My initial interest in Oregon’s cheeses was sparked by a popular food blog, which noted that Oregon’s Rogue Creamery was receiving national and international acclaim for its cheeses. The creamery’s Rogue River Blue was selected as Best Blue Cheese at the 2004 World Cheese Awards in London. Intrigued, I chose to investigate further into what other notable cheeses Oregon has to offer. It wasn’t until I began sampling the cheeses, though, that I decided to dedicate the next several months to exploring Oregon cheese. Tasting Ancient Heritage’s Valentine cheese and Pholia Farm’s Elk Mountain cheese was a revelation and I was hooked.
Searching the website of Oregon’s Cheese Guild, I was surprised to discover that Oregon’s burgeoning cheese industry now boasts 15 ODA (Oregon Department of Agriculture) certified creameries. Tillamook, the cheddar giant, and Rogue Creamery are the two largest operations in the state, while the others are artisan creameries producing small batches of some unique and largely undiscovered cheeses. It was the smaller and lesser known operations, specializing in goat and sheep cheese, which intrigued me the most. I chose to focus on four of these artisan creameries: Ancient Heritage, Fraga Farm, Pholia Farm and Siskiyou Crest Goat Dairy. I made plant to visit the farms of these Oregon cheesemakers, learn their stories, sample their cheeses and create a series of essays dedicated to these people and their craft.
CONTENTS
NTRODUCTION
ANCIENT HERITAGE DAIRY
The Cheeses
Where to find Ancient Heritage Cheeses
Recipes
PHOLIA FARM
The Cheeses
Where to find Pholia Farm Cheeses
Recipes
FRAGA FARM
The Cheeses
Where to find Fraga Farm Cheeses
Recipes
ISKIYOU CREST GOAT DAIRY
The Cheeses
Where to find Siskiyou Crest Cheeses
Recipes
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX-G LOSSARY
Figure
Kathy’s Pasta with Hannah Bridge
Popovers with Ancient Heritage Rosa
Elk Mountain Cheese Puffs
Covered Bridge and Apple Filo Parcels
Greek Salad with Fraga Feta
Chiles Rellenos with Farmhouse and “Goat”zarella “Goat”zarella Quesadilla
Feta and Watermelon Salad
Chevre with Figs and Honey
Chevre Cheesecake with Summer Fruit
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Ajourney to Four of Oregon’s Farmstead Creameries and Into The World of Artisan Cheese
