Our Summer 2010 issue features three profiles (p. 34 by Linda L. Meierhoffer) of cheesemakers who have adopted green practices in the pursuit of their craft, but many more people in the dairy and cheese industry are going green than we could ever feature in the pages of our magazine. The video clips below, produced by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, provide a glimpse into more ways the dairy industry continues to innovate, and we hope to continue featuring stories that highlight the connection between small producers and sustainable agriculture. If you know of a story that we should feature, please write to the web editor eilis@culturecheesemag.com.

Following in the tradition of regional cheesemaker guilds that have sprung up across North America, the first American-based cheesemongers guild has recently been created. In honor of the new fellowship, organizers have assembled nine teams of prominent cheesemongers from across the U.S. who will test their considerable mongering skills against one another in New York City on June 26th. The cheese lover’s equivalent of Iron Chef, the event is open to the public. Entry fees cover viewing the live competition as well as enjoying copious amounts of cheese, charcuterie, beer, and wine. Details are still emerging as of this writing, but more information is available at www.cheesemongersguild.com.

In April, hundreds of students from universities across the U.S. and Canada proved the future of the dairy industry is in good hands. At the ninth annual North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge, hosted by California Polytechnic State University and California State University–Fresno, 120 students on 30 teams competed to apply theory and learning to real-world dairy issues. At the challenge, teams received

For anyone seriously contemplating their own small- scale dairy and cheesemaking operation, The Farmstead Creamery Advisor: The Complete Guide to Building and Running a Small, Farm-Based Cheese Business (Chelsea Green Publishing, May 2010) by cheesemaker Gianaclis Caldwell of Pholia Farm in Oregon is a must-read. As its title implies, the book fi lls a vital gap in the cheese world's library by offering practical and firsthand advice on key aspects of establishing and operating a small farm-based creamery. Caldwell covers business structure, finances, layout and design, animal husbandry, and marketing as well as ways to increase the bottom line. Crucially, she also asks some searching questions designed to get would-be farmstead cheesemakers thinking about their suitability for such a rigorous lifestyle before investing a dime. Writing with levity and in a no-nonsense approach, Caldwelloffers advice that readers can truly count on.

Patricia Michelson’s stunning hardcover Cheese: Exploring Taste and Tradition (Gibbs Smith, May 2010) captures the world of small-scale cheese production around the globe with vivid images and stories of more than 450 signature cheeses and their producers. Michelson, owner of the renowned London cheese shop La Fromagerie, is passionate and knowledgeable on the subject as she explores the cultural, migratory, and geographical influences that have determined styles of cheese production.

Significantly, this is the first publication by a non-American cheese expert to recognize—and salute—the work and paradigm shift among U.S. and Canadian cheesemakers. Michelson, who devotes considerable
print real estate to this section by covering more than 150 New World cheeses, tells of how North American producers are developing individual styles while embracing traditional roots. Although the

By the fifth page of Eric LeMay’s new book, Immortal Milk: Adventures in Cheese (Free Press, June 2010), one might start rethinking plans for the rest of the day; this memoir is just too fun and smart to put down. Better to get comfy instead and join cheese amateur LeMay and his best girl, Chuck, on their freewheeling experiences near and far. The author is a consummate storyteller, offering readers a detailed account of every situation matched with pithy commentary. Part rhapsody, part comic rant, each chapter takes amusing, unpredictable turns as the couple travels from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Bra, Italy, and along many dairyland back roads in search of cheese truths. The result is a literary joy ride that is both informative and insightful, engaging readers through a unique appreciation for “the sparks that fl y between the enthusiast’s love and the expert’s knowledge” of cheese.

Cheese chicanery fascinates me. Last issue, it was thievery, murder, and smuggling that I ruminated about. This time around, I’ve been preoccupied with a similar subject: the cheese doppelganger.
“Imitation” has a lot of negative connotations for culture readers, but there’s plenty to be said for the practice. Wasn’t Mimolette just a French rip-off of Dutch Edam? Supposedly, Louis XIV wanted to get around a Dutch cheese embargo, so he commissioned a knockoff. And let’s face it, the American cheese industry is built on this sort of thing; it’s how we get “Camembert” from Vermont and “Cheddar” from Wisconsin. Appellation d'origine contrôlée be damned; first we imitate, then we innovate.

Sign up for chores at Quillisascut Farm School, where hard work is celebrated

The 33 goats of eastern Washington’s Quillisascut Farm assemble at the milking parlor in a line that would put most first graders to shame.

Co-owner Rick Misterly calls for many by name before he and his wife, cheesemaker Lora Lea, get down to business. I grew up raising dairy goats, but watching this twice-daily ritual during the week I spent with the Misterlys reminded me that farming is a profoundly personal undertaking.

In a revival of community spirit, a farmer, his flock, and an entourage of well-wishers ascend the Pyrénées together toward greener pastures.

Back in the 1990s I moved to the French Pyrénées from the United Kingdom, where I had studied photojournalism. And there I found these mountains, rising as high as 10,000 feet, full of stories just waiting to be told.

For centuries, farmers herded their animals up and down the mountains to different pastures each spring and fall, a journey they call the transhumance. After the Second World War, trucks gradually replaced the traditional ways of moving livestock, and young people left the mountain valleys for jobs in towns. The countryside was becoming a museum.

“Home cheesemaking” sounds like an epic endeavor, and indeed, it’s slightly more involved than popping a Hot Pocket in the microwave for a midnight snack. The results, however, are infinitely more exciting than a grease-leaking instant meal and will wow the socks off your friends. Opening a cheesemaking book, you’ll find that you probably don’t have all the necessary equipment lying around the kitchen. Here’s where you gear up with the basics! Peruse our suggested must-have tools, visit
one of our recommended suppliers, and begin your home cheesemaking adventure with an advantage.

1. Sanitizer or Iodine
Cheesemaking should be a sterilized affair, and a bottle of sanitizer or iodine goes a long way. Keep your tools clean and your milk and eventual cheese free of unwanted bacteria for a happy result.

2. Calcium Chloride