It’s that time of year again, yes its spring, but better then that…It’s Time For Peak Season Grass-Fed Milk to Turn into Our Squeaky Curds!!

I know this is all very exciting, but the questions lie ahead.

What Are Curds? Why Do They Squeak? And What Do I Do With Curds? This blog post should help us all rest easy at night knowing that the squeaky cheese in our fridge might be our first steps into at home cheesemaking and also a healthy way to snack, or a new warm fun meal.

 

Curds & Whey

Ode To Curds:

While working here at Cherry Grove Farm I have learned a boat load about cheese and my favorite part is sharing the knowledge I learn here from our Farm Manager/Herdsman Kelly Harding (30+ Years Of Dairy Exp.) and Samuel Kennedy Our Head Cheesemaker (CIA Graduate + 4 Years Of Making/Studying Cheese) to all of you (our wonderful fans & customers).

What Are Curds?

I like to refer to them as a fresh snacking cheese still squeaky if snacked on the first five days after being made and then after the fifth day I personally like to melt them down on pizza, in omelets, or even paying tribute to the Canadian dish Poutine.

These cut curds are ready to be molded into cheese wheels.

The More Technical answer would be that they are the first steps in cheese making.

Why Do They Squeak?

This is a great question to ask! My response is a bit simple. I always tell people it’s because there is still air trapped in between the curds (that’s the curds within the curds, kind of confusing) and after four or five days the air is gone and they lose their squeak (or air).

I turned to the experts in cheese writing and pulled this from Culture Magazine (winter 11):

“Curds squeak because the long protein network that forms during the process rubs against your teeth when you chew. As cheese ages, the protein breaks into shorter forms, which makes them taste good, but they lose that distinctive and oddly appealing sound.” – Article written by: Gianalis Caldwell

What Do I Do With Curds?

I snack on them until they hit day five or six and then after that I start melting/cooking with the curds like I would Mozzarella. Even better then that I use what I teach in our Mozzarella Making Class and melt them down, bind them, and then stretch them to make a fresh sweeter flavored mozzarella at home.

Come visit our farm store or one of our farmers market stands to taste them and see what different seasoned flavor curds Sam has come up with this time (they change by each batch he makes). Show your kids that cheese can be a healthy fun snack and then take them home and create a fun dish that every Canadian loves, Poutine (see our recipe below)!

Local Poutine (Made at home, enjoyed by all!)

Ingredients:

5 Medium local potatoes (found at a farmers market or home garden)

Olive oil (for pan frying)

2 Cups of our fresh Cheese Curds (found right here at Cherry Grove Farm)

1 (10 oz.) Jar of chicken, beef, or vegetarian gravy (for the best recipe make a simple brown gravy from scratch!)

Salt & Pepper (to your taste)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

Wash & cut your fresh and local farmer’s market potatoes (or maybe they came from your own garden), into fries.

Bake your lightly oiled and seasoned potato fries in the oven for about 20 minutes (you can skip the frying step and just bake your fries till crisp, typically 45 minutes, turning frequently)

In a large deep set skillet heat up your (frying) olive oil to a nice medium temperature ( 300 – 325 degrees).

Place your lightly baked fries in your skillet to fry your fries to perfection (a golden brown, about 3-5 minutes).

Take your Cherry Grove Farm Cheese Curds out of the fridge and set them aside to reach room temperature.

Place your homemade fries out on a brown paper bag or paper towel to help absorb any extra oil.

In a small sauce pan start creating from scratch your favorite thanksgiving gravy (or any type of yummy gravy) – This is where you can heat up a jar of gravy at a low to medium temperature.

Cut some of the larger curds down into 1 inch cubes.

Lay your homemade fries out on a platter and top with fresh Cherry Grove Farm Cheese Curds.

Top your fries and curds with your hot gravy and serve immediately (and enjoy this fun dish with friends and family).

If you want extra melted curds place your newly created Poutine on an oven safe plate and broil for 2 minutes (be careful the plate will be hot!)

This Is Just A Few Reasons Why We Love Our Curds Plus A Recipe To Stir Your Culinary Creativity!

Stock up on Grass-fed Ground Beef & Our Grass-Fed Cheese and make a nice warm meal for your family tonight – Our Beefed Up Mac N’ Cheese (all grass-fed) Recipe

Source: FrugalDad

Calving season is here and so far we have 7 girls looking for names and milk. Help us by picking names for our 2012 Spring calves, be creative, have fun and everyone’s vote counts! We will collect the votes by Sunday, April 15th and announce the selected names on Monday, April 16th.

The Girls:

Your Vote Counts – Be A Part Of Cherry Grove Farm!

After One Long Day Of Counting The Voted And Making Lists We Have Come Up With A Top 3 Plus The Voters Choice Option For Each Calf. Now We Need You All To Vote Just One More Time To Help Us Narrow It Down To A Winning Name For Each Calf. Use The Photos Above As A Reference Point. Thanks Again For All Your Help!

Calf #201

1. Layla (Our #1 favorite name plus it was the name of the first milking cow ever at Cherry Grove Farm)

2. Jersey

3. Cheese

Customers Pick: Bambi

Calf #202 (keep in mind calf #202 is a baby bull out in the pasture with his mom so we picked from the boy names)

1. Pickle (The winning name by one vote!)

2. Bubs

3. Ice Cream

Customers Pick: Sleepy

Calf #203

1. Taffy

2. Daisy (Winning name)

3. Violet

Customer Pick: Daisy

Calf #204

1. Petunia

2. Mable (this one was close but Mable won by one vote!)

3. Sophie

Customers Pick: Buttercup

Calf #205

1. Sadie (The winning name)

2. Smore

3. Kally

Customers Pick: Brownie

Calf #206

1. Patches (The winning name)

2. Pokadot

3. Tree Branch

Customers Pick: Patches

Calf #207

1. Daisy

2. Charlotte (Winning name)

3. Darla

Customers Pick: Bambi

Calf #208

1. Hersey (Our favorite as well plus it is your top pick!)

2. Sammy

3. Lucy

Customers Pick: Chocolate

Great Job Everyone We Will Be Writing The Winning Names On The Girls Tags So For Years To Come You Can Come To The Farm And Watch Them Grow Up Into Our Milking Herd.

A New Baby, Spring 2012

Hard to believe, but our “winter break” is almost over. Every winter, during the cows’ last months of pregnancy, we give them and ourselves a break from milking. We spend January and February recouping, reorganizing and even resting a little.  And now is the time to kick into gear…new calves are being born, their moms are giving milk and we are making cheese again…

The first baby girl of the season was born about two weeks ago. Interestingly enough, her mom was the first baby girl of her own season a couple of years ago.  We were touched by the warm welcome she received (51 “likes” on facebook!). The expecting moms congregate in the barn outside the store and if you’re lucky you can even witness a birth.  The babies are in what used to be the goat barn. Come by and say hi!

Samuel Kennedy, Cheese Maker At Cherry Grove Farm

Sam, our cheese maker announced Friday March 9th as The official first day of cheese making. He’ll start with a few wheels at first and as the milk flow increases he’ll be making more and more…

Jersey Calves 2012 At Cherry Grove Farm

Kelly is training the young cows to get milked. If you come around 3:30 pm, there’s a good chance you will see him in action.The rest of the time he is running around birthing and taking care of the calves.

Soon we and the cows will all settle into the rhythm of another busy season on the farm… hope you can come and share this wonderful experience with us!

Well take a look…

photo credit: Brian Curry

photo credit: Brian Curry

photo credit: Brian Curry

photo credit: Brian Curry

photo credit: Brian Curry

These photos are more than just amazing talented pictures of Cherry Grove Farm; they are also research for Brian and his Landscape Architect classmates’ most recent assignment – Mission: How can Landscape Architecture help spread agricultural literacy in NJ?

All of us here at the farm are eager to see what Brian and his classmates come up with for Cherry Grove Farm and the surrounding farms (such as Terhune Orchards). As soon as the project is picked and started I will be sure to add onto this blog post to keep all of our friends, family, and local cheese lovers updated on the progress.

I would like to take this time in the blog post to personally thank the team of Rutgers Students who are working hard to help fight the good fight of spreading the knowledge and beauty of NJ agriculture.

” –nothing is better than knowing that people are interested in your work.” - Brian Curry

” I also have a photo blog that I update every few days”– Check it out  —  http://briancurryphoto.tumblr.com/

The farm is uniquely situated on a heavily travelled state highway in the heart of the Philadelphia – New York Corridor, where many retail stores, restaurants and families value high-quality products from local sources. Established points of sale include an on-farm store, seasonal farm markets, year-round wholesale to restaurants and retail markets, and a growing web-based presence.

The Manager (or, couple) will be in charge of all aspects of farm management from production to marketing. He or she will be a person with demonstrated supervisory and management experience; a friendly, outgoing and inclusive manner; and creative passion for the production and marketing of local agricultural products. Appropriate backgrounds may include sustainable agricultural production, Animal husbandry, experience in food sales or distribution, or some combination of these qualifications.

Oliver, Bill and Sam Hamill, Owners

Please send inquiries and qualifications to Sam Hamill, smhjr@ix.netcom.com

Down-home American biscuits on the left

Sam Kennedy, our cheese maker, is  a Culinary Institute of America-trained chef  who always comes up with great recipes.

Here is one of them, for biscuits. Try the short version with butter, or use our own whey-fed Berkshire pork  lard which is labor intensive but totally worth it (see instructions for rendering lard).

Buttermilk Biscuits

Yield: 1 dozen
All purpose flour 1lb.
¼ lb butter or lard at room temperature (which means that they are semi-hard and not liquid.
1 oz. baking powder
¼ oz Salt
2 oz. Sugar
7 oz Buttermilk
4 fl. oz whole milk

Garnish (optional)
½-1 cup sliced onions
½ lb. Garlic Peppercorn Jack, grated

Blend or sift  together the dry ingredients.
Rub or cut in the butter into nut sized pieces.

Add the buttermilk, the scallions and cheese. Mix just to combine. This is known as a shaggy mass. Do not over mix!
Roll the dough out to 1” thick, fold over, turn and repeat 3-4 times.
Cut dough into rounds using a 2-inch biscuit cutter or a clean glass of same diameter.
Continue process until all the dough has been used.

Place biscuits onto parchment lined sheet pans in close rows.

Bake until golden brown. If using a convection oven bake them at 325°F for 10-12 minutes. If using a conventional oven bake them at 425°F for approximately 10-15 minutes.

Stop by our Farm Store and take advantage of this wonderful grass-fed ground beef sale, while supplies last.  Locally grass-fed beef is usually much more expensive than the ground beef you can get from the supermarkets, because it locally raised and fed the right way off organic certified pastures.

This Sale Ends: April 14th 2012 – Stock Up While You Can!!

Stock your freezer up for the New Year! Eat right, eat local, and know where your food comes from. Please enjoy our fast and delicious recipe below for a local, stove top, beefed-up Mac and Cheese.

Locally Beefed-up Mac and Cheese 

Created by Our Cheesemaker Samuel Kennedy

1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup Jersey Fresh Tomatoes, chopped (available at the Farm Store)

1 package Cherry Grove’s grass-fed ground beef (available at the Farm Store)
1/2 pound Severino elbow macaroni (available at the Farm Store)

4 tablespoons butter
2 eggs (available at the Farm Store)
6 ounces evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard (optional)

10 ounces your favorite Cherry Grove Farm Cheese, shredded (available at the Farm Store – we suggest Garlic Peppercorn Jack or Herdsman for a kid friendly meal or impress your friends by using Toma mixed with some Havilah )

In a heavy sauté pan, sauté the onion until translucent, add the beef and a little salt and break down with a fork until browned and fully cooked. Add the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes. Set aside.

In the meantime, in a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Return to the pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard. Fold in the meat- tomato mixture. Stir into the pasta and add the cheese. Over low heat continue to stir for 3 minutes or until creamy – Enjoy your locally Beefed-up Mac and Cheese.

]]> http://www.cherrygrovefarm.com/2012/01/local-grass-fed-a-recipe/feed/ 3 http://www.cherrygrovefarm.com/2012/01/a-classic-soup-made-local/ http://www.cherrygrovefarm.com/2012/01/a-classic-soup-made-local/#comments Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:30:10 +0000 Cherry Grove Farm http://www.cherrygrovefarm.com/?p=2340 Winter time is time for SOUP…We took the classic French onion soup and made it ours, using Toma and Herdsman with some shortcuts… If you don’t have broiler-proof soup bowls do not worry. Just skip this step and make sure that the soup is hot enough to melt the cheese. You and yours are still going to be very happy.

All nine of us, the staff at Cherry grove Farm, would like to take this time to thank all of the girls (cows) that worked so hard all year walking up from the back fields to give us milk twice a day; to our wonderful loyal customers that stop in once a week if not more to support their local farm/farmer; and to our two very hard working cheese makers who hit their goal this year of making 45,000 pounds of handcrafted farmstead cheese for the surrounding areas.

Happy Holidays & Thank You All For Such A Successful Year!