1 00:00:03,436 --> 00:00:05,805 >>Our guest today says the language of food 2 00:00:05,805 --> 00:00:08,141 and farming is like no other. 3 00:00:08,141 --> 00:00:10,944 With almost a decade of experience raising goats 4 00:00:10,944 --> 00:00:12,312 and making cheese, 5 00:00:12,312 --> 00:00:15,348 Gail Hobbs- Page is passionate about a livelihood 6 00:00:15,348 --> 00:00:19,719 she describes as art, craft, animal and science. 7 00:00:19,719 --> 00:00:22,655 Join us today as we visit Caromont Farm. 8 00:00:22,655 --> 00:00:23,490 Come on! 9 00:00:25,859 --> 00:00:29,362 So Gail, what inspired you to start raising goats 10 00:00:29,362 --> 00:00:31,631 and making cheese? 11 00:00:31,631 --> 00:00:33,767 >>I was a farm kid from North Carolina. 12 00:00:33,767 --> 00:00:36,603 I had goats growing up, had a great career in food 13 00:00:36,603 --> 00:00:38,104 and I always told myself 14 00:00:38,104 --> 00:00:41,408 if I ever got to a place in my life when I was ready 15 00:00:41,408 --> 00:00:42,809 I would have goats again. 16 00:00:42,809 --> 00:00:43,977 But ah... 17 00:00:43,977 --> 00:00:44,911 >>And here you go. 18 00:00:44,911 --> 00:00:45,879 >>And here I am. 19 00:00:45,879 --> 00:00:48,481 >>So, how may goats do you have? 20 00:00:48,481 --> 00:00:50,850 >>I have a milking herd of ninety. 21 00:00:50,850 --> 00:00:51,851 >>Ninety. 22 00:00:51,851 --> 00:00:54,054 >>Yes. Started out with thirteen 23 00:00:54,054 --> 00:00:55,889 so you see how things happen. 24 00:00:55,889 --> 00:00:57,390 >>Oh my gosh. 25 00:00:57,390 --> 00:01:00,660 Okay, so for the milking process, how does that work? 26 00:01:00,660 --> 00:01:02,729 How many goats are milked at a time? 27 00:01:02,729 --> 00:01:05,465 >>Well we milk at six in the morning 28 00:01:05,465 --> 00:01:06,833 and at six in the evening 29 00:01:06,833 --> 00:01:08,735 and we milk twelve at a time 30 00:01:08,735 --> 00:01:10,837 and we have what they call a milk pipeline 31 00:01:10,837 --> 00:01:13,006 so everything's done mechanically. 32 00:01:13,006 --> 00:01:18,011 >>And, it's important to keep that area clean and calm, 33 00:01:18,611 --> 00:01:19,813 explain why. 34 00:01:19,813 --> 00:01:20,747 >>That's the biggest thing that we've learned 35 00:01:20,747 --> 00:01:22,415 is keeping everything calm 36 00:01:22,415 --> 00:01:25,885 because we want as much milk as they'll give. 37 00:01:25,885 --> 00:01:27,020 >>Right. 38 00:01:27,020 --> 00:01:28,221 >>And so, if they're stressed out 39 00:01:28,221 --> 00:01:29,823 and if they're worried about their babies 40 00:01:29,823 --> 00:01:33,626 or any of that stuff then they won't give it to us. 41 00:01:33,626 --> 00:01:35,161 >>Right. 42 00:01:35,161 --> 00:01:37,597 >>And so we just try to keep it very, very stress- less. 43 00:01:37,597 --> 00:01:42,235 >>So how long is a goat able to produce milk 44 00:01:42,235 --> 00:01:43,937 for making cheese? 45 00:01:43,937 --> 00:01:48,108 >>We like to get six or seven lactations; 46 00:01:48,108 --> 00:01:50,510 that's the period of time that they actually give milk. 47 00:01:50,510 --> 00:01:51,811 >>Is that seasons? Years? 48 00:01:51,811 --> 00:01:53,213 >>Seven seasons. 49 00:01:53,213 --> 00:01:54,180 >>Seven seasons. 50 00:01:54,180 --> 00:01:55,682 >>With that said I have some 51 00:01:55,682 --> 00:01:59,719 that are on their twelfth, thirteenth lactation. 52 00:01:59,719 --> 00:02:00,987 So... 53 00:02:00,987 --> 00:02:02,155 >>That's fantastic. 54 00:02:02,155 --> 00:02:03,656 >>But you always want to have a clean, 55 00:02:03,656 --> 00:02:07,127 a new source of genetics, and younger does coming online. 56 00:02:07,127 --> 00:02:09,429 >>So what happens with the goats though 57 00:02:09,429 --> 00:02:11,164 once they can't make cheese? 58 00:02:11,164 --> 00:02:12,532 >>Oh, we retire them. 59 00:02:12,532 --> 00:02:16,236 they get to watch their stories and eat. 60 00:02:16,236 --> 00:02:19,139 >>Well and these guys, these girls are so friendly. 61 00:02:19,139 --> 00:02:20,640 So, why are they so friendly? 62 00:02:20,640 --> 00:02:24,644 >>Well we bottle raise all of our goats meaning that... 63 00:02:24,644 --> 00:02:27,814 >>(Terri laughs) Hello. 64 00:02:27,814 --> 00:02:29,582 >>Hello. I have to be part of this. 65 00:02:30,450 --> 00:02:31,384 >>We bottle raise them. 66 00:02:31,384 --> 00:02:33,052 We take them in 24 hours, 67 00:02:33,052 --> 00:02:36,656 we take them and feed them cows milk actually. 68 00:02:36,656 --> 00:02:38,057 >>Oh wow. Oh wow. 69 00:02:38,057 --> 00:02:39,526 Because you have to do that 70 00:02:39,526 --> 00:02:42,529 because otherwise they won't produce... anymore, 71 00:02:42,529 --> 00:02:43,463 the milk will be gone. 72 00:02:43,463 --> 00:02:44,998 >>The babies drink all the milk 73 00:02:44,998 --> 00:02:46,833 and then we won't have any for cheese. 74 00:02:48,401 --> 00:02:50,203 In the early days we used to do all of this 75 00:02:50,203 --> 00:02:51,738 with five- gallon buckets 76 00:02:51,738 --> 00:02:54,941 and we would have to schlep them in and pour them over 77 00:02:54,941 --> 00:02:57,277 and so you can see this is a lot quicker. 78 00:02:58,945 --> 00:03:01,481 >>Okay, Gail, before we talk about making cheese, 79 00:03:01,481 --> 00:03:05,251 let's talk about our super- fashionable outfits here 80 00:03:05,251 --> 00:03:06,886 and the importance of them. 81 00:03:07,754 --> 00:03:09,556 >>This is a controlled room, 82 00:03:09,556 --> 00:03:12,759 everything has to be controlled that it comes to this room. 83 00:03:12,759 --> 00:03:14,928 This is the most important room in the plant. 84 00:03:14,928 --> 00:03:18,531 >>Okay, so now, let's talk about cheese making 85 00:03:18,531 --> 00:03:20,233 from start to finish. 86 00:03:20,233 --> 00:03:23,303 >>Okay, well we go by this. 87 00:03:23,303 --> 00:03:24,571 >>And that is a...? 88 00:03:24,571 --> 00:03:27,073 >>This is our brain This is our brain on cheese. 89 00:03:27,073 --> 00:03:29,108 >>(Terri laughs). That's great. 90 00:03:29,108 --> 00:03:31,177 >>It has all the data that we need. 91 00:03:31,177 --> 00:03:34,948 It's organized in a way that will minimize mistakes, 92 00:03:34,948 --> 00:03:37,050 maximize safety. 93 00:03:37,050 --> 00:03:42,055 You'll notice that there definite cheese making steps, 94 00:03:43,489 --> 00:03:46,926 the pump over of the milk, the arrival of the milk, 95 00:03:46,926 --> 00:03:50,263 the culturing of the milk, the taking pH of the milk. 96 00:03:50,263 --> 00:03:52,332 >>So what's, explain the importance of the pH, 97 00:03:52,332 --> 00:03:53,766 taking the pH of the milk. 98 00:03:53,766 --> 00:03:57,604 >>Well, essentially what we're doing a base pH reading, 99 00:03:57,604 --> 00:04:02,275 acidity, pH is acidity and we will take a reading 100 00:04:02,275 --> 00:04:05,378 at the beginning we know that our milk is at 6.8 101 00:04:05,378 --> 00:04:10,383 and we're going to carefully channel this milk down to 6.4. 102 00:04:11,684 --> 00:04:14,520 At that point we're going to add the rennet. 103 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:16,022 And what that does 104 00:04:16,022 --> 00:04:18,491 is that's when it starts forming the curd, 105 00:04:18,491 --> 00:04:23,162 the infamous, proverbial curds and then the cutting. 106 00:04:23,162 --> 00:04:25,698 And that's gonna release the whey from the milk 107 00:04:25,698 --> 00:04:28,968 and the stirring is going to create the texture. 108 00:04:28,968 --> 00:04:33,339 So as long as we follow these steps on our make sheet 109 00:04:34,741 --> 00:04:39,579 then we basically guide the milk to the end process. 110 00:04:40,980 --> 00:04:43,283 >>And so what is the most important step, would you say? 111 00:04:43,283 --> 00:04:44,984 You pump the milk in, 112 00:04:44,984 --> 00:04:47,920 what is really the most important part of it? 113 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:49,689 Or are they all equally important? 114 00:04:49,689 --> 00:04:54,260 >>Well, it's like a domino effect they all you know, 115 00:04:54,260 --> 00:04:57,330 when one thing goes wrong then the next step is wrong, 116 00:04:57,330 --> 00:05:00,199 so they're all really mutually dependent on each other 117 00:05:00,199 --> 00:05:02,635 >>And you taste the milk regularly, don't you? 118 00:05:02,635 --> 00:05:04,170 >>Oh, absolutely. 119 00:05:04,170 --> 00:05:08,574 You know this is craft and observing your ingredients 120 00:05:08,574 --> 00:05:11,778 because if something's off you need to know it sooner 121 00:05:11,778 --> 00:05:13,112 rather than later. 122 00:05:13,112 --> 00:05:15,048 >>And what do you do if your milk tastes, 123 00:05:15,048 --> 00:05:16,582 give me an example. 124 00:05:16,582 --> 00:05:19,385 >>Well, we started milking this year a little early. 125 00:05:19,385 --> 00:05:20,653 We started in January. 126 00:05:20,653 --> 00:05:23,022 And it was quite cold. 127 00:05:23,022 --> 00:05:24,924 The goats were not on grass yet. 128 00:05:26,326 --> 00:05:28,828 They were getting hay 129 00:05:28,828 --> 00:05:33,032 that's not as vibrant as local, fresh hay. 130 00:05:33,032 --> 00:05:34,434 And I felt that the milk 131 00:05:34,434 --> 00:05:37,403 tasted a little vegetable and astringent. 132 00:05:37,403 --> 00:05:40,073 You know just didn't have a full sweet flavor 133 00:05:40,073 --> 00:05:41,507 that I like for my cheeses. 134 00:05:41,507 --> 00:05:44,944 And so we added some sweet feed to their diet 135 00:05:44,944 --> 00:05:46,913 and the milk started tasting a little rounder, 136 00:05:46,913 --> 00:05:47,847 a little smoother. 137 00:05:47,847 --> 00:05:49,315 So that's an example of that. 138 00:05:49,315 --> 00:05:51,284 It's just really knowing, 139 00:05:51,284 --> 00:05:54,287 seasonally how your milk is gonna taste. 140 00:05:54,287 --> 00:05:56,089 >>Right and you take the temperature. 141 00:05:56,089 --> 00:05:57,857 What is that, what is that about? 142 00:05:57,857 --> 00:06:02,328 >>The culture develops flavor at 25 degrees celsius. 143 00:06:02,328 --> 00:06:03,329 That's our target. 144 00:06:03,329 --> 00:06:05,598 And that's very cool. 145 00:06:05,598 --> 00:06:08,301 If it gets too hot the culture works too fast. 146 00:06:08,301 --> 00:06:09,235 >>Oh, okay. 147 00:06:09,235 --> 00:06:10,670 >>If the culture works too fast 148 00:06:10,670 --> 00:06:14,207 then you're really not getting the ultimate flavor 149 00:06:14,207 --> 00:06:15,975 that you want in a cheese. 150 00:06:15,975 --> 00:06:19,011 And so why go to all this work if you're gonna rush things? 151 00:06:19,011 --> 00:06:22,181 >>Right. What kind of cheese are you making in here today? 152 00:06:22,181 --> 00:06:25,752 >>Well, this is going to be Esmontonian. 153 00:06:25,752 --> 00:06:29,155 It's our American Cheese Society award winner 154 00:06:29,155 --> 00:06:32,458 and we're quite proud of it. 155 00:06:32,458 --> 00:06:34,060 It's a raw milk cheese meaning 156 00:06:34,060 --> 00:06:38,297 that we don't heat treat the milk in any way. 157 00:06:38,297 --> 00:06:42,902 It's got a long way to go before it's Esmontonian. 158 00:06:42,902 --> 00:06:45,772 It ages for a minimum of sixty days... 159 00:06:45,772 --> 00:06:47,273 >>Okay. 160 00:06:47,273 --> 00:06:50,243 >>In a controlled humidity temperature environment. 161 00:06:50,243 --> 00:06:54,213 It's really at its peak at 90 to 120 days 162 00:06:54,213 --> 00:06:56,749 so you see we're talking process. 163 00:06:56,749 --> 00:06:59,318 What we do here is really the blueprint 164 00:06:59,318 --> 00:07:02,588 for how this cheese is gonna taste 120 days 165 00:07:02,588 --> 00:07:04,090 down the road. 166 00:07:04,090 --> 00:07:07,427 >>So this process here is called agitating, right? 167 00:07:07,427 --> 00:07:08,361 >>Yeah. 168 00:07:08,361 --> 00:07:09,662 >>So we're hanging out... 169 00:07:09,662 --> 00:07:11,297 >>Having a chat... 170 00:07:11,297 --> 00:07:12,498 >>Peaceful and nice. 171 00:07:12,498 --> 00:07:14,801 >>People think you have a dream job, right? 172 00:07:16,002 --> 00:07:18,271 >>A lot of times I say my dream job, 173 00:07:18,271 --> 00:07:22,475 sometimes my nightmare but, because it is a job. 174 00:07:22,475 --> 00:07:24,010 We do have to make money 175 00:07:24,010 --> 00:07:28,014 and if it were just about hanging out with the goats 176 00:07:28,014 --> 00:07:29,882 and living the farm life; 177 00:07:29,882 --> 00:07:31,617 it's all great, don't get me wrong 178 00:07:31,617 --> 00:07:33,920 but there are days when things don't go right. 179 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:35,922 You know, deliveries don't get done 180 00:07:35,922 --> 00:07:39,926 or chefs send you their order twenty minutes 181 00:07:39,926 --> 00:07:42,061 before you leave the farm 182 00:07:42,061 --> 00:07:45,431 or a delivery in DC goes wrong 183 00:07:45,431 --> 00:07:48,968 and there are twenty people wanting to know why 184 00:07:48,968 --> 00:07:50,203 and it's out of your hands. 185 00:07:50,203 --> 00:07:53,639 So, yes, it's a great job but it's a job. 186 00:07:53,639 --> 00:07:56,008 >>Right. Okay, and you make other cheeses. 187 00:07:56,008 --> 00:07:57,844 Name the other cheeses that you make. 188 00:07:57,844 --> 00:08:00,112 >>Well, we make one cow's milk cheese 189 00:08:00,112 --> 00:08:02,081 from the Silky Cow Farm milk. 190 00:08:02,081 --> 00:08:03,483 We call it Red Row. 191 00:08:03,483 --> 00:08:06,352 We wash that cheese in hard apple cider 192 00:08:06,352 --> 00:08:08,221 from Albemarle Cider Works. 193 00:08:08,221 --> 00:08:11,190 It's our little study in Terroir 194 00:08:11,190 --> 00:08:13,059 and we talk a lot about that 195 00:08:13,059 --> 00:08:16,629 but it's the only cow's milk cheese that we do 196 00:08:16,629 --> 00:08:19,899 because we really wanna perfect it, so... 197 00:08:19,899 --> 00:08:22,835 >>Right and you also, it helps to keep you season, 198 00:08:22,835 --> 00:08:24,604 so all year long you can make cheese 199 00:08:24,604 --> 00:08:26,339 because you have goat, right? 200 00:08:26,339 --> 00:08:28,174 >>Goat milk at certain times, 201 00:08:28,174 --> 00:08:29,675 you have cow's milk at certain times. 202 00:08:29,675 --> 00:08:31,611 >>One of the things I think that people don't really know 203 00:08:31,611 --> 00:08:33,579 is that goats don't really like to give milk 204 00:08:33,579 --> 00:08:34,547 in the wintertime. 205 00:08:34,547 --> 00:08:36,716 And so they really cut back. 206 00:08:36,716 --> 00:08:40,152 The components in their milk change a lot, 207 00:08:40,152 --> 00:08:42,822 it gets, you know, they are seasonal breeders 208 00:08:42,822 --> 00:08:44,257 and so they want to be bred 209 00:08:44,257 --> 00:08:45,958 and they don't want to be milking. 210 00:08:45,958 --> 00:08:47,393 >>Right. 211 00:08:47,393 --> 00:08:50,496 >>And so we make fresh chevre up until December 31, 212 00:08:50,496 --> 00:08:51,731 which is good you know. 213 00:08:51,731 --> 00:08:53,766 It gives us all a chance to take a break 214 00:08:53,766 --> 00:08:55,835 and get our wits about... 215 00:08:55,835 --> 00:08:57,203 >>Yeah, it gives you a little window of down time 216 00:08:57,203 --> 00:08:59,138 before you kick in again. 217 00:08:59,138 --> 00:09:02,341 >>So, Cheeses are suited to different seasons. 218 00:09:02,341 --> 00:09:04,977 There's nothing like fresh chevre in the spring. 219 00:09:04,977 --> 00:09:07,813 It's perfect with the foods we crave that time of year. 220 00:09:07,813 --> 00:09:10,883 Asparagus, mushrooms, softshell crabs. 221 00:09:10,883 --> 00:09:12,385 You know early spring. 222 00:09:12,385 --> 00:09:15,021 So as we get into the summer we take most of that milk 223 00:09:15,021 --> 00:09:16,689 and we turn it into Esmontonian. 224 00:09:16,689 --> 00:09:18,691 We'll have a little bit left over, 225 00:09:18,691 --> 00:09:22,495 so then we just take a short time, a seasonal release. 226 00:09:22,495 --> 00:09:24,931 In the wintertime, it's a cow's milk cheese. 227 00:09:24,931 --> 00:09:28,067 In the summertime, it's a goat's milk cheese. 228 00:09:28,067 --> 00:09:29,869 And this one is Alberine Ash, 229 00:09:29,869 --> 00:09:33,072 which is the little paving stone with the ash in the middle. 230 00:09:33,072 --> 00:09:34,106 >>Oh, yum. 231 00:09:34,106 --> 00:09:36,108 >>So, that's one of the things 232 00:09:36,108 --> 00:09:37,777 of being a farmstead cheesemaker 233 00:09:37,777 --> 00:09:41,013 that you gotta understand is that we make the cheese 234 00:09:41,013 --> 00:09:44,417 based on what the best milk is for that season. 235 00:09:44,417 --> 00:09:46,218 >>Right, well that makes sense. 236 00:09:46,218 --> 00:09:48,020 >>And not the other way around so. 237 00:09:48,020 --> 00:09:49,422 >>Right. 238 00:09:49,422 --> 00:09:52,825 Talk about the importance of making it here. 239 00:09:52,825 --> 00:09:54,594 This is made in Albemarle County. 240 00:09:54,594 --> 00:09:57,029 This is local cheese. 241 00:09:57,029 --> 00:10:00,433 >>Well, what we set out to do, rather naively, 242 00:10:00,433 --> 00:10:02,034 I must admit, in the beginning, 243 00:10:04,070 --> 00:10:06,939 was to really make cheeses of place. 244 00:10:07,807 --> 00:10:11,377 I wanted to try to make a cheese 245 00:10:11,377 --> 00:10:15,081 that was expressive of this place. 246 00:10:15,081 --> 00:10:17,917 And every year as I got deeper and deeper into it 247 00:10:17,917 --> 00:10:20,353 I realized that it was so much more 248 00:10:20,353 --> 00:10:23,556 about the place making the milk 249 00:10:23,556 --> 00:10:26,192 and then the milk makes the cheese. 250 00:10:26,192 --> 00:10:30,596 And if you think about that then that is your own. 251 00:10:30,596 --> 00:10:33,299 That is your copyright, that is your trademark. 252 00:10:33,299 --> 00:10:37,436 That is how no one else can make those cheeses 253 00:10:37,436 --> 00:10:40,139 and no one can take that away from your village. 254 00:10:40,139 --> 00:10:41,674 >>Right. 255 00:10:41,674 --> 00:10:43,609 >>That's really the way it works all over the world 256 00:10:43,609 --> 00:10:47,113 >>Talk about the cheese cutting process 257 00:10:47,113 --> 00:10:50,116 because you were saying to me earlier, 258 00:10:50,116 --> 00:10:53,953 every time you do it, it just amazes you. 259 00:10:53,953 --> 00:10:56,622 >>Every single time I look at it and I think, 260 00:10:56,622 --> 00:10:57,990 I can't believe that worked. 261 00:10:59,458 --> 00:11:03,029 Because here we have this bit pot of milk, let's face it, 262 00:11:03,029 --> 00:11:05,097 it's just a big pot of milk right now. 263 00:11:05,097 --> 00:11:08,134 And we're gonna add the rennet, which is an enzyme, 264 00:11:08,134 --> 00:11:10,136 and it's going to transform it. 265 00:11:10,136 --> 00:11:12,805 It's every time you make cheese you, 266 00:11:12,805 --> 00:11:16,008 it's alchemy, you've transformed something 267 00:11:16,008 --> 00:11:18,978 into something else and I never tire of it. 268 00:11:20,346 --> 00:11:23,816 >>And then if, where are your cheese found these days? 269 00:11:23,816 --> 00:11:26,018 I believe you have a distributor now, so... 270 00:11:26,018 --> 00:11:26,952 >>I do. 271 00:11:26,952 --> 00:11:28,187 We're in our eighth season 272 00:11:28,187 --> 00:11:32,558 and so I started out I did a lot of everything. 273 00:11:32,558 --> 00:11:37,196 This year we work with a few distributors locally. 274 00:11:37,196 --> 00:11:40,833 Cavalier Produce does a great job. 275 00:11:40,833 --> 00:11:43,602 The Local Food Hub also does a great job 276 00:11:43,602 --> 00:11:47,139 and then up in DC I found a small distributor 277 00:11:47,139 --> 00:11:49,775 who has a lot of restaurants and specialty shops. 278 00:11:49,775 --> 00:11:53,179 And we ship as far as New York City, 279 00:11:53,179 --> 00:11:55,214 as far south as New Orleans. 280 00:11:55,214 --> 00:11:58,484 So what had started out as this little local thing 281 00:11:58,484 --> 00:12:01,020 has really grown into a regional thing. 282 00:12:01,020 --> 00:12:06,025 But I'm still very proud of how Charlottesville 283 00:12:07,193 --> 00:12:09,829 and this area, Albemarle, Nelson, 284 00:12:09,829 --> 00:12:13,099 really retains ownership of Caromont. 285 00:12:13,099 --> 00:12:15,901 They really feel like this cheese belongs to them 286 00:12:15,901 --> 00:12:18,537 and that really makes me happy. 287 00:12:18,537 --> 00:12:19,772 >>Yeah, well it makes me happy, too. 288 00:12:19,772 --> 00:12:21,173 I'm glad you make your cheese. 289 00:12:21,173 --> 00:12:22,108 It's delicious. 290 00:12:22,108 --> 00:12:23,075 >>Well thank you. 291 00:12:23,075 --> 00:12:25,244 >>Thank you, Gail.