Tour Vermont's cheese factories and discover a food that's both simple and complex -- even mysterious.
by Susan Peery

Photo courtesy of Shelburne Farms, Shelburne, Vermont

LIKE OTHER AGE-OLD, humble foods such as wine and bread, cheese is both simple in its components and complex, even mysterious, in its creation. Vermont is home to most of the cows, sheep, and cheese factories in New England (not to mention some of the most beautiful pastoral scenery to be found on God's green Earth), so this is the place to come if you want to decipher, or celebrate, the goodness of cheese.

Most cheese factories welcome travelers and enjoy the opportunity to recite the story of their cheese. The recipe for cheese is simple: milk plus coagulant (rennet or another clotting enzyme). Then there are the variables: the breed of dairy animal, the grass the animal eats and the water it drinks, the way the milk is handled by the farmer, and the skills of the cheese maker. Oh yes, there is also one other variable: time. Flavor develops with proper aging, and there is no shortcut.

Our three-day tour of Vermont's most interesting cheese factories begins in the southeast corner of the state, following the eastern flank of the Green Mountains to Grafton, then on to Healdville, and from there to Cabot in the Northeast Kingdom. Then we'll swing west to Lake Champlain and Shelburne, leaving time for a few excursions and diversions along the way. Some of the smaller cheese factories in the state are not set up for casual visitors, but the true cheese lover may be able to arrange a private visit (see sidebar).

Day One: Grafton Village Cheese Company, Grafton

One sunny morning early in June, we followed Route 121 on its shady, winding path into Grafton, a village famous for its resurrection and restoration in the 1960s by the nonprofit Windham Foundation. Cheese making isn't new to Grafton. A farmers' co-op made cheese here starting in 1892 until 1912, when their factory burned down.

Rebuilt in 1966, the Grafton Village Cheese Company specializes in cheddar cheese with many variations, all made from the raw (unpasteurized) milk of hundreds of limpid-eyed Jersey cows. One healthy Jersey mama will produce about 50 pounds of milk a day, or about six gallons. If you do the math, you'll know about 500 cows are working to fill the two 1,500-gallon vats in the spotless factory.

Through a viewing window (or by prior arrangement, inside the factory itself), visitors watch the cheese makers heat the milk slightly, add a bacterial culture to begin fermentation, stir gently, and then add rennet to transform the liquid into a soft, puddinglike mass. Cheese knives -- sometimes called cheese harps -- cut the congealed mass into cubes, allowing curds to form and separate from the whey, which is drained off. The curds are cut into slabs, compressed, turned, and pressed again in the process known as "cheddaring."

Further aging in large blocks at 45°F in the vast storage area creates Grafton's Premium Cheddar (after one year), Classic Reserve (after two years), and Grafton Gold (after three years), the latter a hearty yet surprisingly creamy sharp cheddar. Grafton also makes flavored cheddars such as maple-smoked, sage, and garlic. All are available for tasting and purchase in the gift shop at the factory, along with a fine selection of crackers, mustards, preserves, crafts, books, and cheese accoutrements (maple cutting boards and the like). Friendly clerks know their cheese and are ready for conversation.

Don't leave Grafton without walking around the perfectly picturesque village, perhaps treating yourself to lunch at the Old Tavern (built in 1801) or checking out the covered bridge (near the cheese factory), the blacksmith shop, or the beautiful window boxes that Graftonites excel in planting.

Heading north from Grafton along Route 35, stop in Chester to dip into Baba-a-Louis Bakery just west of the village green for a loaf of good bread to go with all that cheese you bought in Grafton. Chester's handsome stone cottages, inviting shops (we dawdled in Hopewell's used bookshop, which has a fine collection of Vermontiana), and B&Bs may make you linger longer than you planned.

But we kept our sights fixed on Mount Holly (look for Healdville on the map), located on the western flank of Okemo Mountain, and the Crowley Cheese Incorporated factory. You'll first pass the Crowley Cheese retail shop on Route 103 about four miles beyond Ludlow. The shop sells all of the Crowley products, a few funky handcrafts, and not much else. The real point of interest is the factory itself on Healdville Road, which is off 103 about two miles beyond the shop.

As late as the 1970s, Mount Holly had 30 dairy farms. There are only three today, so much of the factory's milk comes from Addison County to the north. The Crowley factory, in continuous operation since 1882, is a National Historic Place. Don't think "Monticello"; think "weathered old farmhouse on a dirt road in the hills." Despite (or because of) its lack of glitz, it is a delightful spot rich in history, scenery, and its unique cheese.

Vermont's landscape was once dotted with little cheese factories like this (Mount Holly alone had four factories in the 19th century), where local farmers brought their highly perishable milk simply for a natural way of preserving its high food value. It was not that different from cooking berries into jam or brining cucumbers to make pickles. Perhaps the best analogy is Vermont's other famous product, maple syrup, in which 40 gallons of sap are boiled down to one precious gallon of sweetness. At least the milk to cheese ratio (ten to one) is a little more efficient!

The folks at Crowley give a warm welcome to visitors. Cindy Dawley, the manager, explains why Crowley cheese has a national following and sells its entire stock every year. This is the cheese that Vermont old-timers love -- a moist, creamy, almost sweet cheddar closer to Monterey Jack than to its sharper and more acidic cousins. (The FDA officially designates it a Colby-type cheese.) This is the cheese you see in a large wheel on the counter in general stores.

Crowley makes only 500 to 600 pounds of cheese a day. All six employees, including Dawley, pitch in to help, and visitors can watch the process through large glass partitions. School groups and bus tours stop by frequently to watch the cheese makers in action.

Crowley does a brisk mail-order and wholesale business, offering an array of flavored and spiced cheeses (caraway, dill, garlic, hot pepper, onion, sage), smoked bars, and large wheels or blocks of cheese ranging in levels of sharpness.

TRAVELS WITH CHEESE Most cheeses you will encounter are waxed and well-wrapped in foil or plastic, and unlike many other protein foods such as meat or eggs, will keep at cool room temperatures for several days without spoiling. Summer travelers who plan to buy cheese to take home (and who could resist?) can keep their stash in a picnic cooler with a small amount of ice. (Remember, the armies of Caesar and Gengis Khan carried cheese on long marches well before the invention of the Frigidaire, and Europeans still routinely store cheese in a cool pantry.) Once cheese is opened, keep it as airtight as possible. If it gets moldy, just trim off the mold.

Day Two: The Road to Cabot

So far, you may well feel that you have seen a lot of cheese, but not many cows. That's because most of Vermont dairying takes place in the northern half of the state, where the hills begin to broaden and the farms are larger. If you stay anywhere near Woodstock, take an hour or two in the morning to visit the Taftsville Country Store and Sugarbush Farm. The Taftsville Store (on Route 4 east of Woodstock) has a million things you will want to buy, from cool T-shirts, aprons, and jigsaw puzzles to gourmet foods (many produced in Vermont), cigars, wine, and a complete selection of Vermont cheeses, including unusual varieties of farmstead cheeses from the smaller operations. Then head across the road, through the red covered bridge, and up the hill to Sugarbush Farm. This is not a cheese factory, but a working farm and retail shop run by the Ayres-Luce family, who have spent many generations on this land. The family has a cheese shop, an extensive maple operation, and a dedication to teaching others about life on the farm. You can pet a calf, spend quiet time in the woodland farm chapel, watch the staff cut, wrap, and wax cheese, and smell real cow manure. The views from the high mowings above the Quechee River are spectacular.

The town of Cabot and its famous Cabot Creamery cheese factory are about an hour's drive northeast of Montpelier on routes 2 and 215. We passed through Plainfield, home of Goddard College, and stopped for lunch in Marshfield. We lucked out right on the main road at the Rainbow Sweets Bakery and Cafe, where William Tecosky and Patricia Halloran have been in business since 1976. Everything is homemade, everything is fresh, and the pastries are exceptional. We had bowls of gazpacho and sandwiches of pesto and fresh mozzarella (busman's holiday, for sure!) on crusty bread. The conversation among locals in the restaurant revolved around Cabot and its plan to move corporate offices to Montpelier ("Mount Peculiar," they called it), and the rumor that Cabot was now selling cheddar cheese to shops in England.

Too full for dessert, we left with a sampling of cookies and sweets (including chocolate almond buttercrunch) in a white cardboard box tied up with string, which wasn't at all hard to untie a little later.

Route 215 heads north from Marshfield to Cabot. This is real back-country Vermont, a world removed from Grafton and Woodstock. Houses desperately seeking paint and shingles, old corncribs stuffed with years of trash, lilacs blooming in front of abandoned houses, and then a perfect little farm. All are set in a stunningly beautiful landscape that in the end overpowers both the poverty and the perfection.

You can't miss the Cabot Creamery in Cabot village. Its white bulk-milk silos and red-trimmed buildings dominate the hilltop. Cabot's gift shop holds few temptations except for its coolers, which display the full array of Cabot cheeses, yogurt, cottage cheese, butter, chip dips, sour cream, and more. We confirmed the sale of cheddar to England and heard that the company is working on a new Parmesan-cheddar cheese and a cheddar with green olives and pimiento. We sampled roasted garlic cheddar while watching a video that starts the factory tour. The pleasant baritone of Willem Lange recounts the history of the Cabot Cooperative Creamery, which was formed in 1919 by 94 farmers who chipped in $5 per cow to build a factory and make butter. Cheese making began here in 1930, and the co-op has survived hard times, enjoyed good ones, and won many awards for its cheese. Cabot's factory is large by Vermont standards, although probably minuscule if you work at Kraft and make Velveeta. The day we visited, the production lines were making one of our favorite Cabot products, its Vermont-style cottage cheese, which we love for its silkiness and clean, tangy taste.

Day Three: Saving the Best for Last: Shelburne Farms

You may feel, as you approach Burlington on a busy morning, that the traffic seems heavy (for Vermont), the strip development on the outskirts is pretty boring, and the city is expanding helter-skelter in all directions. Then you lift your gaze above the town, see the Adirondacks brooding across Lake Champlain, and realize why this area of Vermont has become such a magnet.

THE REST OF THE STORY In addition to the sources mentioned in the article, specialty cheeses can be purchased at the Brattleboro Food Co-op, the Putney Co-op, the Hunger Mountain Co-op in Montpelier, and the Cheese Outlet in Burlington. Other, mostly smaller, cheese factories in Vermont include the following. Some offer tours of their facilities if you call ahead. Most, however, cannot accommodate drop-in visitors. Orb Weaver Farm, 802-877-3755. 3406 Lime Kiln Rd., New Haven. E-mail: orbweaver@together.net Vermont Butter and Cheese Co., 802-479-9371. 40 Pitman Rd., Websterville. (http://www.yankeemagazine.com/ui/linkinframe.php?website=www.vtbutterandcheeseco.com) The Plymouth Cheese Factory, 802-672-3650. President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site, 106 Messier Hill Rd., Plymouth. Vermont Shepherd Cheese, 802-387-4473. Major Farm, 875 Patch Rd., Westminster West. (http://www.yankeemagazine.com/ui/linkinframe.php?website=www.vermontshepherd.com)

Shelburne Farms, on the shores of Lake Champlain only a few miles south of town, takes you into another world entirely. Tandem tractors were haying the fields on the sparkling June day we visited. We arrived early, among the first visitors of the day, and decided to walk down to the barn and watch the cheese making. Approaching the barn -- a huge, fabulous, turreted, dormered, copper-roofed 19th-century edifice -- on foot and seeing the meticulously groomed fields, the sturdy stone walls, and the lovely meadows made us think of Camelot or Shangri-La. The 1,400-acre property (made up of 32 farms bought in 1886 by Dr. William Seward Webb and Lila Vanderbilt Webb), now a nonprofit environmental education center and working farm, is unforgettably beautiful. You can stay at the Inn at Shelburne Farms and pretend you are King Arthur or Guinevere.

How fortuitous to be a Shelburne Farms dairy cow! The herd of Brown Swiss cows is milked twice a day, at 5:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., in their state-of-the-art, low-stress New Zealand-style milking parlor down the road. They graze in these lush pastures and check out the scenery while they chew their cuds. Their medium-butterfat, high-protein milk is perfect for making cheddar. They have good job security.

At the barn, we watched cheese maker Ross Gagnon preside over 5,000 pounds of raw milk, which with time and those mysterious molds in the air, will become 500 pounds of fine cheddar cheese. The whole Shelburne Farms experience can be an all-day family excursion. Kids can help milk a cow, collect eggs from the chickens, and scratch the woolly head of a brand-new lamb.

Fortunately, the cheese itself is exemplary. It's fascinating to note the differences in taste and texture between the six-month, one-year, and two-year cheddars, progressing from mellow and creamy to complex and crumbly. At the Welcome Center gift shop, tastings are held all day, and there are ample supplies of all the cheeses. As far as gift shops go, this was our favorite among all the cheese factories. Shelburne has the best T-shirts and other logoed apparel, as well as the most charming kids toys (most with a farm theme), and the tastiest food to sample.

ESSENTIALS Grafton Village Cheese Company, 800-472-3866. Townshend Rd., Grafton. Best bet: Go for the Gold. Mon.-Fri. 8-4, Sat.-Sun. 10-4. (http://www.yankeemagazine.com/ui/linkinframe.php?website=www.graftonvillagecheese.com) Baba-a-Louis Bakery, 802-875-4666. Main St. (Rte. 11 West), Chester. Open Tues.-Sat. 7-6. Crowley Cheese Incorporated, 802-259-2210. Healdville Rd., Mount Holly. Best bet: Buy a 21Ú2-pound wheel of Crowley sharp or extra-sharp, a tin of Vermont common crackers, a bag of apples, and have a picnic. Treasure the factory -- it's an endangered species. Mon.-Sat. 10-5:30, Sun. 11-5:30. (http://www.yankeemagazine.com/ui/linkinframe.php?website=www.crowleycheese-vermont.com) Taftsville Country Store, 802-457-1135. Rte. 4, Taftsville. Open daily 8-6. (http://www.yankeemagazine.com/ui/linkinframe.php?website=www.taftsville.com) Sugarbush Farm, 802-457-1757. 591 Sugarbush Farm Rd., Woodstock. Open weekdays 7:30-5:30, weekends 9-5. (http://www.yankeemagazine.com/ui/linkinframe.php?website=www.sugarbushfarm.com) Rainbow Sweets Bakery and Cafe, 802-426-3531. Rte. 2, Marshfield. Open Mon., Wed., Thurs. 10-6, Fri.-Sat. 9-9, Sun. 9-3. Cabot Creamery, 800-837-4261. Main St., Cabot. Best bet: Try the Private Stock Cheddar (it's simultaneously sharp and creamy). The total addict can buy a 38-pound waxed wheel of Cabot's finest sharp or extra-sharp cheddar for $5.19 per pound. The roasted garlic cheddar wasn't bad either, but 38 pounds of it would be a lot. (http://www.yankeemagazine.com/ui/linkinframe.php?website=www.cabotcheese.com) Shelburne Farms, 802-985-8686. 1611 Harbor Rd., Shelburne. Best bet: A three-pound block of the two-year cheddar at $27. You can keep it in your refrigerator at home and whittle off little pieces on a whim. Better than money in the bank. (http://www.yankeemagazine.com/ui/linkinframe.php?website=www.shelburnefarms.org) Inn at Shelburne Farms, 802-985-8498. 1611 Harbor Rd., Shelburne 05482. Open mid-May to mid-Oct. Rates: $95-$300. Wheelchair accessible. (http://www.yankeemagazine.com/ui/linkinframe.php?website=www.shelburnefarms.org)

Susan Peery, former managing editor of The Old Farmer's Almanac, knows cheese as only a Wisconsin native does.