What does farmstead cheese mean? That a true farmstead is producing the cheese. A farm where the milk to make the farmstead cheese is derived from the land and cattle that produced it. There is less handling of the beginning product. The milk is not transported from another source to make the farmstead cheese. Less handling of the milk contributes to better quality of the farmstead cheese!
Farmsteads that produce farmstead cheese may have, however, differences in quality of the farmstead cheese that they produce based on other variable factors. Some of these factors involve environment for the cattle, feeding differences, and chemical or hormone treatment for the animals that produce the milk. Some of these treatments increase the milk production of the animals.
The production of cheese requires the use of a substance to curdle the milk. Some cheese manufacturers use animal rennet while others use vegetable rennet.
Our goal at Colonial Classics Farmstead Cheese was to produce a quality old-fashioned product using old-fashioned style. We do not use animal rennet. We use vegetable rennet. Our cows graze on pasture all day, not just one hour or less! They are only in the milking parlor long enough to be milked. We do not push our cows for maximum production with chemicals or hormones! Our cows produce perhaps 25 to 35 pounds per head per day where the same cow pushed for production will produce 80 pounds a day! A pushed cow will not last as long as a cow allowed to live at a natural pace!
This explains why we say time and patience is necessary in every aspect for quality farmstead cheese! We do not rush anything on our farm including the making of our farmstead cheese! We find it worth the effort, we hope you will too!