Matt’s Cheese Notes

From Head Cheesemaker Matt Spiegler

Cheese is more than just food: it serves as a vessel for communicating the essence of the farm and the animals, humans, soils, and plants that make a unique connection to the larger ecosystem that holds it all. Each wheel of cheese starts with the sun and rain that feed the grasses that sustain the cows, who transform grass into milk. It then undergoes the alchemy of the cheesemaking process in the vat, mingling with the cultures and being shaped by the hands of the cheesemakers. Next comes the move to the cave where a further transmutation occurs as the native cultures dwelling in the cave take up residence on the wheels. Every element in the process contributes to the ripened form that delights the palates of those who finally enjoy it. Whether we recognize it by the French concept of “terroir, or “soul”, or “microbiome”, cheese is a living, evolving organism that expresses far more than just flavor and texture in every bite.

The challenge — and pleasure — of cheesemaking is in finding ways to communicate and honor all of that while engaged in the day-to-day physical and mental work required to keep the creamery and cave humming and the individual cheese wheels cared for.