Cutting the Curd

This week on Cutting the Curd, Anne is joined by a special panel of friends and colleagues to discuss the ongoing developments and controversy surrounding raw milk in cheese production. Tia Keenan of The Modern, Daphne Zepos of Essex Cheese Company and Matteo Kehler of Jasper Hill all share their thoughts on FDA crackdowns on small producers, European traditions, and cultural barriers that need to be broken down in order for everybody to appreciate raw milk cheese in the United States. This episode was sponsored by The Barterhouse. For more information on The Barterhouse visit www.thebarterhouse.com

This week on Cutting the Curd, Anne is joined by cheesemonger Diana Pitett and author Kara Newman on a monastic themed episode. The girls discuss the history surrounding cheese, spirits and monasteries. Tune in to learn more about The St Benedict Rule, feeding Chartreuse to cows, and how certain cheeses were washed with spirits. This episode was brought to you by The Barterhouse. For more information on their wines visit www.thebarterhouse.com

This week on Cutting the Curd Anne Saxelby takes the State of Cheese series down to The Big Easy. Learn about dairy culture in Louisana and New Orleans, or the lack thereof. Anne is joined by Richard Sutton of St. James Cheese Shop who explains how his journey to England brought him and his wife back to New Orleans, and what it was like for them starting the first artisanal cheese shop in the area. Tune in to learn more about cheese and dairy in the state of Louisiana. This episode was kindly sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons. For more information visit www.surryfarms.com

This week on Cutting the Curd Anne continues her State of Cheese series with a look at Utah and the state’s growing interest in sustainable food. Steven Rosenberg of Liberty Heights Fresh calls from Utah to talk about how eating some unsavory cafeteria food began him on a quest to finding the freshest and most delicious food available and ended in the form of Liberty Heights Fresh, one of the best places to find sustainable cheese and produce in Utah. This episode was sponsored by Cabot Cheese of Vermont, Dairy Farm Family owned since 1919.

This week on Cutting the Curd Anne spoke to Alyce Birchenough of Sweet Home Farm in Alabama as part of her continuing State of Cheese Series. Alyce talked about how, using local sourcing and value added sales techniques, she proved some other local farmers wrong when they said she couldn’t make a living off her modest 40 acres. Tune in to find out how cheese is doing in the great state of Alabama. This episode was sponsored by Cabot Cheese of Vermont, Dairy Farm Family owned since 1919.

This week on Cutting the Curd Anne continues her State of Cheese series with New Hampshire. Doug Erb of Landaff creamery calls in to talk about his career in the cheese business. Tune in to hear how Doug is working with Jasper Hill Creamery to get his product distributed, and about Doug’s work with the Vermont Institute of Artisan Cheese. This episode was sponsored by Edwards of Surry Virginia.

This week on Cutting the Curd Anne speaks to Shanna Pacifico of Back 40 to share terrifying cheese stories: the ghoulish, the ghastly, and the gross. Turn green as you hear the tale of the 117 year old Eastern European cheese (quite literally an heirloom), cringe at the story of the creepy crawly cheese mites, and wince at the thought of cheese-filled luggage sitting on hot airport tarmacs for a week. This episode was sponsored by Cain Vineyard and Winery.

State #7: This week on Cutting the Curd Anne continues the saga that is The State of Cheese with Michigan: the next chapter. Aubrey Thomason of Zingerman’s Creamery in Ann Arbor calls in to explain just how much of cheesemaking and mongering is packaging or cleaning or wrapping or straight up cheese creation. Learn about their lactic style fresh cheese, why the value added dairy industry can be so tricky, plus the low down on goat’s milk cheese and the “raw milk bust”. This episode was sponsored by Fairway: like no other market.

State #6: This week on Cutting the Curd Anne’s State of Cheese special continues with Kentucky: the bluegrass state, and home of Kenny Mattingly of Kenny’s Country Cheese. Learn how a trip to meet with international cheesemakers impressed Kenny enough to turn his dairy farm into an artisanal cheesemaking operation that would eventually reach up to 30 varieties. Kenny speaks on Kentucky’s positive attitude towards raw-milk cheeses, some major breaks he’s had distributing his cheese at venues in Kentucky, and what he sees for the future of his dairy farm. This episode was sponsored by Hearst Ranch: purveyors of fine grass-fed beef from the California coast.

State #5: This week on Cutting the Curd Anne continues her State of Cheese series with New York State. Dean Sparks from Empire Organics joins Anne on air to talk about how to keep the quality of dairy high and the wages fair for everyone from the farmer to the distributor. Speaking on everything from simple eggs to value added dairy products, Dean stresses the importance of making sure everyone’s markup is fair, so the farmers make a reasonable wage and the consumer pays a reasonable price. This episode was sponsored by Whole Foods Market.