Holy Cow (no pun intended) it’s been hot and we usually don’t start next year’s production this soon but, as it turns out, we’re already running out of Doorstop so it’s time to get ourselves in gear and start the process.
Our summer schedules are such that sometimes that we can’t both be present when we have the opportunity to make cheese. This was one of those days. So while I was off at the Polson Farmer’s Market, Joe got to cheese alone. With just the two of us, this makes for a long hot day.
It starts at 5 am down in the Creamery, getting the hot water from the Solar storage tank into the base of the vat. A drive down the valley to the Dairy to collect milk and back brings the clock to just after 9 am. Pasteurization and cool down move us into early afternoon when we finally get to start making cheese! While all this is going on, the traveling tank gets cleaned, customers are cheesed, and there is an attempt to do other odd tasks on the ‘to do’ list. Once the cheese process is complete and the vat is cleaned, it’s somewhere around 6 to 8 pm, depending on the type of cheese made. And that is just the first day in the life of the cheeses.
Much like our lovely friend Izzy, cheese needs to be nurtured and tended to regularly to come out to be something to be proud of. She’s a grand lady and a perfect metaphor for how much time and attention we give our cheeses.
Here’s to a new season of cheese making. While this post is a bit behind (stressing how life is around here) the goal is to keep up with all the makes this season. Hope they’re worth reading!
Cheers, Wendi and Joe