June's Promise

Amelia has done it again! She has made yet another amazing cheese.



June's Promise, named after her 1 yr old son June.



It will be making its debut at tomorrow's Midtown Farmer's Market. Come by and try it!

We think it's great.

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ACS 2009 - Cheese in the Heart of Texas

The ACS (American Cheese Society) conference in Austin was a great opportunity to show off our state and its excellent cheese. I went early last week to participate in the competition judging.

Some 1300 American dairy products (not just cheese, but also butter, yogurt, and cultured cream) were shipped to Austin for careful critique. Volunteers organized the entrants, making sure they were at the proper tasting temperature when they reached the judges.

Half of the 28 judges were designated "technical" judges. These were dairy and cheese experts and scientists. They were each paired with an "aesthetic" judge, who was closer to the consumer side of the cheese world.

("Aesthetic" judge Edouard Damez of Central Market with "technical" partner, Kate Arding of Culture Magazine.)

I was, of course, on the aesthetic side, and had the "feel good" roll of awarding points for the good qualities of each cheese. My technical partner, Dr. Steve Zeng, is a goat and goat cheese expert from Oklahoma. His job was to look for faults and deduct points accordingly.

(Dr. Steve Zeng and me, in our lab coats.)

Each team analyzed the aroma, flavor, texture, and appearance of about 45 cheeses per day. Despite the heavy workload, everyone was very conscientious in their judging, even with the less-than-desirable categories.
(Stephen Corradini of Whole Foods Market bravely faces a block cheddar category.)

The amazingly efficient organizers tallied the scores on the second day and ranked the winners. We then tasted all 88 first places and cast our votes for "Best in Show."

(First place winners lined up for the final round of tasting.)

Even in this elite group, there were clear standouts. The winner?

Rogue River Blue from Oregon.
A raw milk beauty wrapped in grape leaves.

If you can find it, try it!

Cheese capsule lost in space

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/wiltshire/8171619.stm

Amanda's first visit to the Veldhuizen Family Farm and Sand Creek Farm.

Friday, May 22nd at 6am, Tod and I began our journey to the Veldhuizen Family Farm and Sand Creek Farm. A few noteworthy stops were made along the way. In Hico, we visited the Billy the Kid Museum.





Dr Pepper Museum in Dublin. I bought a harmonica at a super cute boutique in Hico, and practiced it on the long drive.



Perfect day.


Finally we arrived at the Veldhuizen Family Farm around noon.



Stuart, Connie, and their son Jesse met us in the cheese shop, I saw the “blue room” where one of my favorites, Bosque Blue, is made. Once we loaded the van with Bosque Blue, Stuart drove Tod and I around their 180-acre farm.



He told us about the cows and their diets. Each cow eats 50 lbs of dry matter a day, which is about 150 lbs of grass. After driving around checking on the cows we headed over to the cave and packed the van with Redneck Cheddar, Greens Creek Gruyere, Stuart’s Special, Texas Gold Cheddar, and Caraway Cheddar.




Meet the Houston Dairymaids mascot, armadillo Sheriff Johnny Law.


Next stop Sand Creek Farm in Cameron.


Sand Creek Farm’s primary product is their grassfed/grain-free raw milk. With this milk Ben makes delicious Gouda.


Ben and I.


Back to Houston after a fun, informative day!