We have updated our goat cheese class schedule here at the Stone Creek Farmstead for the new year! The classes have been great and we have had so much fun making new friends…and cheese!
We have been talking a lot recently about how the terms ‘artisanal’ and ‘farmstead’ get somewhat thrown around, especially lately as these words are becoming important to the community. But the words artisanal and farmstead have distinct definitions.
Artisanal refers to a high-quality product that is made by hand with no interference by machines – everything in the process is done by hand.
Farmstead refers to the entirety of the farm…any product produced involves ingredients solely from the farm. At the Stone Creek Farmstead, we produce true artisanal goat cheese, soap, and lotion, and the ‘farmstead’ in our name means that we produce all of our product right here at Stone Creek with what we have at Stone Creek.
Our artisanal goat cheese classes have been one of our most enjoyable activities here on the farm. Classes are small, usually two to six people, and we meet in our commercial grade kitchen. And since we wouldn’t have cheese without goats, we all go up to the barn and meet Annie, Sasha, Lucia, Ruby, Jewel, Abby, and of course, Mr. Morgan. We discuss the milking process, as well as the sanitation techniques and healthy ways to care for goats. We then head back to the kitchen and use the goat milk to make French Chevre, which is a farm fresh, spreadable cheese (and our most popular at markets!). We also make a queso blanco, or similar fresh cheese. Then comes my favorite part: the cheese tasting. We taste samples of several amazing cheeses, ranging from a fresh chevre like the one we just made to a smoked cheddar to an aged bleu. And if you love cheese like I do, then you’ll love learning about aging methods, rind varieties, and differences in molds. We then explore wine and beer parings, and you’ll be amazed at how pairings really bring out the best flavors and notes of both the cheese and the wine or beer. And last but not least, we make fresh hors-d’oeuvres with our chevre.
Everyone who takes a class also gets to go home with not only all of the recipes and instructions, but of course with their own artisanal cheese. At markets, people often ask me how long their cheese will last. My answer is at least a month in the fridge, which they are always surprised at. But the truth is that by the time ‘fresh’ cheese reaches the shelf in the grocery store, who knows how long the process was to get it there? Here at Stone Creek Farmstead, we know exactly what day we milked the girls, when the milk was pasteurized, and the cheese was packaged and ready to go.
In addition to our artisanal cheese classes, we also offer rustic style bread making and artisanal soap making classes, which have been a big hit as well. In the bread class we make two types of bread, one of which is a Roman style bread, crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. In our soap class we use the cold process method and our goat’s milk to make our wonderful, luxurious, and moisturizing goat milk soap. And as in the cheese class, everyone takes home recipes, instructions, and delicious bread or awesome soap.
To be a part of the farmstead is such a unique experience. We so enjoy having the opportunity to share our lifestyle with new friends. And from everything we’ve learned talking to people and sharing knowledge, we believe that everything from ranching to sustainable living to artisanal craft is only going to become more important in the coming years. Even natural foods grocery stores are popping up everywhere where we are able to purchase farmstead quality goods in the off season. We know many people who buy exclusively from natural or organic stores as food and product sources become exponentially more important.
Here at the Stone Creek Farmstead, we love teaching and sharing our knowledge on how to be sustainable and local. We are hoping to not only grow our cheese classes, but also to begin classes in agrotourism, farmsteading, and even tours to observe Stone Creek’s operation process. We are finding more and more interest in the farmstead lifestyle, and we have great chats with friends at farmer’s markets about learning to live sustainably, grow our own food, and definitely about really knowing the source of what we buy and put into our bodies. The classes we offer at Stone Creek are a great way to begin to learn about farmsteading. So if anyone has anything they’d really like to learn, from artisanal goat cheese to keeping chickens to making fabulous rustic bread, check out our classes page or go to ‘contact us’ and sign up for a class in the beautiful alpine setting of the Stone Creek Farmstead. We’d love to see you and learn together.
Hope this finds all of you well,
Ashlee
