End of a year, and press

2010 brought many good things to Meadow Creek - our new energy efficient wood and solar fired boiler, awards for both Appalachian and Grayson at ACS, and our new porter washed mini-Graysons. We saw some challenges, too - record snows and record dry periods.

Various magazines, columns and blogs had good things to say about our cheeses; the latest from Janet Fletcher this week in her San Francisco Chronicle cheese column. An admitted fan of Grayson, she praised Appalachian saying "the internal color is fantastic, a deep sunflower yellow from the carotene in the cow's diet." She went on to note "the aroma is shy, hinting at warm butter and cream, the flavor mild and buttery... the cheese coats your palate, like soft fudge".

Thanks Janet, and many thanks to all our friends and customers for a great year. Here's hoping 2011 lives up to it!

Snow Days

The early snowstorm that covered the pastures last Saturday is driving all the news at Meadow Creek. Without access to grass for our herd, we had to stop cheesemaking a week earlier than expected. We believe that our cheese should only be made when the cows are getting most of their nutrition from grass. The cheese house staff will now concentrate all their efforts in the cellar and on sales. Because we are a raw milk cheese producer the cheese we made last week won't come of age for release until early February. At this point we expect to have Grayson and Appalachian available into the first part of March and possibly longer. Mountaineer will be available until July.

Enjoy the snow, everyone!

Grayson A Good Food Awards Finalist

We're very pleased to announce our Grayson is one of the finalists in the brand new Good Food Awards - http://www.goodfoodawards.org. The Good Food Awards will be given across five American regions and in seven food categories. In the cheese category, the judges picked out the "tastiest" cheeses which also met their standards of "good animal husbandry, without the use of hormones, and without the use of herbicides and pesticides on the pastures and in feed." We're honored to be one of the five finalists in the Eastern region.

Winners for the Good Food Awards will be announced at a ceremony in San Francisco on January 14, 2011.

Sustainable energy on the farm...

Now that the temperatures have dropped we are really reaping the benefits of our wood and solar fired boiler. It's fully operational, heating our water and providing warmth for all areas of the cheesehouse. Already we've seen significant savings in our propane usage.

Installation of this system has been yet another step in Meadow Creek's long term focus on sustainability, one of the Dairy's primary goals from its very beginning in 1988. The low emissions boiler uses downed wood from our 80 wooded acres - allowing us to close the waste loop and utilize more resources from the farm. We can truly boast that our award winning cheese based on flavor and texture is also a winner for the environment.

Ahh just in time for the holidays..

Typically fall is the time to enjoy the best washed rind cheese, having developed a rich flavor and texture. The Graysons we're tasting now are custardy and have a silky feel on the tongue, with a delicious fruitiness and pleasant earthy notes. With all the attention to the debut of our Mini-Graysons and the release of our Mountaineer... plus the media love fest with Appalachian... we can almost over look our star and best-selling cheese. So, we must not miss out this special time of year for Grayson, especially as we enter the holiday season.

The Mountaineers are coming!

Good things come to those who are patient -- we are pleased to announce the release of Mountaineer, our alpine-style cheese for the season. The beginning of cheesemake last spring seems like a distant memory, but the first of our Mountaineers have been aging graciously in our cellar all this time.

Our cheesemakers are really pleased with this year's Mountaineer. They feel it has hit its stride tasting sweet and fruity, with a satisfying toasted aftertaste. The wheels wield 14 pounds of tasty goodness and they'll be rolling every which way into specialty cheese shops next week. We dare you to spot (and taste!) these delicious red giants.

New Meadow Creek Cheese!...Mini Grayson

We are pleased to announce the release of our newest experiment in affinage -- the Mini Grayson. For some time we've had an interest in making a smaller format cheese, and our very successful Grayson seemed a perfect candidate. We combined the traditional European practice of washing cheese in spirits with Highland Brewing Company's excellent local beers to create a cheese that surpassed our expectations. More than just a pint-sized Grayson, the Mini has taken on a style all its own.

Petit and flavorful, the Mini has Grayson's distinctive reddish-orange rind but with a silkier, melting texture. In taste it is sweet and grassy with a mild yeastiness and a strong creamy finish. As the Mini crosses the sixty-day line, it takes on more of the characteristics of the beer we wash it in, developing a sweet, hoppy taste like the head on a pint of draft beer.

The Minis are going out to retailers as we speak, though in very limited quantities. Keep an eye out for these little gems!