The last of our Valley Shepherd

My sheep cheese that I made at Valley Shepherd finally arrived! We all (at, wt, ms, na, a?) thought it was very good. It was not as firm as some of the other wheels, and a bit more earthy than the others.

Making Sheep Cheese at Valley Shepherd Creamery

Valley Shepherd Creamery – Watch the Video. America’s Heartland PBS episode 415 Dec 10, 2008. New Jersey is home to a different kind of farming operation. The Valley Shepherd Creamery makes a wide variety of cheeses from sheep’s milk. (6:12 minutes)

First of Valley Shepherd Cheese Eaten

Jan 31, 2009: The NJ folks picked up the first 3 cheese wheels at Valley Shepherd Creamery from our Oct 19, 2008 cheesemaking class. The phone message said, “The cheese is yummy.” Cheese eating party to be planned down South. M said it had complex flavors.

New Jersey Cheese

Amram
Bobolink
milk: cow

We went to visit NJ and went to this dairy in Warwick, NJ. They make several kinds of cheese, and we were able to taste a very tiny portion of them. Amram was closest to brie; we got several others.

Shepherds Logue (0.55 lbs, $24 per pound, $13.20 total) Cave aged 4+ months. Brick shaped with an external rub of herbs de Provence.

Oldwick Shepherd (0.53 lbs, $22 per pound, $11.66 total) Cave aged 3-6 months. Mold ripened. Earthy aroma, nutty smooth finish. Pyrenees style sheep’s milk cheese.

Crema de blue (0.48 lbs, $20 per pound, $9.60 total) Raw mixed blue cheese. Aged 60 days. Creamy, with a smooth rich flavor.

Shepherds Cushions (1.00 lbs, $2.50 a pound, $2.5o total) Brie style cushions; Aged to perfection; creamy and runny. Not shown in photo.

Valley Shepherd
all raw sheep

Three from the dairy where we made cheese. I think the difference in Shepherds Logue and Oldick Shepherd was the kind of rennet used. All very nice.

They gave very detailed receipts — weights and descriptions of cheese.