Have you experienced that peaceful feeling of waking up at dawn, when the world is still quiet and full of promise? That’s how each morning milking for a cheesemaking day begins at Clover Creek Cheese Cellar.
Before you’ve even poured your first cup of coffee, Dave is pulling on his rubber boots and heading out to greet the girls in the misty morning air.
There’s something magical about those early hours.
When the grass is still heavy with dew and our cows are softly lowing, ready for their morning milking.
He always stops to scratch behind the ears of Holly.
Our oldest Milking Shorthorn cow, she’s been with us for thirteen years now.
She’s taught many of our younger cows the rhythm of farm life.
You might notice our farm looks a bit different from others you’ve seen.
Instead of confined feeding areas, our pastures stretch out as far as you can see dotted with cows contentedly grazing.
Each morning, these gentle creatures make their way from their favorite sleeping spots to our milking parlor.
It’s a path they’ve walked thousands of times.
Our once-a-day milking philosophy might seem unusual, but we’ve learned to trust nature’s wisdom.
Happy cows that spend more time grazing produce richer, better milk.
When we collect their milk each morning, it’s still warm and sweet – nature’s perfect recipe for the artisanal cheese your family will enjoy.
From the milking parlor, their precious gift travels just a few steps to our cheese vat.
No long journeys, no middlemen – just pure, farm-fresh goodness.
As the morning sun climbs higher, the morning milking wraps up.
Now it’s my turn to prepare the milk for cheesemaking.
I carefully blend the cold milk we’ve saved from previous days with today’s fresh, warm milk.
All of it must warm up to just the right temperature (90F) for the cultures to begin growing.
If you’re curious about what happens next in our cheese journey, you’re in luck!
This is the second post in our “Making Cheese” series.
Join us next month when we dive into the fascinating world of cheese cultures – those tiny microorganisms that work their magic to transform this perfect milk into the complex, flavorful cheese you love to share with your family.
The next time you share our cheese with friends at a dinner party or add it to your family’s favorite recipe, know that it carries the story of our morning dew, happy cows, and generations of farming wisdom.
So when you taste that subtle complexity in our cheese, you’re tasting the morning mist, the sweet grass, and the contentment of cows who spend their days exactly as nature intended.
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