Mariana Marques de Almeida of Ms. J and Co.

The US has a huge appetite for sheep's milk cheese, but only around 1 percent of the sheep cheese we consume here comes from American creameries. A ban against importing high-quality dairy sheep genetics from Europe is a big reason why. Now that the ban has been lifted, sheep dairies are working to catch up. Stef and Sue interview Portuguese-born animal scientist, breeding advisor, and cheese specialist Mariana Marques de Almeida, who's leading the way on this exciting effort. 

Mariana is working to seriously level up sheep dairying in the US with Ms. J and Co., a large Wisconsin sheep dairy and breeding project she opened in 2015. She and her business partners hope that by making high-quality genetics from Spanish Assaf sheep available to farmers and selling great milk to existing sheep dairies, making sheep's milk cheese will become much more common here in the US than it has been. 

Learn more about on Mariana: Ms. J and Co. / Instagram

Benita Kasbo of Kasbo's Market

What kind of cheese did you eat when you were young? For Benita Kasbo, Syrian-American cheesemaker and owner of Kasbo's Market, the answer is jibneh, a savory, meltable brined cheese her family made at home when she was growing up in New Jersey. These days, Benita makes it for her own family, infusing each block of curd with fruity and floral mahlab, a fragrant spice made from ground cherry stones—and, since launching her business in 2020, she's been selling it through select outlets in New York City and North Jersey.

In this interview, Benita shares her story and her mission to expand the definition of what cheese can be for the American palate with Stef and Sue.

Learn more about Benita and where to buy her jibneh at Kasbo's Market | Instagram

Charuth von Beuzekom of Dutch Girl Creamery

When Charuth von Beuzekom founded Dutch Girl Creamery outside Lincoln, Nebraska in the mid-2000s, there wasn't much in the way of educational resources for a beginning cheesemaker. Charuth shares the story of the grant-funded educational journey to cheesemaking locales around the world that got her started, her friendship with Sue (who was in a similar stage of her business around the same time), and how much her farm—and Nebraska's artisan cheesemaking scene—has changed in the past 20 years.

Sue and Stef also ask Charuth about her cheeses, like the award-winning Rosa Maria and Dolle Mina (named for her activist mother), learn about how she and her husband juggle vegetable farming and milking goats, and get the story on how a tragic fire at the farm and creamery in 2021 became an opportunity to reimagine Dutch Girl's farming, cheesemaking, and business operations to be sustainable in a new era. 

Links: 

The famous photo of Charuth's Dutch activist mother with the Dolle Minas: https://publichistory.humanities.uva.nl/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/origineel-1.jpeg (the words on their stomachs mean "my belly is my own")

More on Charuth & Dutch Girl Creamery: https://www.shadowbrk.com/

More on Sue & Birchrun Hills Farm: https://birchrunhillsfarm.com/

More on Stef & Valley Milkhouse: https://www.valleymilkhouse.com/

More on Alex: https://www.alexandrajones.net/

We're Back! New Episodes Drop Oct. 20

Sue, Stef, and Alex are back with more of the only podcast by cheesemakers, for cheesemakers! The new season drops Monday, Oct. 20, with new episodes released every 2 weeks. We're excited to share interviews with some of our favorite American artisan cheesemakers, including Molly Semler of Von Trapp Farmstead in Vermont, Charuth von Beuzekom of Dutch Girl Creamery in Nebraska, Allison Lakin of Lakin's Gorges Cheese in Maine, and more. We're talking about everything from homesteading to sheep genetics to immigrant cheese traditions to our favorite styles of feta, and we're so excited to share it all with you!

For more info: 

• Get in touch with us on Facebook / Instagram

• Find Stefanie Angstadt at Valley Milkhouse / Instagram

• Reach Sue Miller at Birchrun Hills Farm / Instagram 

• Connect with Alexandra Jones on her website

Announcement: Summer Break!

Summertime is when cheesemakers and dairy farmers are at their busiest — and that’s saying something. So we’re taking a little break to make hay (literally!) while the sun shines, with brand new episodes with more cheesemakers we admire coming at you this fall. In the meantime, catch up on our back catalog, be sure to subscribe, and please rate and review us — it means so much! Thanks to all of you for your support, and we’ll be back in your ears soon with more cheesy content!

An Interview with Rebecca Seidel of One Horn Farm

Startup dairy, diversifying the industry, creative milk marketing, racism, income inequality, the urban-rural divide — we dig into all these important topics and more in today’s interview with our good friend Rebecca Seidel, farmer-cheesemaker at the forthcoming One Horn Farm! She’s a third-generation dairy farmer reviving her family’s Berks County dairy who brings a really unique perspective on dairy thanks to her agricultural upbringing, off-farm education, and a decade of experience in dairy and cheesemaking. Such an inspiring chat! Follow Rebecca on Instagram @caseinmicelles and Twitter @casein_micelles for more of her thoughts on ag and news about One Horn Farm’s upcoming debut.

An Interview with Mark Gillman of Cato Corner Farm

On today’s episode, the cheese dames chat with Mark Gillman, second-generation cheesemaker at Connecticut's Cato Corner Farm! Mark is one of the crew of cheesemakers collaborating on the Cornerstone Project, using an open-source recipe for making cheese with native cultures harvested from his own herd to best express the terroir of his farm. He’s also an award-winning cheesemaker — and his Bloomsday, a cheddar-esque washed rind wheel, is a featured guest cheese in Collective Creamery shares this coming week!

An Interview with David Major of Vermont Shepherd

Our cheesemakers are back from their whirlwind trip to Vermont, where they got the chance to sit down with a true OG of American artisan sheep cheese, David Major of Vermont Shepherd! David has been raising sheep and making award-winning wheels on his Putney farm for 30 years, and now, the third generation of his family has joined in on the cheesemaking fun.

In this episode, we talk with David about what it was like to start a sheep dairy way back when (buying plastic bowls from the drugstore and drilling holes in them for molds, for example), cheese marketing, and how much the sheep cheese scene has changed.

An Interview with Kate Turcotte of Orb Weaver Creamery

When we first interviewed Kate Turcotte at the American Cheese Society Conference last summer, she and her husband were preparing to take over cheesemaking operations at Vermont’s iconic Orb Weaver Farm. Now, they’re up and running as Orb Weaver Creamery and experimenting with new cheeses, so we went back up to Vermont to get an update. Plus, you’ll get to hear from our amazing producer, Jordan Heil, on mic for the first time!

Don’t forget: Collective Creamery subscriptions for Summer 2019 are on sale now! Households in Southeast PA and Spring Lake, NJ can sign up for our summer season of cheese (shipping to surrounding states will return when the weather cools in the fall). Click here for more info.

An Interview with Sean Fitzgerald of Cherry Grove Farm

Our cheesemakers spent this past weekend cruising through the farm fields of New England, gathering even more maker interviews for future episodes — so we’re busting this interview with Sean Fitzgerald of Cherry Grove Farm out of the archives! This episode is a perfect companion to our last ep featuring Sean’s co-cheesemaker Paul Lawler. We hope you enjoy!

For Pennsylvania folks: our Summer Cheese Share is now open! Find out more and sign up for a season of cheese with Collective Creamery here.

An Interview with Paul Lawler of Cherry Grove Farm

Our cheesemaker crew stopped by Cherry Grove Farm in Lawrenceville, NJ to interview their longtime head cheesemaker, Paul Lawler! (You can hear his colleague Sean Fitzgerald on one of our earliest episodes.) Even before he was a cheesemaker, Paul was a cheesemonger working to help makers in the region get their products to consumers in Philadelphia, and now, he makes some of the best cheeses in New Jersey. Get the scoop on their cheeses (and hear what music cheesemakers listen to while they’re working) on today’s show!

An Interview with Pete Demchur of Shellbark Hollow Farm

On this episode, the cheese dames sit down with longtime southeast PA goat farmer and cheesemaker Pete Demchur of Shellbark Hollow Farm! He and Sue were two of the earliest artisan cheesemakers blazing a trail in the region’s artisan cheese movement more than a decade ago. Enjoy — and stay tuned for the Spring-Summer Collective Creamery cheese share to open very, very soon!

We want your feedback! If you listen, please take our brief survey about the podcast: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V7LDT29

An Interview with Jessie Dowling of Fuzzy Udder Creamery

In this episode, the Cheese Dames look north to Maine, where a campaign for food sovereignty has made the state a haven for artisan cheesemakers. We sat down with Jessie Dowling of Fuzzy Udder Creamery discuss the opportunities and challenges Maine’s regulations around dairy and cheese — the most permissive in the country — have created for the state’s bustling cheesemaking community.

We want your feedback! If you listen, please take our brief survey about the podcast: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V7LDT29

An Interview with Rynn Caputo of Caputo Brothers Creamery

The cheese dames sit down with Rynn Caputo, head of the amazing Caputo Brothers Creamery! Their frozen cagliata curd and 95% whey ricotta — made with local milk from a neighboring Animal Welfare Approved dairy — have changed how we think about Italian-style cheeses and what “fresh mozzarella” really is.

We want your feedback! If you listen, please take our brief survey about the podcast: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V7LDT29

An Interview with Sam Kennedy and Stacey Gentile of Doe Run Farm

Did you miss us? The Collective Creamery crew is back with more cheesy episodes for your listening pleasure! In today’s ep, we sit down with Sam Kennedy and Stacey Gentile the PA cheese power couple behind Doe Run Farm, one of the winningest cheese outfits in the state! Their wheels have won multiple ACS awards and Best in Show ribbons from the PA Farm Show — the numbers don’t lie! We also dig into one of cheese’s most intriguing ingredients — rennet — in the first episode of our new season.

We want your feedback! If you listen, please take our brief survey about the podcast: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V7LDT29

An Interview with Vito Forte of Meadow Creek Dairy

This week, Sue and Stef chat about the connection between the hospitality world and cheesemaking, then dig into an interview with our good friend Vito Forte, cheesemaker of Meadow Creek Dairy in Galax, Virginia! Vito made the transition from bar owner in north Jersey to fermentation nerd and home cheesemaker to full-fledged professional, and now he’s making award-winning cheeses at Meadow Creek. Sue and Stef caught up with him at the Cheesemakers’ Resource Conference in Lancaster County back in February over Pennsylvania Dutch treats like ham balls and potato cakes. Listen in and follow Vito on Instagram @vitofermente.

An Interview with Kate Turcotte of Orb Weaver Farm

Today’s interview is with an amazing cheesemaker who represents a new era of artisan cheesemaking in Vermont. After several years as Shelburne Farms’ head cheesemaker, Kate Turcotte and her husband are taking over the iconic Orb Weaver Farm as founders and longtime cheesemakers Marjorie Susman and Marian Pollack retire from the dairy side of their farming careers. Our crew chatted with Kate at the American Cheese Society Conference in Pittsburgh over the summer about this exciting new phase for Orb Weaver and for her as a cheesemaker.

Also, if you’re in the Philly area, don’t miss Madame Fromage’s biennial Cheese Ball in Philadelphia on November 10! Get the details and score your tickets here. This year, proceeds will be donated to support Collective Creamery!

And there’s still time to sign up for the Collective Creamery fall-winter share, which starts Oct. 18! We’ll be selling prorated shares for the next few weeks, too. Cheese up your life with us this season!

An Interview with Molly Kroiz of Georges Mill Farm Artisan Cheese

Today’s interview is with Molly Kroiz, owner and cheesemaker at http://georgesmillcheese.com in Virginia! Our crew met Molly through the PASA conference and the Pennsylvania Cheese Guild, and she’s one of our favorite badass cheesemaking women! After studying fisheries management, Molly met her husband Sam, and the two of them headed back to his family farm in Lovettsville to raise a sprightly herd of Alpine goats. Today, Molly makes beautiful goats’ milk cheeses, raises two little ones and and welcomes their community onto this 250-year-old farm property with activities like barn dances and baby goat feeding sessions in spring. We hope you enjoy this chat we had with her at the American Cheese Society Conference in Pittsburgh over the summer!

An Interview with Matt Spiegler of Cheese Notes and Churchtown Dairy

Just about every cheese lover dreams about becoming a professional cheesemaker — but it takes real dedication to make that dream a reality. Matt Spiegler started out as a blogger in Brooklyn, exploring the world of artisan cheese and writing about it as he went on his website Cheese Notes. Soon, he was making cheese at home — and eventually, Matt quit his day job to intern and then work at one of the country’s most esteemed cheese houses, Jasper Hill Farm. Today, he’s the head cheesemaker at Churchtown Dairy, a biodynamic farm in New York’s Hudson Valley, only a few miles from where Matt grew up. Plus, we taste some delicious Churchtown cheeses!

An Interview with Peter Dixon and Rachel Fritz Schaal of Parish Hill Creamery

During the American Cheese Society Conference in Pittsburgh last month, we sat down with two of our good friend in cheese, the iconic duo of Peter Dixon and Rachel Fritz Schaal, owners and cheesemakers at Vermont's Parish Hill Creamery! They make the most enticing Alpine-style cheeses using grassfed milk from the neighboring Putney School's herd of cows, and they even create all their own cultures using milk from specific ladies in the herd. They've even gotten together with a crew of awesome cheesemakers in the Northeast (our very own Sue Miller is one of them) to create Cornerstone, a recipe for a true American original cheese that makers can use to express their own unique terroir from the milk down to the microbes. Listen in to find out how they make it all happen!