LOCALadk Magazine

50 Spring 2020 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk Mankind may have stumbled onto the science and art of cheese-making by accident around 8000 BC . Nomadic travelers would store milk for their journey in the linings of animal stomachs that contained natural rennet. The combination of heat and motion of the animal separated the curds and whey, leaving primitive cheese as a staple protein. Over the centuries that followed, an understanding of science provided opportunities for greater control over the process and the outcomes, but basically, the methods used in making cheese today are not dissimilar from those early days. Cheese is one of nature's great gifts. From humble beginnings as milk, the addition of rennet (a coagulant), salt, and bacteria opens the door for a limitless variety of delicious products that change the process of eating into a wonderful experience. "Cheese is milk's leap toward immortality." - Clifton Fadiman There are many categories of cheese, from soft-fresh cheeses such as feta, mascarpone, and crème fraiche, to soft-rip- ened varieties like Brie, Camembert, and Tomme; blue-vein cheese like Stilton, blue, and Gorgonzola; semi-soft such as fon- tina and Muenster; semi-hard varieties that include cheddars of various ages; and hard cheeses such as Parmesan and dr y jack. Each cheese begins with similar ingredients, and then transitions to its unique character through the type of bacteria introduced, how that bacteria is introduced, the conditions utilized in aging (the "affinage"), the way the cheese is handled, and the length of time that the cheese-maker allows the magic of aging to take place. In the end, the result is a wonderfully complex food whose flavor is derived from the type of animal from where the milk originates, what the animal's diet was composed of, the process as stated above, and the care with which the cheese-maker approaches his or her craft. The Adirondacks' four seasons makes it evermore challenging for any type of farming— especially when livestock is in- volved. Milk requires an animal that is lactating, thus management of the birth cycle is critical. Some animals will not mate during winter months, limiting the farmer's ability to maintain a steady source of a cheese's foundation ingredient. Add to this the need to age many cheeses for months or longer, and it is easy to see how challenging it might be to earn a living as a cheese-maker. The dair y industr y in the United States has been challenged over the past few decades by price controls on fluid milk and the need to constantly grow herd sizes just to make ends meet. As a result, more and more passionate dair y farmers are moving back to farmstead operations that produce milk and make byproducts entirely on site. When they can avoid selling milk to large co-ops, and produce milk byproducts that have an extended shelf life, while drawing higher market prices, then a farmer can begin to see their operation turn a profit. There are a growing number of farmstead cheese-makers who are making a home in the Adirondacks and in the process help to change the culinar y landscape of the Park. These cheese-makers are passionate, business savvy, and oftentimes career-changing professionals with a love of the land, the animals that graze their properties, and the craft that demands their full attention. Their work is a celebration of a centuries-old subsistence livelihood that is beholding to a time-tested process. Within the Adirondack High Peaks there are three prominent cheese-makers who are at the forefront of a Park cheese rev- olution. Their products can be found in gourmet shops, health food stores, and a variety of restaurants intent on featuring locally made food products, and in some cases, in shops on their respective farms. Inside The World of Adirondack Cheesemakers By Paul Sorgule

• Cover