![]() “We gamble about a million dollars every summer, making cheese and tucking it away until it becomes next year’s income. “We walk the tightrope of a truly seasonal business, trying to balance inventory in one hand and cash in the other,” says Hatch. Crafted in the tradition of Gruyère and Beaufort, Pleasant Ridge Reserve is made only from May through October and Rush Creek Reserve, a rich, soft round wrapped in spruce bark, is made only in the fall. The two men, along with their families, purchased Uplands Cheese in 2014 Mericka oversees the barn, while Hatch runs the creamery, which turns out just two cheeses. Uplands’ current owners, the creators of Pleasant Ridge Reserve, came to work at the farm after studying dairy farming and cheesemaking-Andy Hatch at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Scott Mericka at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina. Pleasant Ridge Reserve and Rush Creek Reserve from Uplands Cheese These cheesemaking pioneers turned the raw, grass-fed milk into traditional, Alpine-style hard cheeses, the precursors of today’s Pleasant Ridge Reserve-the most-awarded cheese in American history. The founders of Uplands Cheese were among the first farmers in the country to adopt the practice to feed their dairy herd. But the dairy farming practices that produce Uplands’ award-winning cheeses originated hundreds of miles away in Vermont, where rotational grazing to feed cows was introduced in the late 1980s. In the rolling hills of southern Wisconsin, Uplands Cheese Company is located in the heart of a rich and storied American cheesemaking region. The term artisan should be applied to anyone who cares deeply and personally for the product they make.” - ERIC GLASGOW, co-owner, The Grey Barn and Farm, Chilmark, MassachusettsĪNDY HATCH AND SCOTT MERICKA, UPLANDS CHEESE COMPANY During each step of the process the makers meticulously inspect each wheel and evaluate and cater to whatever its needs are, using the knowledge gained here and elsewhere to guide their decisions. Those cheeses are hooped and salted, turned daily, and lovingly packaged for our consumers, all by hand. ![]() Our cheesemakers carefully handle every cheese we make. “For us, the cheese is artisan because of the people who make it. Sure, we’ve all got our favorite local makers, but do you know about the artisan cheese efforts happening elsewhere? (Please note that this is not an exhaustive list.) And like any dedicated artist, artisan cheesemakers are willing to take the long route to perfection in the name of their craft-the payoff being a unique, aesthetically striking, and nuanced product, worth the effort a hundredfold. Artisan makers will often look to traditional, non-mechanized methods of milking, molding, and aging cheese, which adds to the time and people power needed to turn out a single wheel. The American Cheese Society defines artisan cheese as being produced primarily by hand, from the highest-quality ingredients, with as little mechanization as possible. ![]() Why, when a block of sharp cheddar can be had at the grocery store for under five dollars, does the same amount go for well over 30 dollars per pound at the independent cheese shop? The answer starts with the human hand. Time, patience, practice, money, and a whole lot of elbow grease are the foundations of every artisan cheese recipe, but what lies at the root of the craft is creativity.Īrtisan cheese differs from commercially produced curds in myriad ways, but the most visible to the consumer may be the cost. But if art is about creating beauty, at the heart of artisan cheesemaking is a desire to create something beautiful and delicious. Sounds like something you’d see on a motivational poster. Written by Culture Staff You can’t have artisan cheese without art… Art and Craft: The making of artisan cheese in America culture: the word on cheese | September 18, 2020
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