The Process of Making Our Cheese

Our Feed

Here at the Spring Hill Jersey Cheese Company, we grow our own feed. We start by planting our own forage mixture; red and white oats, fava beans, to name some of the ingredients. After harvest, the mixture ferments at 100 degrees Fahrenheit for a high protein count. To this silage mix we add more ingredients and then feed it to our cows. Our cows graze 6 months of the year from January to July on the lush Sonoma County grasses.

Milking and Pasteurizing

We milk every 12 hours. The temperature of the milk from the cows is 99.8 degrees. The milk goes into a tank and flows by gravity through a pipeline to the pasteurize located in the cheese making room. Pasteurizing is done at 163.5 degrees. With our high temperature of pasteurizing, people with lactose intolerance are able to eat our cheeses. After the pasteurizing of the milk it's placed in a vat and a starter culture is added. After an hour of stirring, a vegetable hardener is added and is stirred for an extra 1 to 2 minutes before it sits for 30 minutes. We will be adding Raw Milk cheese to our line of cheeses soon.

Curds and Whey

Using a cheese knife we then cut the curd. The curd is cooked in the whey to adjust for the type of cheese that is being made. It is then drained and the whey is sent to the cows to drink. Ricotta cheese is made using some of the whey.

 

The curd forms into a solid mass of cheese, placed in a trough to drain longer. The cheese is cut into 20 lb. blocks with a cheese knife. The blocks are turned to continue draining the whey out of the cheese.

 

 

Aging

The cheese is put through a curd mill. Next, salt, herbs or seasonings are added for flavor. The curd is mixed and tied by hand in cheese cloth. We make 8 lb. rounds for Jack, and 40 lb. blocks for Cheddar. The cheese is pressed for at least 12 hours, vacuum sealed and refrigerated for aging. Each cheese takes a different amount of time to age:

Cheddars: 2-3 years
Jacks: 30 days
Portuguese: 6-8 months
Dry Jack: 1 year
Breeze: 3 weeks
Gianna washed rind: 150 days.

 

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