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cheesemaking

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

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Today is the day for the Monday Market! Start you Today is the day for the Monday Market!

Start your week with us in Clifton Park from 2 pm to 5 pm for fresh produce and great finds. 

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Here we are….it’s officially fall! Check out Here we are….it’s officially fall!  Check out this week’s recipe at our site and head over to grab the fresh products at the market to give it a try…

What’s happening at the market today? We have live entertainment as you wander, explore and discover …

Saratoga Farmers’ market 9 am to 1 pm

Pumpkin Painting 11 am to 1 pm

Saratoga Pumpkin Festival 11 am to 4 pm

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Market days are some of the best days and we are h Market days are some of the best days and we are here for it from 9 AM to 1 PM this Saturday at High Rock Park.  This week is extra special as we celebrate the Pumpkin Fest. 

Here's the schedule:

9 am to 1 pm Saratoga Farmers' Market
11 am to 1 pm Pumpkin Painting
11 am to 4 pm Giant Pumpkin Festival

Learn more here: https://www.saratogafarmersmarket.org/celebrating-fall-at-the-8th-annual-pumpkinfest/

This is a collaborative effort with Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce and @saratogacitycenter 

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