Recently, I lucked into tagging along on a daytrip to Uplands Farm with a few other LTHers. Pigmon had met Uplands' cheesemaker Andy Hatch at an event in Chicago and the 2 of them made a plan for a tour and lunch at the farm. For me, this was an incredible learning experience and a great instance of knowing the right people. Naturally, it was snowing pretty hard on the morning of the trip but after a brief moment of indecision, we decided to brave the elements and make the 200 mile drive to Dodgeville, WI. To say it was well worth it would be a huge understatement . . .
Uplands Farm - Dodgeville, WIAfter we dropped off our stuff, Andy took us on a tour.
The cows at Uplands are not sheltered during the winter. Instead, they develop thick coats and live outside. It was quite a sight when the cows would all start running, as I'm just not accustomed to seeing such large animals moving so fast. Here, of course, they're just standing still.
First stop, the creamery, where the cheesemaking takes place.
Inside the door are several awards. Uplands' Pleasant Ridge Reserve is the only cheese to win the American Cheese Society's annual competition on more than one occasion. It's won the award 3 times.
Here, Andy explains the process of cheesemaking. At Uplands, cheese is only made from milk produced by their own cows. It's never brought in from outside sources. Additionally, Pleasant Ridge Reserve is only produced during months when cows are pastured (essentially May-October). Uplands rotates their cows on 6 separate pastures so that they always have fresh grass to eat during the cheesemaking season. On some days when Andy feels that the milk isn't quite right, it's sold off to neighboring cheese companies.
This steamjacket tank is where salt and enzymes are added to the milk to begin the cheesemaking process. The sides of the tank are steamjacketed and for Pleasant Ridge Reserve, the milk is cooked very slowly within it. The longer a cheese is cooked, the harder it ends up.
These harp knives are used to cut through the curds that form when rennet is added to the milk.
Cheesemaker Andy HatchThe curds and whey are transferred to this tank, where they are pressed (via the large plate above) to separate the whey. The whey is pumped out and fed to the hogs on the farm.
The curds are then transferred to these forms and pressed via pneumatic force.
This is one of Uplands' cheese "caves," which is a temperature-controlled room (~55 F), which is mostly below ground level. Here, the forms are salted and then washed daily with various brine solutions, which helps the cheese first develop its rind and then its distinctive character. Each rack holds one day's entire production. Cheese isn't produced every day during the pasture season because sometimes the milk is just not up to the proper quality.
Pleasant Ridge Reserve at the beginning of its aging process
Pleasant Ridge Reserve at the beginning of its aging process
Pleasant Ridge Reserve at the beginning of its aging process
In the same "cave" as the Pleasant Ridge Reserve, Rush Creek Reserve also ages. It's not cooked at all and because it's made with unpasteurized milk, the Government requires that it's aged for 60 days before it's sold.
This day's production of Rush Creek is a bit further along in the aging process.
The outer form is actually spruce bark, which imparts a lot of character into the cheese.
In another cave, older cheeses continue to age. Andy explained to us that there are 2 major points in the aging process when the flavor really evolves: at 7 months and 18 months (not entirely sure about those times but I think that's what he told us). The oldest cheeses produced at Uplands Farm are labelled as "extra aged." Here, the rack on the left is the 91st batch made during the 2009 season.
Andy explains how important regular tasting is to his art. Because of the way the cows are rotated from pasture to pasture, even cheeses made on consecutive days can have big differences in flavor, texture and appearance.
This device, know as a trier, is used to pull samples from wheels of aging cheeses.
Andy uses the trier to get samples of a cheese for us to taste.
Andy explains the fine art of tasting cheeses in order to determine how they are going to develop further in subsequent months of aging. It's not so much about that moment as much as it's about trying to determine where they're likely to head.
After each sample is drawn, a small plug is reserved, which subsequently gets placed back in the wheel.
After we taste several batches, Andy selects one for us to have with lunch.
Carving up the wheel into wedges
Pleasant Ridge Reserve happens to be one of my all-time favorite cheeses, so this was a very cool moment, seeing it sliced up by the man who actually makes it.
He also -- very generously -- wraps up a wedge for each of us to take home with us.
This is also the shipping counter so rolls of labels are at the ready.
We exit the creamery and continue our tour.
We're off to the barn.
The milking parlor.
Next, we head back to the house for lunch.
Waiting for us there are the still wines brought by Pigmon and the sparkling wine brought REB & RAB. A truly impressive array, in which I was so lucky to partake.
Andy cuts open a wheel of Rush Creek Reserve, which has been warmed in the oven.
We ate this delectably creamy cheese "fondue" style. Not shown here is the previously sliced-up Pleasant Ridge Reserve, which was also part of our lunch.
Hello there!
This apple pie, baked by Andy's wife Caitlin, was a phenomenal finish to our lunch.
I'm grateful to our hosts and also to Pigmon for inviting me to tag along. I learned so much about cheesemaking from the man who makes one of my all-time favorites and I tasted some wines that I never in a million years would have had a chance to try. It really doesn't get any better than this. Wow, what a great day!
=R=
Same planet, different world