Sheep are part of the team at Blackeyed Susan Sheep Dairy. Photo courtesy of Blackeyed Susan’s.
Local producers partnering to build a thriving cheese culture
“I DIDN’T KNOW NEW HAMPSHIRE MADE CHEESE.”
At the most recent Cheese Guild meeting, everyone commiserated: “Yeah, I get that all the time.”
New Hampshire is known for marching to the beat of its own drum, yet our renewed cheese industry is often met with surprise. In the last five years, the guild has been in the process of reinventing itself—taking stock of new and active creameries while exploring ways to give the state’s cheese culture the recognition it deserves.
Across New Hampshire, each producer has its own story. In Mont Vernon, Blackeyed Susan is retrofitting a 225-plus-year-old farm into the state’s only licensed sheep dairy. In New Boston, Peter Kress started Swallow Ridge Farm after 16 years making cheeses sold across Hannaford stores in Maine. In Marlborough, a theater set designer and animator returned to their home state to build Bending Branch Farm and goat dairy. Each one of these creameries has started in the last five years and is looking to grow.
Cheesemaking can be a tough business, especially when you’re also running a farm and milking operation. There are two competing skill sets: one dominated by mud, manure, and nutrition; the other by sanitation, flavor profiles, and maintaining a hospital-like production environment. At Blackeyed Susan, husband-and-wife team Matt Gelbwaks and Julie Whitcomb split the tasks. Julie makes the cheeses and helps new lambs find their mothers, while Matt experiments with Autumn Olive Gelato and expands his colossal breeding spreadsheet.
Coming together as a guild may seem counterintuitive. Creameries are often competing for spots at farmers markets, grocery store shelves, and on restaurant menus. Yet together they help each other grow in a financially tough (and sometimes lonely) specialty industry. Internally, the cheesemakers share leads on equipment, how to price their products for wholesale, and best practices for sampling at markets. Externally, the Cheese Guild wants to bring more people into the fold. When cheese lovers recognize New Hampshire as a place with expertise and creativity, more room opens up for producers to carve out their niche.
SO, WHAT SHOULD YOU LOOK FOR?
The New Hampshire Cheese Guild is small, but the need is big. There are roughly 10 producers across the state with four currently collaborating on the future of the guild. It only takes one outstanding cheese experience to open people’s minds to New Hampshire’s potential. Here are a few places to start:
CORE CHEESES
New Boston Cheddar from Swallow Ridge Farm: A classic, 60-day aged cheddar with a mild, slightly buttery taste. A beautifully meltable cooking cheese that won’t overpower recipes. Also available in a 6-month sharp or 9-month aged extra sharp with a nuttier, tangier taste and crumbly consistency. Perfected over Peter’s 16-plus years of making cheese in Maine. (Available at the Concord and Candia farmers markets and online at swallowridgefarm.com)
Montchego from Blackeyed Susan Sheep Dairy: Julie Whitcomb’s interpretation of Spain’s classic nutty, fruity, and tangy Manchego. A staple for cheese boards and natural entry point for anyone venturing into the world of sheep dairy. (Available at the Peterborough Farmers Market, at the Haverhill, Wakefield, and Lexington farmers markets in Massachusetts, and at Blackeyed Susan’s on-farm shop in Mont Vernon.)
UNIQUELY NEW HAMPSHIRE CHEESES
Maple Chèvre from Bending Branch Farm: A standout favorite from Megan Baptiste-Field balancing the farm’s fresh, light, and tart goat’s milk chèvre with the hearty brown sugar notes of local maple syrup. (Available seasonally at the Keene, Peterborough, and Brattleboro (VT) farmers markets, the Blackfire Farm Store in Greenfield, and the Monadnock Food Co-op in Keene.)
Copper Kettle Swiss from Swallow Ridge Farm: You have to see this kettle to believe it. A five-foot-wide circular vat lined with copper and producing a single, 200-pound wheel of Swiss cheese. The complex fermentation that yields “eyes” (holes) in Swiss cheese makes this a challenging cheese to master. Peter Kress’s process yields a distinct caramel and fruit flavor profile while preserving this unique historical process. (Available in special batches.)
Bootleg Ice Cream from Little Red Hen: Not cheese, but deserving of an honorable mention due to Jill Fudala’s role in shaping state laws around raw goat dairy. Bootleg ice cream is made from a mixture of goat and cow’s milk plus a wide variety of mix-in toppings. (Available exclusively at the Little Red Hen store in Pittsfield, New Hampshire.)
THE NEW HAMPSHIRE CHEESE GUILD
The guild isn’t just for makers! One of the most impactful actions shoppers can take is requesting specific farm products from local grocers. If you find a cheese you like, let people know. Learn more at nhcheeseguild.com.
Blackeyed Susan Sheep Dairy
26 Old Milford Rd., Mont Vernon
blackeyedsusansheepdairy.com
Swallow Ridge Farm
170 South Hill Rd., New Boston
swallowridgefarm.com
Bending Branch Farm
65 Richardson Rd., Marlborough
bendingbranchfarm.com
Little Red Hen Farm & Market
85 Norris Rd., Pittsfield
littleredhenfarm.net
