Spring Brook Farm wins a coveted national award

Ellie Fischer, of Springfield, Vt., washes wheels of Spring Brook Farm's Tarentaise cheese which was recognized as the Best of Show among 1,600 others at the American Cheese Society competition.
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Cheesemaker Grows and Prospers Reading, Vt.’s Spring Brook Farm Wins a Coveted National Award Ellie Fischer, of Springfield, Vt., washes wheels of Tarentaise cheese with a morge, which is similar to brine, at Spring Brook Farm in Reading, Vt., on September 22, 2014. (Valley News - Ariana van den Akker) Ellie Fischer, of Springfield, Vt., washes wheels of Tarentaise cheese with a morge, which is similar to brine, at Spring Brook Farm in Reading, Vt., on September 22, 2014. (Valley News - Ariana van den Akker) Purchase photo reprints » Ellie Fischer, of Springfield, Vt., washes wheels of Tarentaise cheese with a morge, which is similar to brine, at Spring Brook Farm in Reading, Vt., on September 22, 2014. (Valley News - Ariana van den Akker)Annie Timers, 10, left, and Chantely Thomas, 10, who are fifth-graders at Kenny Elementary in Boston, hop off of the bus to begin their week-long field trip to Spring Brook Farm in Reading, Vt., on September 22, 2014. Spring Brook Farm hosts the Farms for City Kids program, which brings children to work and learn on the farm for a week. (Valley News - Ariana van den Akker)Cheesemaker Jonathan Richardson, of Weathersfield, Vt., cuts pieces of Reading cheese for visitors to sample at Spring Brook Farm in Reading, Vt., on September 22, 2014. (Valley News - Ariana van den Akker)Cheesemaker Gary Wojdyla of Bethel, Vt., starts the paddles to stir the milk while making a batch of Morbier-style cheese at Spring Brook Farm in Reading, Vt., on September 22, 2014. (Valley News - Ariana van den Akker) By Warren Johnston Valley News Staff Writer Wednesday, September 24, 2014 (Published in print: Wednesday, September 24, 2014) Email Print Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on gmail More Sharing Services 0 The faint smell of butterscotch hangs in the cool air as hundreds of 20-pound wheels of Alpine-style cheese lining the wooden shelves ripen in the aging room at Spring Brook Farm in Reading, Vt. A few years ago, when the cheese-making program was just getting started at Spring Brook and there were many fewer rounds on the shelves, the rich, creamy aroma of Tarentaise and Reading cheeses was much more prominent. Although the scent of aging cheese was pleasant then, its absence now in the room’s tightly controlled 52-degree atmosphere is perhaps one of the many signs that the cheese production at Spring Brook has evolved into a business that will for the first time this year start paying for itself. “As we’ve learned how to do this, we’ve gotten a lot better at it,” said Jamie Stephenson, the director of the cheese program. “We’ve worked hard to understand the space (in the aging room) and modify it, and we’ve learned a lot more about air circulation and bringing in fresh air.” Stephenson is tall, thin for a man who spends his days around cheese. He could be an artist, a construction worker or a cheese merchant, all occupations he has on his resume. He and the rest of the crew at Spring Brook have gained a national reputation for being good at their craft. He’s also the man at the helm of what has become a $1 million-a-year business that is primed to receive one of its industry’s biggest awards. This year at the American Cheese Society competition in Sacramento, Calif., Spring Brook’s Tarentaise Reserve was recognized as the Best of Show among 1,600 others vying for the top cheese honors. The Society is recognized as the leading organization in the country supporting the understanding, appreciation and promotion of farmstead, artisan and specialty cheeses. Tarentaise, a semi-hard washed rind, raw cow’s milk cheese, is named for the French valley that inspired it and is produced from milk from the farm’s Jersey cows. Tarentaise is aged for six months, and the award-winning Tarentaise Reserve is aged for 18 months, Stephenson said. In order to qualify for the top award, a cheese has to be first in its category. The farm’s Reading cheese, semi-soft, made in the raclette style, also garnered a first place in its category at the competition. This is the second year in a row that a Vermont cheese has won the Best in Show award. Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, Vt., won last year. Spring Brook is holding an annual open house on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for community residents. As part of the event, Gov. Peter Shumlin and Jasper Hill representatives will pass the black marble trophy on to Spring Brook to hold for a year, Stephenson said. “(The open house) is something that we started two years ago. We invite the local community to let them know what we do here, about our farm and the education component. There are tours and food. “Having the governor here and the presentation of the trophy will be a nice addition,” he said. The Reading cheese, made from raw milk from Jericho Hill Farm in Hartford and Fox Valley Farm in Woodstock, also won the Gold Medal at the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield, Mass., this month. “As I’ve been doing this, I’ve learned that the cheesemaker is only part of the process. Equally important are the farmers who produce the milk. If you don’t have consistent, high-quality milk, you can’t produce consistent, high-quality cheese,” Stephenson said. “I’m really grateful to the farmers that we have. The Gold Medal is really a tribute to them.” As we prepare for the tour of the cheese-making operation — a change of shoes, white cloth smock and hair net — Stephenson’s manner is instructive and patient. He seems well suited for the job, which he’s held since 2008, exhibiting a sound grasp of cheese m aking, while at the same time mindful of need for financial success. “We’re increasing our food safety procedures. It’s part of the new federal law, but it’s something that we’d do anyway,” he said, as we dipped our shoes in a pool of disinfectant. Cheese, as with wine, receives much of its character from the land or “terroir,” a term used to describe characteristics attributable to geography, geology and climate of a particular location. Spring Brook makes its Tarentaise under a licensing agreement with Thistle Hill Farm owners John and Janine Putnam, who developed the cheese after visiting the Tarentaise Valley in the Savoie r egion of the French Alps, an area that has a similar geography, geology and climate to their Pomfret farm. In a study conducted three years ago, University of Vermont professor Amy B. Trubek determined that distinct differences in the Thistle Hill Tarentaise and that made at Spring Brook were attributable primarily to the terroir of the farms, which are 18 miles apart. There a few characteristics that could be attributable to variations in production methods and the differences in the aging rooms, but the flavors are clearly influenced by the location grass and soil, Stephenson said. Spring Brook has about 100 head of Jersey cows, of which about 40 are milked, farm manager Curt Allen said, noting that Jerseys produce milk that is higher in fat and protein and is s uited for making the Alpine-style cheese. To make 10 pounds of cheese, it takes about 100 pounds of milk. A Jersey cow produces about 50 pounds of milk a day, or about a quarter of a 20-pound wheel of Tarentaise. In addition to maintaining and milking the Jersey herd, the nearly 1,000-acre farm, is producing pasture-raised pigs, poultry and maple sugar, Allen said. The farm also plays a larger educational role. From March to November, 700 to 800 school-age children from primarily large Northeastern cities come to Spring Brook in weekly batches for five-day stays. They learn about farm life, caring for animals and making cheese. The program is paid for by the Farms for City Kids Foundation, a nonprofit organization set up in the 1990s by Karli and Jim Hagedorn, who own Spring Brook Farm. In addition to its cheese awards, the farm also celebrated last year its 10,000th inner-city k id to visit the farm for the week-long program, Director of Education Rob Macri said. When the fifth-, sixth- and seventh-graders first arrive at the farm, they are often apprehensive about being in the country on a dirt road and dealing with animals. Those fears go away by the end of the week, he said. “We integrate farm activities with their school lessons, and they learn about hard work, respect and perseverance. It’s a wonderful program that really changes their lives.” The students take part in the cheesemaking process, primarily helping with washing the wheels, which have to be carefully washed with a brine solution three or four times a week, Stephenson said. Antoinette Jacobson, who works with the cheeses as they age, carefully moves a wheel partially from its spot on the shelf, just enough so she can get around the edges with a brine-soaked brush. She mov es deftly from one wheel to the next, from the mature, iced tea colored rounds to the creamy white newly minted cheeses, moving, scrubbing and replacing, spreading the culture from the rind of the oldest to that of the youngest. Making the cheese is labor intensive. The milk is warmed and stirred in a large copper kettle. Once it has reached a proper temperature, it’s mixed with rennet , an enzyme taken from the stomachs of male calves that curdles the milk and separates the curds. “You don’t want to be a male calf born on a dairy farm,” Stephenson said. After the rennet is added the milk becomes yogurt-like and is stirred with blades that break it apart so that it can be pumped into aging tanks. There, the whey drains off and the curds are pressed into blocks and eventually wheels to go in the aging room. Among the climate-controlled room’s many shelves, Jacobson and others take over, washing to share the cultures from the mature to young wheels, building the rinds for maximum flavor and intensity. Each wheel of Tarentaise has to be washed at least 60 times before it goes to a distributor, Stephenson said. That’s a lot of washing. There are 4,500 wheels arranged by production dates in the aging room. “When we started out in the 1990s, the farm was entirely about the kids. I like to think that we’ve broadened that mission to the larger community now with the cheese production,” Stephenson said, reflecting on what’s been accomplished at Spring Brook Farm. “In addition to helping the kids, we’re helping sustain two family-owned dairy farms by purchasing all of their milk and paying them an above market price. That’s good for them and good for us. And it’s a nice feeling,” Stephenson said.