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Naturally, the first step in cheese production is
getting the milk. Our cheeses are made from the freshest
milk possible. The milk used at Smith’s Country Cheese
comes directly from our own dairy herd of Holsteins. Our
cows are milked, by machine, 3 times a day. Each cow
produces an average of 75 lbs of milk per day, with top
producers giving up to 165 lbs. We are able to milk 60
cows in an hour. Some of this milk is then brought
directly up to our cheese making facility where it is
pumped into the cheese vat. It requires 100 pounds of
milk to make 10 pounds of Gouda. The milk is pumped into
the cheese vat just minutes after the last cow in our
dairy herd is milked. The result is true farmstead
cheese!
Once the milk has been pumped into the vat, it is slowly
heated to 99° F. After the addition of culture (good
bacteria which give cheese flavor and texture) and
rennet (used to make the protein particles clump
together and to separate the milk into solids and
liquids), the heated milk slowly begins to turn to curds
(solids) and whey (liquids.) The whey is drained away,
and the curds are cut into blocks. Each block is then
placed into a round form and net, then covered and
stacked in a press. After 45 minutes, the softly formed
curds are shaped into a wheel. They are then removed
from the press, inspected, and placed in a brine tank (a
salt water bath) in cold storage to soak overnight. In
the morning, the cheese is removed, dried, and covered
with a protective coating to discourage the growth of
mold. The cheese is placed on shelves and turned every
other day until the coating is dry. Each cheese is
dipped into wax and once again placed on a shelf in cold
storage until it is 60 days old. Because we use raw
milk, a 60 day self-pasteurizing, aging period provides
ample time for ripening and flavor enhancement. When the
cheese has matured to 60 days, it is packaged, labeled
and ready for sale!
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