Home Cheesemaking: From Hobby to Business

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The term “artisan” applies to any product (food or otherwise) that is made in limited quantities by a skilled craftsman, usually by hand.
The term “artisan” applies to any product (food or otherwise) that is made in limited quantities by a skilled craftsman, usually by hand.
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Where there’s a will, there’s a whey! “The Farmstead Creamery Advisor” will guide you through the steps of starting a commercial home dairy, including designs and floor plans for your facility, permits and regulations, equipment and setup, marketing and sales, and even saving money through efficient use of energy and time.
Where there’s a will, there’s a whey! “The Farmstead Creamery Advisor” will guide you through the steps of starting a commercial home dairy, including designs and floor plans for your facility, permits and regulations, equipment and setup, marketing and sales, and even saving money through efficient use of energy and time.

The following is an excerpt from The Farmstead Creamery Advisor: The Complete Guide to Building and Running a Small, Farm-Based Cheese Business by Gianaclis Caldwell (Chelsea Green, 2010). In this authoritative and thorough guide, Caldwell draws from her own and other home cheesemakers’ experiences to walk readers through the many facets of forging a career in the burgeoning artisan cheesemaking business. This excerpt is from Chapter 1, “What’s So Special About Farmstead Cheese?”

The United States is experiencing a food-quality renaissance. An increase in the number of farmers markets and “eat local” campaigns, a growing awareness of food quality, and a desire to appreciate the story behind the product are all influencing the way Americans are buying and consuming food. While we are still largely a nation of fast-food addicts and all-you-can-eat buffet aficionados, more and more people today are starting to care less about the size of the serving than about the quality and story of its ingredients. This awakening is not limited to those who can afford the luxury of finer foods. It extends — and indeed originates — from a basic need to reconnect with health, history, and the awareness of nutrition’s role in our very existence.

The History of Cheesemaking in the United States

Bernard Nantet, in his book Cheeses of the World, maintains that the United States, unlike Europe, does not have a strong tradition of artisan cheesemaking. It could be argued that it is this lack of an embedded culinary-cultural background, in part, that allowed the unfettered mechanization that all but extinguished the manufacture of handcrafted artisan cheeses in the U.S. by the mid-1900s. The current revival, which began in earnest in the late 1970s, occurred thanks to a combination of factors that increased the American public’s appreciation not only of food but also of the way of life that the farmer-cheesemaker leads.

Rise and Fall

  • Published on Nov 8, 2010
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