Some of you may already know, but I have a dream of one day retiring on a goat dairy, making cheese. I have to admit up until a few days ago I had never actually visited one. We were visiting the Finger Lakes, in New York for my sister-in-law’s wedding and decided to do a little cheese tasting.
We visited Lively Run Goat Dairy first. We were graciously led on a barn tour by farm owner and cheese maker Pete and then enjoyed the most amazing cheese tasting. Piper absolutely loved the goats, and adored the cheeses! My absolutely favorite cheese was a soft cheese called Edelweiss. The Seneca Blue was also divine. The farm is run “old school” using original equipment from the 50’s, and we definitely felt parallels with letterpress. It was enlightening seeing all that goes into caring for the animals, and getting the milk. You can actually spend just as much time getting the milk as you do making the cheese!
We did a tasting at Finger Lakes Farmstead Cheese Co., a cow dairy, and Tom showed us the behind the scenes of his cheese making. I am definitely still dreaming about that aging room. Sigh!! My favorite cheeses here were the Schuyler and the Red Meck. It was interesting to see two totally different farms and how they make cheese so differently. I can’t wait to do a cheese tour like this in Sonoma! The dream continues…
