Maine's Gourmet Cheeses
Oh, sure, you can have some ordinary, everyday cheese. But come to Maine and you can try something a little more, shall we say, off-beat? Like Cambozola and Cranberry Foxtrot, Cyclone and Granite Kiss or even some sheep-milk yogurt.
For decades, a growing number of Maine cheesemakers have been turning out plenty of cheese from cow, goat and sheep milk. Today, the Maine Cheese Guild – a statewide trade group – has more than 50 member farms making cheese. There’s even a water-buffalo creamery! Those creameries make traditional favorites like chevre and cheddar alongside unique cheeses whipped up by individual farms. Maine cheese continues to garner awards and win friends, especially among Mainers and visitors willing to do a little exploring.
True cheese fans should journey to the annual Maine Cheese Festival, which moves to various locations around the state, and is sponsored by the Cheese Guild. Many Guild cheesemakers bring their wares to the festival, which also includes Maine beer, wine, cider and other artisanal food.
Cheese lovers shouldn’t be shy about going to the source. Many cheese-making farms welcome visitors or have farm stands where their cheese and yogurt is on sale. Check the Cheese Guild and individual farms’ websites for information on open days and hours. And each October, there is an Open Creamery Day when creameries open their doors and their barns, inviting the public to meet the animals that make the milk, and responsibly tour the creameries to learn about the tradition of Maine cheese making.
Here are a few Cheese Guild members across the state:
Crooked Face Creamery in Skowhegan is a woman-run, small batch creamery and the shop sells their Jersey-milk cheeses like the award-winning fresh ricottas and aged cheese like cheddar and gouda.
Fuzzy Udder Creamery in the central Maine town of Whitefield makes cow, goat and sheep cheese with cool names like Tempest, Frost Heave, Windswept and Waldo Smog. They also make sheep’s milk yogurt.
Hatch Knoll Farm & Garden Side Dairy – This family farm in Jonesboro in Downeast Maine creates cow and goat cheese including Camembert, Feta, Cheddar and others. The farm also welcomes camping by folks wanting to explore the farm.
Lakin’s Gorges Cheese can be found on East Forty Farm in Waldoboro where you can shop in The Cheese Hut for their cow’s milk cheese like the Prix de Diane, a soft-ripened decadent cheese.
ME Water Buffalo Co. – This farm in Appleton on Maine’s MidCoast features several Italian-style cheeses such as Mozzarella made from the milk of gigantic water buffalo.
Silvery Moon Creamery – Based at the very popular Smiling Hill Farm in Westbrook (just outside Portland), Silvery Moon produces many cow cheeses including cheese curds, bloomy rind cheese including Camembert and Brie and aged cheese such as Provolone. Visitors can also enjoy lunch and ice cream at the farm store and cross-country ski on its trails.
Three Charm Farm – In Alfred in far-southern Maine, this small family farm makes goat cheese and yogurt including Chevre, Feta, Ricotta and Queso Blanco. The farm is open on Saturdays for tours.
Turning Page Farm – This farm in Monson in north-central Maine offers goat cheeses including chevre and feta as well as home-brewed beer, goat soap and goat school – a two-day course on goat-raising.
Several shops around the state are members of the Cheese Guild and offer Maine cheese. Some include The Cheese Iron in Scarborough, Morning Glory Natural Foods in Brunswick and Five Islands Farm in the coastal town of Georgetown.
Another sure-fire spot to find Maine cheese is at many of the state’s farmers markets.
Meet the Maker Amy Rowbottom, Crooked Face Creamery
Q: What are some recent creations or seasonal offerings you’re especially excited about right now? And what would these cheeses pair well with, or best be used for? A: This season with the help of my very creative employee Erika Noone, we released two new flavors of our Ricotta - the Lemon Fennel Ricotta and the Lavender Citrus Ricotta Mousse. They are both so bright and fun, they pair well with fresh fruit - specifically poached pears, which we just recently enjoyed as a dessert at a farm to table dinner in Belfast hosted by Salvatore and Roscia. They can be served on a cheeseboard, on your toast in the morning, or as a light dessert.
Q: How do you come up with new cheese varieties or flavors? Is there a particular process of experimentation? A: We really listen to our customer base about what we should experiment with. If we hear a flavor idea over and over, we know it’s worth giving it a shot! I’m very much in production mode and want to be sure we are making cheese that has a market all lined up, so I do that while I lean heavily on Erika’s creative genius when it comes to new flavors and pairings. We usually talk about the idea, do some small trial batches, sample it out at our shop and if we get a positive response, we launch the new flavor. It is a huge investment to add to our product line, between the R&D, the labeling and testing, so we want to be sure it has markets and customers lined up to buy before we even begin to think about it.
Q: Similar to how there are different seasonal flavors (pumpkin spice in fall, gingerbread in winter, etc.), are there seasonal selections for cheeses as well? If so, what are some examples of how a cheese board might change or look different based on the season? A: As for seasonal cheeseboards, it’s not just about the cheese, it’s about what you can pair with the cheese that you can source as close to home as possible. I love playing around with cheese board themes. We choose cheeses made with different milk types all year round, but choose berries that are in season, or more savory pairings for fall and winter, and bright fresh fruit in the heat of the summer months. The crackers are fun to play with too, like Maine Crisp Cinnamon Maple Crisps in the fall along with our Applewood Smoked Ricotta and a drizzle of honey.
Q: Have you noticed any shifts in consumer demand towards more sustainable or locally sourced products? If so, how has Crooked Face Creamery adapted or been impacted by these trends? A: The most frequently asked questions we hear are “Did you make this” and “where are you located” … our customer base absolutely wants to know who is making their food, with what kind of milk and where. We have actually grown out our retail store to offer more local cheeses and provisions to meet this demand. Customers love to shop small, and buy from someone they know and trust. It’s a great privilege and we take a lot of pride in all the products and farmers we represent here and do our best to do their products justice in how we talk about them.
Q: How does your relationship with local farmers play into the production of your cheese (whether how it impacts the quality/freshness or by the ingredients/flavorings used)? A: Our relationship with our dairy farm where we source our milk is so strong. We really value the hard work that goes into every drop of milk they deliver to us here. We know what goes into making high quality milk, so we are so grateful to work with Springdale Farm. I believe these relationships and connections are the most rewarding part of my job.
Watch a day in the life of cheesemaker, Amy Rowbottom.
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