My Paris trip was an amazing adventure, not exclusively because of all the cheeses I logged into my palate memory (mostly raw milk cheeses unavailable in Australia), not even because it was my first time in my spiritual homeland of gastronomy, but mostly because of the people it was my good fortune to meet. Sue Sturman’s Makers and Mongers Paris program truly over delivering on putting this Melbourne cheesemonger in the presence of cheese industry greats. Enchanté !
Cheese folk are my favourite people; they are interested in natural land management, animal welfare, they have a healthy obsession with the relationship between bacteria and cleanliness, they have a sense of history, they are curious, voracious learners of all things fromage, their enthusiasm and culinary passion vibrate in the very fibre of their being, they have Joie de vivre!
It was my third day in Paris that I met Mateo Kehler, all the other students (see – curious, voracious learners) were from the USA. There was a bit of fan girl action happening when they sighted Mateo, as for me… I didn’t know who he was and had never heard his name, but I had heard of Jasper Hill Farm. By happy coincidence there is a Jasper Hill Vineyard in Heathcote Victoria (they make a damn fine drop), I recollect meeting Georgia, as in “Georgia’s Paddock” a million years ago in kitchen time when she did a stint as a dishie, I could be wrong and I digress. In my cheese learnings I had occasion to google Jasper Hill to clear up the confusion in my mind between the wine maker and cheese making. Upon seeing that Jasper Hill Cheese was in America, I filed it under “soft cheese that isn’t available here ”
Meeting Mateo in Paris, I found myself presented with an unassuming gentleman who looks like he would be more at home in a farm paddock; he has a warmth about him and speaks with a gentle thoughtfulness.
Our group had the pleasure of Mateo’s company for a good part of the day as we visited the best fromageries in Paris, discussions as we indulged in coffee and croissants and then again at lunch.
I wish I could recall verbatim what was said, by this point I was already in the midst of information overload however the gist was about producing something meaningful and excellent quality whilst grappling with realities of costings and alike. In short; how heart & art meshed into actualities. He also gave me a heads up that a couple of Jasper Hill Farm soft cheeses would be making their way to Australia! Hell Yeah!!!
I have the pleasure of presenting three Jasper Hill Farm cheeses at Bill’s Farm Queen Victoria Market. We have chosen to stock:
Little Hosmer - small format bloomy rind.
“LITTLE HOSMER is a Jasper Hill Creamery original, our mini version of a new world-style brie. This cheese is named for a small pond in nearby Craftsbury, Vermont. Little Hosmer Pond is adjacent to Great Hosmer Pond, both favorite destinations for rowing, swimming, fishing and cross-country skiing after a long day of cheesemaking. Naming this little cheese after a Northeast Kingdom gem ties out our quest for meaningful work in a place that we love.
Little Hosmer is an approachable and nuanced soft ripened cheese. Beneath its thin, bloomy-rind lies a gooey, milky core showing a complex array of flavors at peak ripeness: cauliflower, crème fraiche, and toasted nuts. A bright, clean finish with a hint of white mushroom aroma follows the rich flavors of the paste”
Harbison –Bark-wrapped Bloomy Rind
“HARBISON is named for Anne Harbison, affectionately known as the grandmother of Greensboro. Along with breathtaking views, traditions and people are part of what makes Vermont's working landscape special; we're proud to honor Ms. Harbison's contribution with this cheese.
Harbison is a soft-ripened cheese with a rustic, bloomy rind. Young cheeses are wrapped in strips of spruce cambium, the tree's inner bark layer, harvested from the woodlands of Jasper Hill. The spoonable texture begins to develop in our vaults, though the paste continues to soften on the way to market. Harbison is woodsy and sweet, balanced with lemon, mustard, and vegetal flavors.”
Willoughby – washed rind
“WILLOUGHBY is an original creation of Marisa Mauro’s Ploughgate Creamery, a Cellars collaborator that ceased production of the cheese after a creamery fire in 2011. With Marisa’s blessing, we resurrect this pudgy little washed-rind and have continued to develop the recipe at Jasper Hill Creamery.
This succulent and buttery washed-rind cheese has aromas of peat, roasted beef, and onions – a strong and complex front for the subtle milky, herbal, ripe-peach flavors within. Willoughby has a thin, tender, rosy-orange rind, which adds earthy dimension to the texture and flavors of the gooey interior”
[Descriptions taken from Jasper Hill Farm website]
Jasper Hill Farm
Mateo and his brother Andy, along with their wives Angie and Victoria, threw every cent they had into Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, Vermont. Then they worked their derrieres off for 5 long years to turn what was only an old barn into a model for small-scale dairy farms. Sticking to their principles of creating something meaningful and using a concept of “Value added agriculture” (‘the practice of transforming a raw material like milk into something more valuable before it leaves the farm”), milk isn’t the only thing transformed, “the old Jasper Hill Farm”, as the locals referred to it, has metamorphosed into a place that makes and refines world class cheese.
Regenerative agriculture serves as the foundation for quality animal welfare and spectacular milk. As much care is taken in growing grass, cutting and drying hay for winter months, as in the creameries making the cheese.
The story wouldn’t be complete without the mention of the cellars at Jasper Hill Farm, purpose built 22,000 sq foot of 7 separate climate controlled underground vaults that fan out from the centre called the Ellipse, where all the processing and packing is undertaken.
If you can't get to Vermont, eating one of Jasper Hill Farm's amazing cheeses will transport you. Terroir "a taste of place".
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