• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Shop Local, Eat Fresh at the Saratoga Farmers' Market | Food, Crafts, Music in Saratoga Springs

Shop Local, Eat Fresh

  • Markets
    • Our Markets
  • Vendors
    • Vendor Directory
    • Becoming a Vendor
  • About Us
    • SFM Association
    • History
  • Programs
    • SNAP/EBT & FMNP
    • POP Club for Kids
    • Summer Internships
    • Compost Collection
  • Get Involved
  • News
    • Featured Article
    • Seasonal Recipes
    • Weekly Newsletter
  • FAQ
  • Contact us
    • Message us!

Cheesemaking is a passion, an art

June 8, 2020 By marketeditor

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Argyle Cheese Farmer, photo by Pattie Garrett

A basic cheese can be easy to make. You heat milk to a particular temperature, stir in an agent such as vinegar or lemon juice to create curds, drain off the liquid known as whey, and wait for the curds to cool.

Making a really great cheese, however, is more complex.

“It is about using old world craftsman methods to produce cheese in a deliberate and careful, hand-crafted way,” says Sheila Flanagan of Nettle Meadow. “It is not overly industrialized or mechanized. It is connected to the animals whose milk is used. It is a way of life.”

That way of life is reflected in the broad array of cheeses that Nettle Meadow brings each Saturday to the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, along with R&G Cheese Makers and Argyle Cheese Farmer.

R&G Cheese Makers, photo by Pattie Garrett

The cheeses are made from goat, sheep, and cow milk. They include soft chevres, camemberts, cheddars, mozzarellas, manchegos, blue cheeses, and more.

Artisan cheesemakers such as Flanagan, Argyle’s Marge Randles, and R&G owner Sean O’Connor draw on historic customs to create cheeses with minimal machinery. Often, recipes are unique to the cheesemaker and evolve over years.

For instance, Dave Randles’s favorite cheese – Mercy – evolved out of a recipe that Marge found in an old British cookbook, accompanied by several farmstead processes for making cheddar cheese.

Nettle Meadow, photo by Pattie Garrett

Flanagan notes that many Nettle Meadow cheeses are complicated to make. “Those complexities make them stand out.”

One favorite – Briar Summit – is made with goat, cow and sheep milk with raspberry leaf tea and cream added in. The ratios of milk vary by season. Two cultures plus a coagulant create the cheese.

“After two hours, the curd is cut and then we wait an additional two hours to pour the cheese by hand into pyramid molds,” Flanagan says. “The next morning, we flip the molds and let the cheese fall out of them and place them on a tray where they travel down to the again cellar to rest for two days.”

Flanagan applies salt and a a mold powder to help ripen and flavor the cheese. She turns it every few days while it ages.

Flanagan says, “It is a true cheesemaker’s cheese.”

 

This week’s recipe: Farmstead Macaroni & Cheese

Filed Under: Featured Article, homepage feature, News Tagged With: Argyle Cheese Farmer, cheese, cheesemakers, cheesemaking, cow, craft, crafting, craftsman, goat, milk, Nettle Meadow, producing, production, R&G Cheese, sheep

Reader Interactions

Before Footer

Instagram

Produce from some of our amazing agriculture vendo Produce from some of our amazing agriculture vendors at today’s market!
Attention granola lovers!! Today is National Grano Attention granola lovers!! Today is National Granola Day. In honor of this, all sales with our friends from @toganola are 10% off this Saturday only! Their granola products are packaged in sustainable packaging and free of gluten, dairy & soy. 

Our winter market runs today from 9:3-1:30 in the Wilton Mall food court. Hope you can make it!

Photo of and provided by @toganola 

#saratogasprings #saratogafarmersmarket #farmersmarket #granola #toganola #thingstodoinupstateny #organic #shopsmall #shoplocal #nationalgranoladay
Our new 2023 Freshconnect $2 coupons arrived today Our new 2023 Freshconnect $2 coupons arrived today! For every $5 you spend using your SNAP/EBT card at our market, receive $2 in coupons. FreshConnect bucks can be used to buy: vegetables, meat, milk, eggs, honey, baked items, jams, plants that bear food, and prepared foods that are packed to eat at home. Plus, there’s no cap on issuance! Stop by our information stand to learn more. We’ll be open 9:30-1:30 tomorrow. ❄️🌾

#freshconnect #snap #ebt #nutrition #health #agriculture #shoplocal #shopssmall #farmtotable #saratogasprings #saratogafarmersmarket #farmersmarket #thingstodoinupstateny @wilton_mall_leasing
Interested in growing your business? Farmers’ ma Interested in growing your business? Farmers’ markets are a great way to start networking and finding your customer base. For 45 years, the Saratoga Farmers’ Market has provided a platform for local farmers, artisans, bakers and more build their businesses into what they are today. If you’d like to join our community, please submit your 2023 Summer Vendor application. The link can be found in our bio. Last day to apply is January 31st. DM us here or email me at sfma.manager@gmail.com with any questions!! 

#farmersmarket #startup #smallbusiness #shoplocal #entrepreneur #community #saratogasprings #thingstodoinupstateny #growyourbusiness

Footer

With support from our friends at:

Copyright © 2023 · Saratoga Farmers Market · Design by REACH CREATIVE

    COVID-19: Check our latest Safety Guidelines!
  • Markets
    • Our Markets
  • Vendors
    • Vendor Directory
    • Becoming a Vendor
  • About Us
    • SFM Association
    • History
  • Programs
    • SNAP/EBT & FMNP
    • POP Club for Kids
    • Summer Internships
    • Compost Collection
  • Get Involved
  • News
    • Featured Article
    • Seasonal Recipes
    • Weekly Newsletter
  • FAQ
  • Contact us
    • Message us!