheeses-in-america-came-from-wisconsin-until-new-regulation-stepped-in) Cheese Underground: Rush Creek Reserve Production Stopped By FDA Rule Uncertainty [The FDA’s ‘War’ on Artisanal Cheeses The Fiscal Times](http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2014/08/21/FDA-s-War-Artisanal-Cheeses) Rate us on iTunes. Thanks for your support! Send your feedback to podcast@fermup.com or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.