Texas Cheese
Yes! Texas Cheese! We proudly offer a rotating selection of cheeses from many of the Texan producers on the map above, including Blue Heron Farm, Brazos Valley Cheese, CKC Farms, Eagle Mountain Farmhouse, Mozzarella Company, Pure Luck Farm and Dairy, Sand Creek Farm, Veldhuizen Cheese, and Wateroak Farm. (Scroll over the Map of Texas Cheesemakers above to click on each farm for additional information on the cheeses each produces.)
From the goat cheese producers of the Hill Country to the dairy cow milk producers of the Plains, a plethora of producers have come onto the cheesemaking scene in the past decade (and a few are even older). At the 2011 American Cheese Society annual conference and competition, six Texas cheese and dairy producers brought home a total of thirteen ribbons! (And it's worth noting that not every producer even entered into the competition.) We are excited and honored to represent Texas cheese in our case, and we look forward to what the next decade has in store. (Unfortunately, we are not able to stock cheeses from every producer, so call ahead if you're looking for something particular.)
Blue Heron Farm
Lisa and Christian Seger quit the lifestyle they knew, picked up, and moved to rural Field Store northwest of Houston, Texas in 2006 after being inspired by Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma. They currently own a 10.5-acre farm which sustainably supports the 28 Nubian goats they care for and milk, as well as ducks, pigs, turkeys, farm dogs, and a personal garden. As a farmstead cheese producer, they milk their own goats and make fresh cheeses less than fifteen feet away, ensuring the milk is used immediately. In the fall of 2011, Blue Heron Farm took in two neighboring farms’ goats when wildfires ravaged the area and they supported them with the production and sale of Fieldstore Fire Chevre. We especially love their spunky attitude and their obvious care for our food system – they’re certainly doing their part to change it. Visit their website »
What types of chees do you make?
Perfectly Plain Chevre, Spicy Mediterranean Chevre, Greek Chevre, Chipotle Blend Chevre, Green Goddess Chevre, Breakfast Spread Chevre, Feta, and Cajeta (as well as occasional experimental aged cheeses)
What was life like before cheesemaking?
Christian worked on the road as a touring sound engineer and I worked at a soul-crushing marketing job. We were full on DINKS in Houston, trapped in a consumerist lifestyle that really offered no satisfaction or reward, other than knowing we were, at least, good at our jobs.
What are your future goals for the farm and dairy?
We plan to keep on keeping on. We have no plans to get bigger – it’s enough work. We just try to increase efficiencies and be better grass farmers each year.
Besides being great on a cheese plate, do you have any other suggestions or recipes for using your cheese?
Both the chevre and feta make amazing spanikopita. I often cheat and mix it up with spinach, herbs, and green onions and then just plop it between two sheets of puff pastry. I’m sure Greek people die a little inside when I do that, but it tastes great and I don’t always have tons of time in the house kitchen after being in the dairy kitchen all day.
Do you name your ladies? If so, is there a strategy to it?
Most of the herd were purchased as adults and so came with names. Our first year, we kept all our female kids to increase the herd and named them all after country singers (Lucinda, Emmylou, Carrie Underwood, etc.), a nod to Christian’s old job. Now when we keep does, we relate their names to their mothers. For instance, last year we named Bacardi’s daughter Mojito.
Do you produce cheese all year round (ie by operating a rotational breeding program)?
We follow seasonal patterns. We never shut down totally, but the production drops significantly in the winter. By January, we only make 20-30 pounds a week.
How does seasonality affect your cheese?
Butterfat goes up in the winter and the cheeses tend to get creamier and more dense. Our winter feta is a pretty amazing cheese – it’s almost like butter.
Brazos Valley Cheese
Just an idea in 1999, Brazos Valley Cheese started in December 2005. Between those dates, Rebeccah Durkin wanted to teach herself how to make cheese because the Brown Swiss milk cows that serviced families on the agrarian Homestead Heritage community where she lived in Waco, Texas, were producing an abundance of spring milk. She thumbed through a How-to Cheesemaking book and experimented with making butter, cream cheese and mozzarella. Her friends became interested in learning as well, so Rebeccah taught them the craft she had discovered. Her brothers built her a make-shift cheese press from plywood and dowels, and she used a gallon tin can with drain holes drilled in it as a cheese mold for her first hard cheese. She used an old refrigerator in the shed as an “aging cave.” Rebeccah's skills in cheese making continued to develop and over the next couple years she wrote a How-To book of her own and began teaching hard and soft cheese making classes from the curriculum she developed. In May 2005, her cousin Marc Kuehl visited Waco, Texas from Denver, Colorado. Upon coming to Texas, he found a new purpose in life at Homestead Heritage and decided to stay. Rebeccah mentioned that she had always dreamed to start a cheese business. In December 2005 Marc and Rebeccah began Brazos Valley Cheese. As demand grew, so did their business. In 2008 and then again in 2010, they had to increase their vat size and imported new vats that doubled milk capacity! In addition to being used by many established Texas chefs and restaurants, Brazos Valley Cheese has been recognized at the American Cheese Society judging and competition in 2010 and 2011, winning awards for Eden (a fig leaf-wrapped Brie cheese with a line of vegetable ash in the center), Brie, bandaged-wrapped Cheddar, and Brazos Select (a Brie painted with sorghum syrup and wrapped in mesquite wood). Visit their website »
What types of cheese do you make?
We make hard cheeses including Cheddar, Horseradish Pecan Cheddar and Swiss. We have a cheese we created called Van Sormon. It was a mistake that turned into one of our best sellers. We rub it with vanilla, sorghum and cinnamon. We make a creamy blue. And we have 3 brie styles which have all won awards. Our 1st place winner, Eden, is a brie wrapped in fig leaves and has a line of vegetable ash in the middle. Brazos Select, a 2nd place winner is brie that we paint with sorghum syrup, wrap with a band of mesquite wood and top with grape leaf. Finally, we make a traditional brie which also was given a 2nd place ribbon.
What was life like before cheesemaking?
Marc came from a colorful background mixed with drugs and gangs. After living a destructive life he knew he needed a change. In 2005 he came to Texas to visit his family at Homestead Heritage and knew this was the place that he wanted to live the rest of his life. Rebeccah has been making cheese since her late teens. She recently was engaged and will be married in March of 2012.
What are your future goals?
As a company, we strive to continue to support local dairies. We look forward to continuing to supply fine Texas establishments as well as developing a growing market across state lines. We currently supply groceries, restaurants and cheese shops in California, Oregon, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Indiana and New York.
What is the best thing about making cheese?
The best thing about making cheese is the ability to make a personal connection with people. They see the care we put into our product. When they hear how we got to where we are, they are inspired and a hopeful belief begins to be restored in their heart that dreams can come true.
What is the hardest thing about being a cheesemaker?
Honestly, when a question like this is asked, "what is the hardest thing.." it carries a suggestion like "what would you do without if you could?" There is nothing that we do on a daily and weekly basis that we would change. We love what we do.
How does seasonality affect your cheese?
Since milk for our cheese comes from cows that live in the Texas heat. The summer makes for lower production with less butter fat because of the stress on the animals. In the Spring, the cows are fresh having just calved. They are on green grass and those two factors make for the best cheese making.
Besides being great on a cheese plate, do you have any other suggestions or recipes for using your cheese?
The other night we enjoyed an enchilada dinner topped with Van Sormon. The hint of cinnamon made for a unique treat. Our blue makes great blue cheese dressing. Finally, who can resist a baked brie wrapped in Phyllo dough topped with a pear conserve?!
Caprino Royale
Eric and Karen, both native Texans equipped with fancy degrees and a range of skills, randomly met in a bike shop in Austin years ago. As fate or luck would determine, they fell in love and later married. Realizing their mutual interests, a love for the outdoors but a determination to follow a “career path,” they searched continuously for a home that met their needs but couldn’t find it…not until an opportunity arose for Eric to embrace his country roots and move back to take over 50 acres of his family farm in Waco, Texas. After a period of getting to know the land, Eric and Karen decided in 2009 to begin a goat farm and dairy to produce milk and cheese. With a herd of around thirty Nubian goats, Karen and Eric seek in their daily efforts to “practice and promote a respect for the land, nature, and the natural rhythm of life.” Visit their website »
What types of chees do you make?
Currently Chevre, Feta, Caprino (Aged provencal style), Texas Bloombonnet (mold ripened). We also make cajeta as well.
What was life like before cheesemaking?
Eric was a master teacher working in low income schools, Karen was an occupational therapist/ certified hand therapist working in healthcare as a hand therapist.
What are your future goals for the farm and dairy?
We plan to continue to grow our herd to around 40 milkers, complete our aging rooms and produce blue cheeses and Spanish style aged cheeses. Host farm events seasonally at the farm. Teach cheese and farming classes.
What is the best thing about making cheese?
Lifestyle, connnection to nature and the ability to provide high quality food to others.
What is the hardest thing about being a cheesemaker?
Patience, cheese is slow food.
Do you name your ladies? If so, is there a strategy to it?
They all have names. All does born into the herd have bond girl names (James Bond) hence the name Caprino Royale (Casino Royale).
Do you produce cheese all year round (ie do you operate a rotational breeding program)?
Currently we produce year around due to rotational breeding of our herd. There is a time of year when cheese production is significantly decreased due to the lactation cycle of a goat.
How does seasonality affect your cheese?
As a goat progresses in their lactation cycle the quantity of milk decreases but the butterfat content increases making for richer, denser more buttery cheese toward the end of their lactation which usually lasts about 10 months. Available browse in the pastures also dictate the flavor of the cheese as well.
Besides being great on a cheese plate, do you have any other suggestions or recipes for using your cheese?
Wow this is a hard question. Since our main customer is restaurants we see our cheeses used in a variety of innovative ways. Pizza, salads, pasta, enchiladas, ice cream, crepes, sauces, marscapone, sandwiches, deserts, pastries, and the list goes on.
Cheesy Girl
Susan Holle, the "girl" in Cheesy Girl, left the health care world to make delicious, vegetarian goat's milk cheeses just outside of Houston. Her current product line-up includes Plain Jane, Buff, Hottie, Femme Fatale, and Cara Mia. Visit their website »
CKC Farms
Chrissy Omo returned from a family trip to Italy, inspired and challenged to make artisanal cheese. At 16 years old and with a herd of ten goats, Chrissy started making cheese in Blanco, Texas in 2006. Acknowledging the importance of her family in both supporting her and helping her, Chrissy named her business CKC Farms (after Chrissy, Kenny, and Connor – including her two younger brothers who often accompany her to farmers markets and assist on the farm). Today, Chrissy’s business has grown to include over 180 La Mancha, Saanen, and Alpine goats and is so successful that she’s put herself through college. Visit their website »
What types of cheese do you make?
Plain Chevre, Herb Chevre, Midnight Chevre, Jalapeno and Artichoke Spread, Seasoned Feta, Baby Caprino, and Baby Blue (as well as soon-to-be-released Peppercorn Aged Chevre and Caprino Romano later in 2012).
What was life like before cheesemaking?
I was a city kid growing up, born in Houston and raised in San Antonio; it was fun but I LOVE being out in the country. I used to play violin for years (yes I was an orchestra nerd) and I felt as if the music allowed me to escape from the world for a little while. I feel the same way about cheesemaking; it honestly still kind of feels like a hobby, because I really enjoy it.
What are your future goals for the farm and dairy?
I would love to expand the cheese business with different types of aged raw goat milk cheeses. I am dabbling in a little bit of everything right now. It seems like the winter and summer months (when I'm not in school) is when the creative brain juices start to flow. I have some test batches of an aged cheese that is soaked in glorious Texas Wine and another with olive oil and chipotle. I would love to make a goat’s milk fresh and aged mozzarella as well. I think it would be awesome if one day our farm would be open for tours that way people can see what it is that we do.
Do you name your ladies? If so, is there a strategy to it?
Yes, how can we not?! We see each other twice a day everyday; it's like we're family. :) Usually we name them when we start to bottle feed them around two weeks of age. I get to name half and my little brothers Kenny and Conner name the other half. You could just imagine the differing names, mine being more sweet like Hope, Gloria, Darling and my brothers naming them Frankenhead, Cheeto Girl, and Wombat. But we did come up with names for the bucks together as a family: we have our Saanen buck Sir Richard and our Alpine buck Christian.
Do you produce cheese all year round (ie do you operate a rotational breeding program)?
We do produce cheese year round. We freshen our girls from the end of December for the beginning of the season and the last ones to freshen are in June and July. We rotate them so that no one goat is milked over nine months with a month or two "break" from being working girls.
How does seasonality affect your cheese?
In the spring and summer, the milk is really flowing and the resulting cheese has that wonderful light creamy fresh tang to it. In the colder months, the production decreases slightly so the butterfat is elevated resulting in a very rich creamy cheese. I adore making aged cheeses in the winter like the Baby Caprino, Baby Blue, and Peppercorn because the creaminess is out-of-this-world delicious. There is a subtle sweet earthiness that engulfs the palate, especially with the Caprino Romano I have been making with raw goat milk; it brings you back to that chilly morning waking up to milk the goats and the aroma of fresh alfalfa hay and sweet feed that fills the milking air. Cheese is such a treat!
Besides being great on a cheese plate, do you have any other suggestions or recipes for using your cheese?
Do I! We are updating our recipes page on our website for yummy ways to enjoy our cheeses.
Dos Lunas Artisan Cheese
Joaquin Avellan came to cheese in a unique way. His Venezuelan father had traveled to the United States for heart surgery and, after a recovery period, needing assistance returning to his home in the foothills of the Andes. Joaquin traveled back with him and ended up staying for six weeks; at that time, he began to assist in his father’s cheesemaking operation. After his return home, he quickly missed the cheesemaking process – both making it as well as eating the results! Thus, Joaquin decided to venture into cheesemaking himself in 2010. Today, he sources his raw milk from the grass-fed Jersey cows at Stryk Jersey Farm in Schulenberg, Texas where he also makes his cheese and brings them here to Austin. Visit their website »
What types of cheese do you make?
We make 4 signature cheese based on a farmer's cheese, each one distinct due to the fat content and of the level of humidity during the 60 days+ maturing process: Dos Lunas Clasico: Full Cream very moist, Dos Lunas Seco: Full Cream mildly moist, Dos Lunas Especial: Half Cream, mildly moist, and Dos Lunas Año: Skimed, low moisture. We also make the Dos Lunas Ricotta Fresca (According to the Austin Chronicle it is the only truly fresh ricotta in texas. And last but not least we make 4 different cheddars: The Chico Cheddar ( full cream baby cheddar created upon request of our customers who are mothers of young cheese lovers.); The Black Pepper Cheddar (The classic white cheddar but infused by the freshly cracked black pepper during its 60 days+ of maturing process); The Cumin Cheddar (White cheddar infused by the fresh cumin seeds during its 60 days+ of maturing process); The Caraway Cheddar (White cheddar with inclusions of the caraway seeds matured 60 days+ making an exotic rye bitter finish).
What was life like before cheesemaking?
Life before cheesemaking was terribly insipid, and very predictable.
What are your future goals?
Within the next 12 months, I would like to build a cave for aging cheese locally to allow Dos Lunas to develop a series of more complex cheeses.
What is the best thing about making cheese?
The pleasure to produce healthy raw dairy products to enhance the well-being of our local communities.
What is the hardest thing about being a cheesemaker?
A draught like the one last summer.... less water means less grass therefore less fat content so less cream on the cheese.
How does seasonality affect your cheese?
The seasonal grasses the Jersey cows eat make the cheese creamier and sweeter.
Besides being great on a cheese plate, do you have any other suggestions or recipes for using your cheese?
Local chefs have come up with many creative ways to use our cheese. Chef Dzintra Dzenis (Plates by Dzintra) mixes our Queso Especial, Chico Queso, and Cheddar into a cheese sauce for Gourmet Seafood Mac & Cheese. Chef Rene Ortiz (La Condesa) uses our Queso Especial in a unique Farmers’ Salad. Chef David Burton (Soleil Bar & Grill) stuffs the Seco in a Poblano Chili with Grilled Seafood dish. Many are great for melting; give it a try!
Eagle Mountain Farmhouse Cheese
After years of working as a successful products liability defense attorney, David Eagle decided to give up that life. Inspired by his many trips to Europe and his love for great cheese, Dave pondered the feasibility of producing his own cheese in Texas. After training in Vermont, he returned home to set up his cheese facility in Granbury, Texas and begin producing washed rind and gouda-style cheeses. His son, Matt, came on board to help with the cheesemaking and they were both later joined by nephew Corey who cares for aging the cheeses. To get started, Dave wanted ideal ingredients for his cheese, starting with the best milk he could find. He currently sources his raw milk from the Brown Swiss cows at Sandy Creek Farm in Bridgeport, Texas. Additionally, he gets his salt from Grand Saline, Texas; the salt mine there is one of the largest in the world. Birdville Reserve, his Trappist-style cheese, is aged on spruce sourced from Fort Worth. Cheesemaking for Dave is principally about three things: (1) making excellent cheese, (2) “a family bonding thing,” and (3) “making choices” about your food. Visit their website »
What types of cheese do you make?
Birdville Reserve (Trappist-style, washed 2-3 times/week, ages on spruce, ready at 8 wks), Granbury Gold (Gouda-style, aged 8 wks), and Grandbury Vintage (Gouda-style, aged 4-6 mths). Works in progress include Mountain Raclette, Tomme, and Cantal.
What was life like before cheesemaking?
I don’t remember…
What are your future goals for the farm and dairy?
Add a few more cheeses to our repertoire and keep having fun making and selling cheese!
How does seasonality affect your cheese?
There are nuances that develop with the cheeses based on the grass the cows eat at different times of the year.
Besides being great on a cheese plate, do you have any other suggestions or recipes for using your cheese?
Mac & Cheese, Cheeseburgers, Cheese Sauce for Fresh Veggies, Pimento Cheese, Grilled Cheese, etc., etc., etc…
Full Quiver Farms
Although they had been in the dairy business for over sixteen years, the Sams family began producing cow's milk cheese in 2002 on their Kemp, Texas farm. With an emphasis on organic practices, Full Quiver takes care of its herd of over thirty Jersey, Holstein, and crossbred dairy cow to produce delicious cheeses like Mozzarella, Feta, Queso Fresco, Oaxaca, Aged Pepper Jack, Aged Colby, Aged Cheddar, and Aged Monterrey Jack. Other goods include the Cheese Balls (Jalapeno and Chipotle, Cheese Spreads (Garlic Basil, Spinach Feta, Chive, Jalapeno, Pineapple, Blueberry, and Strawberry), and Marinated Cheeses in olive oil and fresh herbs. As a working farm, they produce a number of other food products like whey-fed pork, grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, and other dairy treats. Visit their website »
Latte Da Dairy
Staring in 2005 with a little more than five acres and two Nubian goats, Rosemary and Serenity, Latte Da Dairy was established in 2006 in Flower Mound, Texas (just north of the DFW metroplex). Today, they produce an assortment of goat's milk cheeses, including Fresh Chevre (Dill & Garlic, Pepper, Mango & Ginger, and 'The Works'), Fresh Feta (Plain and Kalamata Olive), Piccolo Brie, Argento Capra, Gouda, and Caerphilly. Visit their website »
Lucky Layla
Using rBGH free milk from their herd of Guernsey and Jersey Cows, Lucky Layla has been producing dairy goods since 2004 in Plano, Texas. In addition to cheese, they produce drinkable yogurts, butter, and caramel . Visit their website »
Pure Luck Farm & Dairy
In 1979, Sara Sweetser bought eleven acres and an old homestead in Dripping Springs to raise her daughters, Gitana and Amelia. A dedicated worker who loved the land, Sara got her hands into the dirt beginning with a vegetable garden. Along the way, she met Denny Bolton, had two more daughters (Claire and Hope), and in 1988, became one of Texas’ first certified organic farms. It was then that the farm name was coined since, as Sara saw it, “it was Pure Luck that it worked.” In the 1990s, the farm harvested a huge crop of cucumbers, and then grew to include organic herbs and flowers. Along the way, Sara launched the Grade A Goat Dairy, in large part due to her love for animals, and her daughter Amelia joined her two years later. Although Sara has passed, Pure Luck Farm and Dairy is in capable hands that love the work just as much as she did. The farm still produces organic herbs and the dairy has grown to include 100 Alpine and Nubian goats. Amelia runs the cheesemaking operation, while her husband Ben runs the delivery truck (and little son June gets into everything in between). Very much a family-run business to this day, sisters Gitana, Claire, and Hope also assist in maintaining the farm. We’re proud that Pure Luck Dairy has won Texas many national ribbons for their handcrafted, artisanal cheeses, and more importantly, we love eating their cheese. Visit their website »
What types of cheese do you make?
Fresh Chevre and Chevre Spread in assorted flavors (Anaheim Red Chili Pepper and June’s Joy), Feta, Del Cielo, Sainte Maure, and Hopelessly Bleu.
What was life like before cheesemaking?
Boring... and lacking natural light. I was working in offices in the city, I wanted to be out side. Our cheese plant has a bank of north-facing windows so you can wash dishes and gaze out the window all day!
What are your future goals for the farm and dairy?
My goals are to continually improve on what we currently do. And one day soon to make a new cheese! Long term I would like to become significantly more sustainable as a farm. Lastly, I would love to see a reduction of waste.
What is the best thing about making cheese?
The beauty of the cheeses.
What is the hardest thing about being a cheesemaker?
Getting off the farm!
Do you name your ladies? If so, is there a strategy to it?
Yes, all of the ladies are named. Each year a theme is picked. In 2011 the theme was the word "luck" in as many languages as we could pronounce. Sortuda, Suerte, Norocos, Fat, Mazel, Gluck, Onni, Chance, and Mugisa. The inspiration for the theme came from a Heifer International book, called "Beatrice's Goat" Beatrice's family receives the life changing gift of a dairy goat. Beatrice names the goat "Mugisa" which means luck. While reading the book to my son June I knew the theme of the year had arrived. So after June witnessed his first goat birth we named the kid Mugisa.
Do you produce cheese all year round (ie do you operate a rotational breeding program)?
We take a short break from cheesemaking after the winter holidays.
How does seasonality affect your cheese?
The flavor and texture of our cheese varies throughout the season. Early in the season the milk is still very rich and the cheese is creamy and dense. Quickly, as spring arrives, the fresh cheeses take on a lighter texture and complex flavor. Through the summer the milk remains quite light. As we near the end of August there is a dramatic change in the flavor of the cheese. The result is a very creamy, nutty flavor. This very early fall flavor last for a few short weeks. For me this is my very favorite flavor of the seasons. As fall progresses the texture becomes richer and denser. Due to the seasonality of the milk some of our cheeses are not made year round. For example Hopelessly Bleu has proven very difficult to make well during the winter months.
Sand Creek Farm
Ben and Alysha Godfrey call themselves “soil and grass farmers” above all else, acknowledging that encouraging and maintaining the “health of the soil” is paramount when trying to create a sustainable farm that nourishes animals for good meat and dairy products, as well as nutrient-rich crops. They moved to their Cameron, Texas farm from the College Station area in 2006 with the goal of providing healthy food for their family, which now includes their four daughters. Although they produce and harvest many delights, we are proud to carry their many wonderful cheeses. Check their website regularly because the Godfrey’s graciously open their farm to tours, including horse drawn equipment demonstrations, soap making classes, cow milking clinics, and yes, even the occasional cheesemaking class! Visit their website »
What types of cheese do you make?
Gouda, Farmhouse, Havarti, Caerphilly, Brick, Colby, occasionally cheddar and several specialty cheeses.
What was life like before cheesemaking?
Less scheduled.
What are your future goals for the farm and dairy?
More unique cheese varieties and to start a produce CSA.
What is the most enjoyable thing about making cheese?
Quiet time.
What is the hardest thing about being a cheesemaker?
The cheese has it's own schedule.
Do you produce cheese all year round (ie do you operate a rotational breeding program)?
We usually stop in the heat of the summer.
How does seasonality affect your cheese?
Since we don't feed any grain, it is significant. Cheese is best when the grass is green.
Besides being great on a cheese plate, do you have any other suggestions or recipes for using your cheese?
Most of our cheeses melt really well. I love quesadillas with cheese trailing from the plate.
Stryk Jersey Farm
Based in Schulenberg, Texas (half way between San Antonio and Houston), you'll find Stryk Jersey Farm, producers of Strykly Texas Cheese, where Bob and Darlene Stryk take pride in the quality of their raw milk. They make a variety of wax-shaped cheddars, as well as a Pepper Jack and "Mom's Cooked Cheese" (a spread that comes in Plain, Caraway, or Jalapeno and Green Chiles). Visit their website »
Swede Farm
Wanting to "pour a glass of milk for [their] children and know exactly how that milk was made," Tim and LeeAnne founded Swede Farm in Field Store Community (just northwest of Houston) and began raising goats. In addition to other dairy delights, they make fresh chevre, feta, yogurt, and kefir. Visit their website »
The Mozzarella Company
It was on an extended trip to Perugia, Italy that Paula Lambert fell in love with eating oh-so-fresh mozzarella on a daily basis. Upon her return to Dallas, she missed it and decided to take it upon herself to make mozzarella. She traveled back to Italy and trained with Mauro Brufani and then, as prepared as she could be, she launched The Mozzarella Company in downtown Dallas. Although it started as a small operation, it has grown to include a large team of Cheesemakers. To this day, Paula travels regularly for enjoyment, as well as inspiration, and often leads culinary trips to Italy and France. The cheese factory has grown to make an assortment of various cheeses, including: Mozzarella, Burrata, Feta, Hoja Santa, Queso Oaxaca, Caciotta, Queso Fresco, Ricotta, Crème Fraiche, Smoked Scamorza, Blanca Bianca, Crescenza, Deep Ellum Blue, Montasio, and various other cow and goat milk products. The Mozarella Company’s cheeses have won numerous awards and ribbons. In fact, Hoja Santa, a shop favorite, recently won a Good Food Award in San Francisco in January 2012 (in addition to the several wins in recent years at the American Cheese Society). Visit their website »
Three Happy Cows
Edgar Diaz grew up in the dairy world in his native Colombia, but was forced to flee due to the violent political climate. After working at a neighboring dairy, Edgar dared to venture out on his own in 2010. Based in Dallas, Texas, Three Happy Cows currently produces drinkable yogurts, frozen fruit yogurt bars, Greek-style yogurt, and caramel spreads. Visit their website »
Veldhuizen
Stuart Veldhuizen, a third-generation dairyman from Minnesota, wanted to get away from industrial production and decided to start a 180-acre farm outside Dublin, Texas. While the original focus was on caring for a herd of twenty baby calves and producing good, quality milk when they came of age, the operation grew to include cheesemaking in 2000. Stuart, along with his wife Connie, seven children, and his parents, are now able to offer over fifteen different raw milk cheeses. Although many of the “kids” are now grown, each family member who remains on the farm has his or her own skills and tasks, including grass and herd management, caring for newborns, milking twice a day, cheesemaking, and caring for the cheeses as they age in the cheese caves (built into the side of a hill). The farm has a shop where visitors can taste (and buy!) cheese, as well as meats and other dairy goods, and peak into the cheesemaking room. Visit their website »
Wateroak Farm
Mark and Pam Burow started WaterOak Farm (“a dairy goat haven”) in Bryan, Texas in 1998 with two does and three kids; today, their herd numbers about sixty Nubians and Nubian crossbred goats (although the recent drought has greatly affected their fluctuating herd size). The Burows got into cheesemaking the same way many other Cheesemakers have – they purchased goats to have a fresh source of milk for their family and quickly realized they had a lot of milk and increased expenses, thus they launched into cheesemaking. Visit their website »
What types of chees do you make?
Feta (Plain and Garlic & Herb), Fresh Chevre, and Whole Milk Ricotta in 14 flavors including Plain, Garlic & Herb, and Jalapeno Pepper (as well as a number of other dairy goat products such as Yogurts and Raw Milk)
What was life like before cheesemaking?
We stayed busy raising 3 children and made a living doing home repair, remodeling, and home building.
What are your future goals for the farm and dairy?
The goal of WaterOak Farm is to become the hub of Dairy Goat Product manufacturing in our region. We are cultivating other producers to generate milk that meets our protocols and quality specifications. Eventually we want 8 local producers supplying our milk.
What is the hardest thing about being a cheesemaker?
Anticipating trends and meeting market demands.
Do you name your ladies? If so, is there a strategy to it?
All of our milking does have a name. Each family is named with the same first letter or with the same theme. Lilly - Lilac / Coffee - Cappuccino
Do you produce cheese all year round (ie do you operate a rotational breeding program)?
We do produce cheese and Raw Milk all year.
How does seasonality affect your cheese?
The winter months have less milk available so our production is limited. The quality and character do not change noticeably.
Besides being great on a cheese plate, do you have any other suggestions or recipes for using your cheese?
Our Ricotta is quite good in an enchilada, lasagna, an omelet or scrambled eggs, and is a staple in a number of dishes on the menu at Austin white table cloth restaurants that include ravioli and crab cake.
Tues-Sat 11-7
Sun 12-5
