In the pastures of northeastern Vermont, Jasper Hill Farm’s Ayrshire cows feast on grass and clover, producing a fresh, sweet milk that fuels some of the most beloved cheeses in the United States.
“Our approach is to distill the landscape,” says Mateo Kehler, cheesemaker and co-founder of the creamery. “The cow goes out on fresh grass after every milking, harvests that grass and brings it to the farm. We take that and turn it into a cheese that really is reflective of the geography and climate that we live in. It is a taste of place.”
Except that food safety officials say it also is a potential source of dangerous pathogens like E. coli and salmonella.
Kehler and other artisanal cheesemakers swear by “raw” milk — straight-from-the-udder and unpasteurized — saying it gives their products personality and depth of character by retaining the good bacteria that otherwise are killed during pasteurization. Selling raw milk is illegal in most states, but federal law allows cheese made from raw milk as long as it is aged for 60 days, a period intended to kill harmful bacteria.
But the Food and Drug Administration is re-examining its regulations, a move that has caused concern among cheese makers. They worry that the agency will lengthen the mandatory aging period or, possibly, ban raw milk cheeses altogether.
While raw milk is not allowed to be sold in Canada, raw milk cheese is allowed for sale, according to the Health Canada website.
This is because the way raw milk cheeses are manufactured and produced helps eliminate any harmful bacteria that may be present in raw milk.
In Quebec in particular, cheeses made from raw milk have eager customers — even for the younger, softer types of cheese.
However, Health Canada warns that pregnant women, children, older adults and people with a weakened immune system should still avoid eating raw milk cheese, especially soft and semi-soft cheeses, such as brie, Camembert and blue-veined cheeses. For these people, potential food-borne bacteria can cause serious health effects.
Instead of raw milk cheese, you can try pasteurized milk cheeses.
An outright ban in the U.S. would remove some of the world’s most famous cheeses from American shelves: Parmigiano-Reggiano, Gruyere and Roquefort all are made with raw milk. But even extending the aging period, cheesemakers and experts say, could leave a notable hole on your cheese board.
“Over the years we’ve developed a number of American treasures that have really become part of the larger food movement,” says Rob Kaufelt, proprietor of New York’s Murray’s Cheese shops.
Aging cheeses allows the acids and salts in it to kill harmful bacteria. Advocates of longer aging say more time could kill more bacteria. But opponents cite studies that suggest older cheese is not necessarily safer. At least one study found that E. coli can survive in cheese for more than a year.
At Meadow Creek Dairy in southwest Virginia, Helen Feete and her daughter Kat produce Grayson, a supple, pungent cheese reminiscent of Italian taleggio that has won prizes from the American Cheese Society five years running. Coaxing the cheese and its pliant rind to survive the 60-day mark was the greatest challenge in creating it, says Kat Feete, and having to push it even further would send them back to the drawing board.
Jasper Hill’s Kehler says he already has sacrificed one cheese to the 60-day rule. Constant Bliss, a rich, buttery concoction with a bloomy rind, went to pasteurized milk last year, Kehler says, because aging the raw milk to 60 days left very little shelf life for consumers.
The farm’s prize-winning Bayley Hazen Blue, a gentle blue-veined cheese laced with hints of licorice that is in demand at high-end cheese shops, would be in the same position if the aging period is extended, Kehler says.
And the farm’s Winnimere, a spruce-wrapped spoonable cheese that has acquired a cult following, would simply disappear.
“It would be over,” Kehler says.
These soft cheeses are the most vulnerable since their character is tied to a short aging period.
Rogue River Blue, a woodsy, aromatic blue cheese from Oregon’s Rogue Creamery that is wrapped in brandy-soaked vine leaves, also would disappear. It has been hailed by Fairway Markets’ master cheesemonger Steve Jenkins as “the most complex amalgam of flavours in the entire realm of gastronomy.”
The cheese is also becoming “the ambassador for the American cheese movement,” says creamery president David Gremmels. Rogue River Blue, he says, was recently added to the roster of the famous Parisian cheese shop Laurent Dubois.
“That says a lot,” Gremmels says, “an American artisan cheese in Paris.”
In France, Kaufelt says, thousands of tiny producers — “kitchens, back room operations” — function under the same rules of sanitation as the large producers. “If those small cheese makers can do it without customers worrying about what they’re buying or eating, then certainly we should be able to do the same thing here,” he says.
A rich and creamy quiche is a great place to show off a great cheese. While quiche Lorraine may be the best known type — sporting bacon, onions and Gruyere — quiche fillings can be varied and diverse.
Recipes can include sausage, seafood, ham and nearly any variety of vegetables.
Our quiche takes a trip to Italy to show off the creamy cheese called fontina. We pair it with bacon and chard, but you also could use pancetta and spinach or another green.
Be sure to cook any meats or vegetables prior to adding them to the egg base. And after cooking the vegetables, drain any excess moisture, as that will interfere with the setting up of the custard.
Bacon, Chard and Fontina Quiche
Start to finish: 1 hour
1 purchased refrigerated pie crust
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 bunch Swiss chard, tough stems removed, chopped
6 eggs
375 ml (1 1/2 cups) half-and-half
2 ml (1/2 tsp) salt
2 ml (1/2 tsp) ground black pepper
15 ml (1 tbsp) fresh thyme, chopped
375 ml (1 1/2 cups) shredded fontina cheese
Heat oven to 200 C (400 F).
Line a deep-dish pie plate or a quiche pan with the pie crust, crimping or trimming the edge. Place the pan on a baking sheet, then set aside.
In a large skillet over medium-high, cook bacon until crispy, 4 to 5 minutes. Add Swiss chard and continue to cook until the chard is tender, another 7 to 8 minutes. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to drain any excess liquid.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, salt, pepper and thyme.
Add cheese to chard and bacon, then transfer mixture to prepared pie crust. Pour egg mixture into crust and gently stir to eliminate any large clumps or air bubbles. Bake for 20 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 160 C (325 F), then bake until centre is set, about another 40 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before slicing. Enjoy warm or cool. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Makes 8 servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 368 calories; 243 calories from fat (66 per cent of total calories); 27 g fat (13 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 214 mg cholesterol; 17 g carbohydrate; 14 g protein; 1 g fibre; 604 mg sodium.