Maine cheesemakers now craft exciting new and traditional cheeses from on-farm or local goat, sheep, and cow milk that truly reflects the season and region of their creation: tangy goats cheese pyramids that crumble on the tongue; sharp full-bodied aged cheeses made from sheep, cows, and goats milk; delicate scoops of fresh cheese mixed with herbs; rustic blue cheeses; creamy cheese discs marinated in olive oil.
Farmers' Markets, shops and restaurants around Maine now feature these and other handmade cheeses that that "...rival the best of any cheeses produced in Europe" according to DownEast Magazine, while The New York Times recently declared that "New England has become the most important center of American cheese craft east of California. While California has more sunshine, New England has better grass -- the finest pasture land in the country, some say."
But don't take their word for it, find out for yourself at the third annual Maine Cheese and Wine Festival at the Samoset Resort in Rockport on Saturday, October 15th. This celebration will feature tastes of all Maine's premium cheeses and wines, seminars about Maine cheesemaking and cheesemakers, plus demonstrations of how to make fresh and delicious products with Maine's abundant and high quality milk. This year Maine's wine makers will join the festivities, highlighting their growing industry and products, as well as offering advice on the proper pairing of wine and cheese.
Many of Maine's premier and award winning artisan cheesemakers will be on hand to sample and sell their cheese, as well as to answer questions about their artisanal cheeses-- how and where in the state they make them. The Maine cheesemakers will include Silvery Moon Creamery at Smiling Hill Farm from Westbrook; Sunset Acres Farm in Brooksville; 1797 Farm in Auburn; Appleton Creamery in Appleton; State of Maine Cheese Co. in Rockport; Hahn's End in Phippsburg; York Hill Farm in New Sharon; Seal Cove Farm in Lamoine; and more. Maine winemakers will include Winterport Winery, Bartlett Wine, Blacksmith Winery, and Cellar Door Winery.
Live demonstrations on making cheese and other artisanal milk products will include:Cheese and other milk products start with the care and feeding of dairy livestock; the festival will feature examples of these dairy breeds along with the farmers who tend them who will be available to demonstrate husbandry techniques as well as to answer questions.
Cheese can be made from the milk of any animal -- sample milk and cheese from sheep, goats, and cows to compare. There will be antique cheese making tools and fixtures on display to help describe Maine's long history of making cheese, and how the process has changed very little going back hundreds -- and thousands -- of years. Other information, such as books about cheeses and cheesemaking, from beginning to technically advanced, will also be available for browsing and for sale.
On Sunday, October 16, many of the participating cheesemakers and winemakers will host Open Farms, Wineries and Creameries. Festival attendees are invited back to the farm to see how artisan cheeses and wines are made.
The Samoset has made available rooms for a reduced rate for anybody who attends. The Maine Cheese Guild will hold a raffle for several gift baskets of artisanal cheeses to raise funds for the organization, and will have a booth where interested attendees can get information about becoming a member. Historical cheesemaking artifacts will also be on display.
The Maine Cheese Guild was formed in 2003 to promote Maine cheese and cheesemaking, educate cheesemakers and consumers, share resources, and share the joy and art of regional cheese. The Cheese and Wine Festival will introduce consumers to the wide array of cheeses being crafted in Maine.
January 2005
The Maine Cheese Guild is pleased to announce an advanced cheesemaking workshop led by Margaret Morris, scheduled for March 18 & 19, at State of Maine Cheese Co., in Rockport. Margaret is the owner of Glengarry Cheese making and Dairy Supply Co. in Ontario, Canada. She is the author of "The Cheesemakers Manual" and has many years experience leading workshops in Canada and the US.
The first day of the workshop participants will learn to make a soft-ripened ladled cheese (similar to a Selles sur Cher) and a washed rind reblochon type, both typically manufactured on small goat cheese farmstead operations in France. The recipes will be detailed in process, methodology and affinage. Use of multi-molds and current equipment design will be covered.
The second day participants will make a tome-style hard cheese and finish course theory. A discussion and critique on participant's cheese to offer suggestions to improve flavor, appearance, rind development texture aroma, etc.
All topics covered are applicable to cow, goat and sheep milk dairy processing applications. Other topics to be covered include: milk quality, standards and composition; milk standardization and pasteurization; coagulants, type and usage; lactic starters and ripening cultures, applications, usage and products available; cheesemaking process, microbiology and physical processes; measurement of acidity, pH tools and methodology; and grading cheese and storage.
The workshops will run from 9 to 5 each day. Participants will have the opportunity to bring in their own cheese for critique. Margaret will also talk about the equipment line available through Glengarry Supply. The cost of the workshop is $250 for MCG members and $275 for non-members. Please send registration and a non-refundable deposit of $100 to Scott Gardner, Treasurer, MCG. Workshop limited to 20 participants.
-END-