My favorite food is cheese. Cheese-making, begun some 4,000+ years ago to preserve milk (a nutritionally complete and incredibly nutrient dense food). Not only does cheese taste amazing, but the variety and history of cheese is astounding. From the discovery of fig rennet by the cheese-makers of the Roman Empire to the cheese caves of Camembert to the global rally in 2012 to save the Parmigiano Reggiano industry, cheese has history and has shaped local, regional, national, and global economies and identities. Today, the Adirondacks are home to creameries that shape the economy and identity of the Adirondacks and contribute to the ongoing power of cheese. Connecting to extensive global and fairly new history is a continuing goal of mine.
Of course, cheese is omnipresent in America and at least prevalent in any dairy culture, my own forays into its production have heretofore been limited to reading books with titles like The Untold History of Milk and The History of Cheese, a mediocre pound of mozzarella, failed ricotta, and two batches of passable fresh chevre. But limitations and less than impressive results are easy to ignore when a successful experience finally happens. So today, I helped with the production of North Country Creamery's Northland - a gouda type cheese.
If I were to rank types of cheeses, gouda would be near the top. Gouda is a nutritional powerhouse - it makes milk more nutritious. The cultures in gouda's produce vitamin K2, which is a little known vitamin that is responsible for the correct usage and placement of calcium which is abundant in the curds. Additionally, because it's an aged and pressed cheese, it is low in lactose and therefore easier to digest than unaged and soft cheeses. Finally, I could connect my knowledge of cheeses with a hands on experience which is exactly why I decided to come to the Adirondacks.
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