Editor’s note: This article was published in the Record-Eagle’s “Momentum ’23” special publication. For more stories from northern Michigan’s economic engine, click here to read Momentum in its entirety online.
Our beautiful Michigan Spring has arrived, and that means that soon our area farmers markets will be opening. There are local farmers markets every day of the week where we live, and they benefit our community in myriad ways. I couldn’t think of somewhere I’d rather be than a local farmers market on a spring, summer or autumn morning.
The colorful fruits, vegetables and flowers, the smells of freshly baked breads and treats, and the whole atmosphere of a market just feels good. There is a bit of excitement in their air on market days, like opening up a shop or raising the blinds on a window, sweeping the doorstep and turning on the ‘OPEN’ sign. We are excited to meet our customers, and want our tables to look as appealing and bountiful as we can make them. We take great pride in our products and want to offer you our best.
When I began my cheese company 11 years ago, there were only two artisanal cheese producers in our area. That number has grown, and now several more have gotten started, offering excellent locally made products.
Cheese-making is complicated. There isn’t a set, dependable path to learning the craft. Someone usually begins by working at a dairy, apprenticing, or trying their hand at home. MSU offers courses for beginner cheesemakers, but all of the makers I knew came by their skills in a variety of ways.
Our local cheese producers offer a wide variety of cheeses. Aged cow’s milk cheeses, fresh and aged goat’s cheeses, fresh mozzarella, cheese curds, ice cream and butter — we’ve got it all!
More than the type of milk a cheesemaker works with, it’s the style of cheese they produce that dictates which direction into cheesemaking they will follow. It is true that any type of cheese can be made from any type of milk.
However, the skills needed to master creating aged cheese differs greatly from those needed to understand and make fresh cheeses. Additionally, dairy products such as yogurt, mozzarella or ice cream all have their own set of disciplines a maker needs to learn. I think a makers first customer must be themselves.
My favorite cheeses were always aged, cow’s milk varieties, so that’s what I chose to produce. Someone recently asked if I would make them some Muenster cheese, and I frequently get requests to make blue cheese. I don’t make them because while I know how to make cheese, I don’t specialize in those varieties, so I wouldn’t trust the outcome.
As a cheesemaker, I produce my product year-round. Cheese has a seasonality to it, and the milk used for cheese production also changes with the seasons.
Dairy animals are indoors for most of the winter, and are pastured outside when the snow melts, spending the warmer months grazing on pasture.
This affects the flavor and even color of milk, and imparts subtle changes in its flavor profile. During my cheese education, I learned about a cheese that was created half with milk from the morning milking, and the other half from milk from the evening milking. I found this fascinating, and when eating it you could taste the difference in flavor between the two halves of the wheel.
In addition to local dairy makers, our area also has many excellent cheese sellers. Did you know a cheese seller is called a “cheesemonger”? Whenever I go shopping, whether at an enormous retailer, branch of a grocery store chain, or independent purveyor, I love to check out the cheese department. We have so many great ones to choose from! I encourage everyone to explore cheese: try something different, spend some time and take home a cheesy treasure.
Most people are unaware that they too can sell wares at most farmers markets, without being a regular vendor. Michigan has excellent “cottage food laws.”
These are products that include non-potentially hazardous foods that do not require time and/or temperature control for safety, and can be produced in a home kitchen for direct sale to customers at farmers markets, farm markets, roadside stands or other direct markets.
Have a great cookie recipe? An old family recipe for jam or jelly? Maybe fruit pies or quick breads? How about some chocolate covered graham crackers or marshmallows your kids could help with? All of these are allowed to be sold at our area markets. Most markets have affordable “drop-in” day rates, so you could even try one out and see how your product sells. The Kingsley Farmers Market even has a “kids alley”, an area of the market reserved just for young people to sell their creations. (https://www.localdifference.org/partner/kingsley-farmers-market-431a/)
There is a lot of information about Michigan’s cottage food laws available on-line here:
https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/food-dairy/michigan-cottage-foods-information
Information on Michigan’s many farmers markets can be found here:
https://mifma.org/find-a-farmers-market/
We will be looking for you at the markets this year. If you haven’t made visiting the local farmers markets part of your routine, I really encourage you to come out and visit us.
The markets are welcoming, vibrant places that directly support our community and local economy.
Seasonal, locally produced food, smiling happy faces to greet you and delicious products for sale, all produced right here at home.