Welcome to the Artisan Cheesemaking discussion forum!

As a cheesemaker myself, I am thrilled to have a new online resource for cheesemakers. Cheesemaking is challenging and rewarding – without a community of cheesemakers and ready resources, it can also be isolating. With the Minnesota Sustainable Farming Association, I hope to help create a useful network of internet resources, online discussion, and a forum for new and experienced cheesemakers.

I will share with you my experiences and challenges in cheesemaking with the hope that we can cultivate a vibrant and growing cheesemaking community in Minnesota. I invite you to post your cheesemaking questions, comments, or links to other resources on the SFA-MN Discussion Forum under Artisan Cheesemaking.

I hope that you will use this site and the related resources to learn more and to try your hand at cheesemaking. Whether you make cheese in your kitchen for your family or incorporate cheesemaking into your existing dairy enterprise, you can enjoy the rewards of cheesemaking.

Welcome to the community of cheesemakers!

Jodi

Jodi Ohlsen Read
Shepherd’s Way Farms

Click here to visit the SFA Artisan Cheesemaking Forum moderated by Jodi.

Join the revival of American artisan cheesemaking

America is enjoying a revival of the time-honored craft of artisan cheesemaking. Over the past several years, American artisan cheese has claimed its place in cheese cases at co-ops, upscale and specialty stores and at farmers’ markets. The American Cheese Society has seen astounding growth in the number and variety of American artisan cheeses entered in its annual competition and in the number of members.

Around the country, artisan cheesemakers are emerging with cheeses that rival, and even top, European classics. Small scale or tiny, farmers’ market-focused or regional, artisan cheesemakers are a growing presence in the cheese world.

Artisan cheesemaking can be a great fit for sustainable farming. As a value-added component of a sustainable farming plan, cheesemaking can be another step in the holistic cycle of land to food. And, with increasing public focus on buying local food, Minnesota artisan cheese is a welcome addition.

Minnesota has many of the resources necessary to foster new artisan cheesemakers – beautiful, fertile land; growing numbers of sustainable farms; a tradition of dairy (cow, goat, and sheep); a history of cheesemaking education and technical support; and a legacy of innovators and hard work.

Now, as our neighbors in Wisconsin have demonstrated, technology and skill can be shared to nurture and inspire cheesemakers. We challenge you to try your hand at cheesemaking, explore the tantalizing variety of American artisan cheeses, and join the growing community of American artisan cheesemaking.

Inspiring Cheesemakers – New and Experienced

Making your first batch of cheese can be intimidating. Planning and training to make cheese professionally or as your sole or supplemental income is even more daunting.

Help is here – On this website hope to provide a collection of basic cheesemaking information and links to other resources. Here you will be able to ask questions through the online discussion forum or search for the topics that interest you.

Find discussion and resources for getting started, supplies and ingredients, equipment, classes and training, regulations, business planning, and problem solving. Through this interactive site, tell us what you need, share what you have learned, and be inspired by others.

Community of Cheesemakers

Minnesota artisan cheesemakers are few and far between. But, we are a growing part of a larger community of cheesemakers. Next door, Wisconsin is home to many artisan and farmstead cheesemakers. Throughout the United States, artisan cheesemakers can be found with larger clusters in several states including Vermont, California, Washington, and others.

Cheesemakers are a diverse and eclectic group, making up a creative and driven community dedicated to producing quality cheese. You are welcomed into the community of cheesemakers and will find several opportunities to participate.

Minnesota Farmstead Cheesemakers In the News

Defining Artisan Cheese

Artisan cheese falls under the general heading of specialty cheese, according to industry lingo. Specialty cheese has unique qualities including exotic origin (sheep or goat milk for instance), special processing (handcrafted, traditional techniques, on-farm production), design, limited supply, unusual application, and/or extraordinary packaging or sale channel. A category of specialty cheese, artisan cheese is produced in small batches, primarily by hand, often using traditional production and aging techniques. Farmstead cheese is artisan cheese produced on a farm using only milk from the farms’ herd/flock.

Looking for More Information?

A wide array of resources can be found on the internet, ranging from home-based recipes and kits, equipment sites, to detailed scientific resources and cheesemaker’s organizations. We will list a sampling of sites that have proven useful. This list will continue to grow, so check back frequently. Please feel free to send in sites that you have enjoyed [add link to discussion group here].

General Information and Resources

Small Dairy resources, including books, classes, equipment
www.smalldairy.com

Wisconsin Specialty Cheese
www.wisspecialcheese.com

Wisconsin Dairy Artisan
www.wisconsindairyartisan.com

Supplies & Information

New England Cheesemaking Supply
www.cheesemaking.com
413-628-3808

Dairy Connection (Wisconsin)
www.dairyconnection.com
608-242-9030

Glengarry Dairy & Cheesemaking Supplies
www.glengarrycheesemaking.on.ca
613-525-3133

Danlac Canada Inc.
www.danlac.com
403-948-4644

Farmstead Dairy Requirements

In Minnesota, cheesemakers are not required to complete a cheesemaking licensing program (as in Wisconsin). However, to process fluid milk into cheese or butter on-farm, a Minnesota Department of Agriculture license is required. Farmstead cheese producers are also required to register with the FDA and are inspected by a separate FDA official. Compliance with the guidelines helps ensure that cheesemakers are producing cheese in clean and safe environments.

As the artisan cheesemaking industry grows, state Departments of Agriculture and the FDA are also learning more about farmstead cheese practices and techniques. It is useful to learn about licensing issues and challenges, current research supporting practices (the use of raw milk, for example), to help support methods you incorporate in your own cheesemaking. As members of the artisan cheesemaking industry, it is important for individual cheesemakers to create healthful cheese, following safe production practices.

To learn more about Minnesota requirements, please visit these sites:

Minnesota Department of Agriculture
www.mda.state.mn.us/dairyfood

USDA Guidelines
www.ams.usda.gov/dairy/manufmlk.pdf

FDA Inspection Guidelines
www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/inspect.html

HACCP (Hazardous Analysis of Critical Control Points)
www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/haccp.html

Classes

Cheesemaking classes range from one-day, hands on classes to comprehensive week-long courses. Wisconsin offers many cheesemaking and related classes (sanitation, for example). Other courses, such as business plan development sessions, will also be useful. The following sites are focused on cheesemaking:

University of Wisconsin, River Falls
Basic Cheesemaking
Renee May
715-425-3702
www.uwrf.edu/food-science/cheese.htm

University of Wisconsin, Madison
608-263-2015
www.wisc.edu/foodsci/courses.html#continuing

Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese
200 Carrigan Building
University of Vermont
Burlington VT 05405 -0044
802-656-8300

A variety of other classes are available around the country. Most are published on the website www.smalldairy.com or on the American Cheese Society website.