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Lark’s Meadow Farms Tasting

One of my favorite things to do is meet new, local food producers who have great passion for what they do. I love hearing their stories about their journeys to where they are now.

Thanks to a meet and greet held at Caputo’s market, I was able to meet cheesemaker Kendall Russell, from Lark’s Meadow Farms. Lark’s Meadow, based out of Rexburg, Idaho, creates delicious farmstead cheeses, meaning that it owns the entire production, from the cow to final product. While many cheesemakers truck their milk in from other dairies, Lark’s Meadow is able to maintain complete control over their raw product: milk. And speaking of raw, Lark’s Meadow only produces raw milk cheeses, meaning no pasteurization of milk takes place. Instead of pasteurization, in order to ensure that the cheese is safe to eat, a minimum amount of aging must occur for the cheese to meet government safety standards. Many cheesemakers (and cheese aficionados) swear by unpasteurized cheeses, insisting that the taste is purer and truer to history.

Kendall certainly has an interesting history in the cheese business. His only formal training consisted of a two-week internship. Other than that, he has self-taught cheesemaking, which is a pretty formidable task (and costly—Kendall told us that he had to throw away about $40,000 in bad cheese as a result of early mistakes).

According to Kendall, the act of making cheese isn’t a very difficult process, but understanding the nuances that go into making cheese, such as understanding differences in how milk tastes, aging temperatures, and humidity really is more art than science. One small tweak in any of these variables can have a significant impact on the final product.

Leland Cheese

We tasted three cheeses at the event. The first cheese is called Leland. It is a half sheeps’ milk, half cow milk cheese. Their cows are Brown Swiss, which are known for producing high fat content milk. It definitely shows in this deliciously creamy, high moisture content cheese. This one would be perfect for a decadent grilled cheese sandwich.

The second cheese we tried is called Helen, named after one of Kendall’s mentors. This cheese is made with 100% cow milk. It has some strong grassy notes to it, and has a distinct yellow coloration. Kendall mentioned that milk that comes from cows who graze in a pasture has a slight yellow tinge to it, due to the beta carotene that the cows consume in the pasture. Many cheesemakers add coloring to try to duplicate this orange-yellow coloration in their cheeses.

Dulcinea

The third cheese is Lark’s very first production cheese recipe, and I have to say, they nailed this one. While the other two cheeses were delicious, the Dulcinea knocked my socks off. This cheese is a very low moisture cheese. This rich cheese was nicely salty and nutty, and it even reminded me a bit of the sharpness you get with Pecorino, except much more rounded and subtle. The other really neat thing about this cheese is that as you eat a piece of this cheese and work towards the rind, the flavor profile changes dramatically to a much nuttier flavor.

All of Lark’s cheese is hand-produced, which, as Kendall said, means that he takes a lot of Ibuprofin since it is so labor intensive. Hand-pressing cheese results in some of the whey being trapped in the cheese, whose lactose then ferments into esters. It is these esters which give their cheeses some fruity notes that you won’t find in many other cheeses, contributing to make Lark’s cheese some of the most unique cheese out there.

Lark’s Meadow Farms cheese are currently available at Caputo’s Market and Liberty Heights Fresh, and they will be carried at many Harmon’s stores in short time.

Passers By

While we receive reports from other parts of the country that they are already picking food from their plants, gardening season has just barely come to Rexburg. We were delighted this last week to finally see the flowering trees blooming and to feel that warm weather is truly here to stay.
I say that with hope and a will for it to be so, but Susie is already predicting one last snow flurry here in June sometime, so we will hide and watch.


Each year at this time we get a large influx of birds and the morning air is full of a cacophony of avian songs. One temporary visitor that migrates through on the way to Yellowstone Lake each year is the Franklin Gull. On some days, if you have the time, you can sit for hours and watch as group after group pass by overhead, squawking to each other and all heading in the same direction.

This year they seemed to think that our flooded field was a nice stopping off point and a whole group of them paused for a snack and refreshment before they continued their journey. Like most gulls, their voices are not as pleasant as other birds, but their appearance is sleek and their antics are entertaining as they pass by.

To learn some other interesting things about Franklin Gulls click on this link-

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi/migratorybirds/featured_birds/default.cfm?bird=Franklin%27s_Gull

Greener Pastures

This season's first day out on pasture has come! Slight cloud coverage today did not seem to bother the sheep in the least. While we were hoping for a little more sunshine, they were gleefully exploring every corner of the pasture. With their noses happily buried in the new green foliage they chowed down on the tender green growth. Watching a sheep's mouth move while it eats is truly a site to behold. The speed at which they are able to chomp down on things is really quite something and their mouths were really moving today.


Once they had filled up, they settled down and napped contentedly. With the new food will come new flavors in the milk and of course delicious nuances in the cheese. And speaking of cheese, there is going to be a whole lot more than there was last year. With milk coming out our ears there are daily makes. Out in the creamery there has been a lot of learning, a dash of experimenting, a smidge of tweaking and a sprinkle of well... mistakes. The result is that our cheese is getting better all the time and some new cheeses will be available soon. Some of those stories will be coming up soon.

Our Newest Little Lamb

Weighing in at 7.2 Margaret Elizabeth is our most precious little lamb this year. She was born on April 1st and has her daddy (Kendall the Cheesemaker) wrapped around her little finger. She is already showing some discernment for flavor and milk quality, so maybe she is a cheesemaker in the making.
Thanks to everyone who has supported us at this important and crazy time!

Reasons for Thanks

Fluffy white snowflakes are floating down gently and it is just days until our whole family will be together. Twenty-eight of us to be exact. What a time it will be and how grateful we are for family.
At this special time on the farm we pause to reflect on the many blessings that we have enjoyed over the previous year. None of us ever would have predicted how successful we would be in such a short time. We recognize that we owe a lot to friends who have supported us and put in hours of help, fellow cheesemakers who have shared invaluable knowledge, customers who have given us valuable feedback and come back again and again to buy our cheese... The list goes on and on. We thank you for the part that you have played and wish you the best during this holiday season. May it be a time of warmth and happiness.

Dulcinea for the Holidays

Our first snow storms came in and powdered the farm with white fluff. Winter is upon us and with it has come a twinge of excitement for the holidays. Family and friends will be gathering and you can bet the farm that good food will be a centerpiece of the festivities. You can almost smell the turkey roasting already.
At this time of year cheese balls come out on stage and we have already tested out Dulcinea in a simple recipe that will make your mouth water and your guests smile. In literally less than ten minutes you can have a yummy ball of goodness ready for consumption.
For this recipe we used the smallest wheel of Dulcinea that we are calling "Little Shredders." (If you have a better idea for a name we are definitely open to suggestions.) The Little Shredders are slightly saltier than the larger wheels. The bolder flavor is perfect for cheese balls and shines through the cream cheese perfectly. Little Shredders also loose moisture faster than the big wheels, so it is a firm cheese perfect for this application as well.




To make this recipe you will need the following:

INGREDIENTS:
I package of your favorite brand of cream cheese
Half of a Little Shredder
Garlic Salt, Pepper
Chopped Nuts of your Choice- We recommend pecans or pistachios especially, but there are other delicious options as well.


TOOLS:
Micro Plane or Fine Grater
Paring Knife
Rubber Scraper
Small Bowl
Cooking Spray
Plastic Wrap


Place the cream cheese in a small bowl. Carefully trim the rind of of the cheese (or skip this step if you like the rind). Add the grated Dulcinea and a dash of garlic salt to the bowl and work it into the cream cheese using a rubber scraper. Work it into a ball in the center of the bowl. Lightly spray a piece of plastic wrap with cooking spray and then scoop the ball into the middle of it. Wrap completely and allow to chill. When ready roll in chopped nuts or other condiments of choice. Serve with your favorite bread or crackers.

If the traditional cheese ball is not appealing you may want to consider some other ideas.

* Spread on a tortilla and add your favorite sandwich items. Roll gently, but tightly and then cut into bite size wheels.

* Pipe into small cream puff shells for a savory version or cream puffs.

* Right after you have mixed it, place the cheese mixture in a pastry bag and pipe onto crackers, into cherry tomatoes, onto cucumber slices or into pear halves.

* Carefully spread it into the bottom of a pie crust to enhance the flavor of your favorite quiche.


Enjoy every bite and tell us how it goes for you. We would love to hear your ideas!

We Can Baa and Now We Can Moo Too

Lark's Meadow Farms in cooperation with Matt Griffin of G's Dairy have begun production of raw cow milk. There are now cows on our farm! Right now the herd consists of four beautiful Brown Swiss cows. These cows seem huge to us and one of them produces as much as milk as twelve of our ewes. Wow! The raw, rich, creamy milk will be available at G's dairy in half gallon and gallon sizes. For those of you who remember the good old days with unpasteurized and non-homogenized milk, one swallow will be an instant trip down memory lane. The remainder of the milk that does not go to G's is being made into cheese here on the farm. We are all holding our breath as we wait for the first batch to come of age.



The biggest cow, named Jada, produces as much as five gallons in one milking. Just like our sheep, the cows are milked twice a day. They have been on the farm long enough now, that they almost just go where they are supposed to without being directed. This is a new experience, since sheep never seem to get it.



Just like the sheep, they also need refreshing and so every few months we have a new calf on the farm. This is Asiago. She was a little bit stubborn about the bottle at first, but when she caught onto the idea she emptied a bottle in no time. The cows are in a rotation and only one is dry at a time, so that means that we always have milk, but the cows get the rest that they need. We will keep you posted as things progress. We are also looking for a few more Brown Swiss cows, so let us know if you have any leads.