Cheesemaking at Cato Corner Farm

Last week I finally got to do something I have wanted to do since we opened the shop in 2009. I spent the day with one of my favorite cheesemakers, Mark Gillman of Cato Corner Farm making cheese. We have carried Mark's beautiful, delicious cheese since we opened our doors. He creates his cheese on his family farm in Colchester Connecticut from the milk of his small herd of Jersey cows. They milk just about forty five cows and turn the rich, pure raw milk into some of the country's best farmstead cheeses. When Mark extended the invitation I took advantage and cleared my schedule. Ever since I started on my new career in cheese I have done everything BUT actually make cheese. While studying for the Certified Cheese Professional Exam I focused a lot on the process and the factors that produce great cheese, I read as much as I could find to understand and fill in where I thought my knowledge was weak. My day with Mark brought it all to life and I could have saved myself a lot of reading had I visited sooner.

Mark suggested that I arrive on the farm after the morning milking and after the milk had been placed in the vat. That way I could avoid the waiting around while the cultures and rennet work their magic, turning the milk into curds and whey. I arrived around eleven o'clock and Mark warmly greeted me and said we were going to make Bridgid's Abbey today. We sell a lot of Bridgid's Abbey in the shop so I was excited. It is mild and milky with a pretty natural rind that begets a nutty, tangy flavor. We took a quick walk around the farm, poked our heads into the main barn and also watched as a few of the cows had their hooves trimmed. It was a cool Spring day and the grass and trees were bursting forth.

The cows had still not been turned out onto the pastures. Mark said they (the cows) were anxious to get out there but the grass wasn't quite ready. It needed some more time to grow and strengthen before the herd could have their first feast of the season. They were pretty much hanging around the barn and paddock munching on hay. Mark looked at his watch and we made our way to the cheese making room, located adjacent to the barn and behind their farm store.

We changed out of our farm clothes into clean clothes and put on long aprons, the obligatory hairnets and tall rubber boots. All this garb is necessary in cheesemaking to preserve a sterile, clean environment. The cheesemaking room is small and rustic and when I walked in the smell of fresh, sweet milk hung in the air. It was warm and pretty humid. We scrubbed in, sanitizing our hands and arms, scrubbing them with a brush then putting on two layers of gloves. We also washed the fronts of our aprons since we would be leaning over the vat. Mark gave me instructions to not touch anything except the vat. I followed orders carefully, fearful of messing up a whole batch of cheese! Mark checked the curd in the vat and determined it was time to cut it. We spent quite a bit of time cutting the curd until it was the perfect size. Then Mark rinsed it, which helps produce a sweeter, smoother cheese with less acidity. 

Next came the fun part. We scooped the curds into the molds and the the cheeses quickly began to take form as the curds quickly knitted together. We flipped the cheeses a few times and then they went into the press for about twenty minutes. We finished up by washing down and sanitizing all the equipement, vat and surfaces. Cheesemaking really is 85% cleaning. 

After we were done cleaning Mark took me on

a tour of his cheese caves. The room was amazing. Wall to wall cheese, aging gracefully on wooden shelves. The smell of ammonia was heavy in the air and we walked up and down the aisles inspecting the cheese. We tested an aging Bridgid's Abbey and it was sweet and creamy.


 After the tour Mark had some cheese that was ready to come out of the brining solution so I decided to finish my visit by checking out the barns and the cows on my own so he could finish up his day. I took some great pictures of "the girls" They are friendly, gentle animals and I couldn't help think about how lucky they were to live on such a beautiful farm and be so well taken care of. Unlike big commercial dairies these cows live quite the life and their health and happiness is paramount to the quality, flavor and nutrition of the milk they produce. I say it all the time, "happy animals make superior cheese."  

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