The ‘sheltering in place’ phase of the pandemic is winding down somewhat in the US, so this will probably be the last episode in our series. We’re grateful for all the responses we received from cheesemakers around the world. If you haven’t already, check out the first 4 articles in our series:
The first article includes responses from around the world – (click here)
The second article includes responses from 4 cheesemakers within the US – (click here)
The third article returns to the international arena with responses from 5 cheesemakers – (click here)
The fourth article again includes responses from within the US – (click here)
Wendy Gardner in Montana
Wendy Gardner in Whitehall, Montana (2018)
Hello from the mountain top in Montana. It’s still late winter here. Snow storms still rolling in. Social distancing is the norm up here, not many visitors.
I am mid kidding season with the alpine goats. I have already started cheesemaking with my extra milk. The young kids have a tendency to drink milk only off one teat and ignore the other, even when there are triplets. So, I have to keep the udders milked until they figure out that there are 2 places to drink milk.
Takes 2-3 weeks to get this all sorted. Then, I’ll just milk the extra milk so the dams are comfortable. When I wean the kids, I’ll start taking the kids away during the day and gradually stretch it to overnight. I’m getting about 2 ½ gallons to use right now and it will increase as the season goes on.
I’ve made a few batches of lactic goat milk cheese (Brie, Crottin and Valancay) and some Cabecou in olive oil with herbs. I need to work on my herb mix. I will start making hard cheeses on the weekends. Soft on weekdays.
I did make a French Tomme this weekend. Goudas are my fall back cheeses right now, smoked with pepper flakes or wasabi and plain. I seal them with a food sealer. Super easy.
As of now, Montana has about 440 positive Covid 19 cases. We are all hoping that being such a low populated state (our population is right at a million) will really help reduce the spread of the virus. Many of our ranching friends are barely affected. We all go to the store minimally, as it is far away.
There have been the normal shortages of cleaning supplies, toilet paper milk and eggs. Last winter I was unexpectedly snowed in for 2 weeks so that has helped with the preparation for our home stay this time. I made sure we had a good supply of tea. I did actually buy some new cheese starter strains to add to the ones I have left in the freezer just in case this goes on a very long while. And I’m planning on really exploring a few more recipes. Maybe a Wensleydale?
Terry Dinnan in Vermont
Terry Dinnan in Charlotte, Vermont (2016)
It’s still difficult to absorb the enormity of it and it’s effects on people everywhere. I am feeling blessed to be living in a rural area where physical distancing is not such a traumatic change and people in our area are generally complying with health official recommendations.
My wife and I live at an old mill site on a river which flows alongside a quiet dirt road. In recent weeks, recreational activity (walkers, bikers, equestrians, fishermen/women, etc.) has probably increased some fivefold as people make an effort to enjoy the opportunities we are lucky to have here. We live a couple of miles from my daughter, her husband, and our grandson.
Our two families are being very careful to limit our exposure to others and are basically trying to operate as a closed loop so that we are able to continue to interact regularly. We enjoy 2 1/2 yr. old Lior three times a week and we all have dinner together at least once a week. So life, although somewhat limited, continues to be rich for us. We’re in better shape than ever in preparing for large vegetable gardens and our wood is cut, stacked, and seasoned for next winter.
I am just about finished aging one of the cheeses we very much enjoy, and that is the Pont l’Eveque linens-cultured type. Its flavor was new for us after becoming used to the Camemberts and Bries that I had been making. It’s soft and creamy with a complex (hard to describe) earthy flavor.
I’m lucky to have a subscription at The Family Cow, where we can pick up our weekly raw cow milk without being exposed to others. I’m looking forward to the availability of raw goat milk which a neighbor of ours plans to have ready soon.
So, we’re in great shape compared to so many who are suffering greatly from the Covid virus. Our hearts go out to them and we wish for progress to subdue this epidemic and a return to more open and joyful lives.
Dan Crowther in New York
Dan Crowther – Roller Derby Husband & Cheesemaker (2016) Valley Falls, NY
Our family is doing quite well with the social-distancing as well as work-from-home and remote schooling. Both my wife and I were switched to work-from-home by our employers 1-2 weeks before the official closures happened. So, we were mostly settled into the new routine before the closures of “non-essential” businesses happened.
Additionally, since our granddaughter (who lives with us) has Cystic Fibrosis we were well accustomed to the “6′ Rule” and mask wearing. These are regularly used by CF’ers to avoid contagions in social situations. There was even a movie recently, “Five Feet Apart,” about CF patients and the social distance rule (and why the characters modified the rule to 5′ apart).
The remote schooling has also been good for us. Our granddaughter gets to spend time on her school work as *she* needs it; whipping through the easy courses and spending more time on those that are harder. And, we’ve had more communication with her teachers than ever before.
As a hobbyist cheesemaker, work-from-home has been awesome. My job as a computer technician often means I’ve got ‘down time’ in-between solving issues as well as schedule flexibility. This marries quite nicely with cheesemaking which, honestly, involves a lot of waiting around for specific conditions to happen.
So, I work while waiting for the milk to come up to temp, ripening, curd setting, draining, etc. and take mini work breaks to add cultures, rennet, cutting curds, etc.
Living in a mostly rural area has been a benefit during the pandemic and supermarket shortages. Both my cow and goat’s milk come directly from the farmers so there’s been no supply disruption as far as cheesemaking is concerned. This additional cheesemaking time has also given me the opportunity to try out some new cheeses (Jack and Stilton), experiment a bit (Jalapeno Jack, Chive Jack, and Mushroom-Brie), and refine others (Brie and Feta).
Although we can’t wait for the pandemic to be over, we’re actually kind of hoping our employers let us work-from-home a bit longer as it has really worked out well for our family.
Sister Gertrude in Colorado
Sister Gertrude Read in Virginia Dale, Colorado (2014), Sister Gertrude Read in 2017 (2017)
March 22nd, 2020, was a normal Sunday at the Abbey of St. Walburga. The only difference was that we weren’t able to allow guests to come to Mass that morning, because there happened to be a global pandemic going on and everyone in the entire world (so it seems) was in “lockdown”… but for cloistered nuns, it was business as usual. After all, we have been practicing social distancing for centuries. It’s already our practice to leave our monastery as infrequently as possible, limiting our contact with the outside world; so you could say we’re experts!
All joking aside, what an experience this has been. It’s as if everyone is going through a big collective “novitiate.” Like a monastic novitiate, it’s a time of trial and testing and pain; it’s a time of growth and self-discovery that can lead to deep joy. I like to think that our role in all of this is to witness to that possibility of joy and hope. Maybe just knowing that there are people out there crazy enough to freely choose this lifestyle can give others courage to get through it.
We have a number of elderly sisters in our community, so we have had to be very cautious not to expose them. For six weeks we made do with what we had on site, never visiting a grocery store. During that time, the role of our humble milk cow suddenly became much more important; and in my role as community cheese maker, I experienced the satisfaction of being able to give something we couldn’t have had otherwise. Even so simple a cheese as Fromage Blanc was accepted and enjoyed by the sisters with unique appreciation!
On Sunday, May 10, 2020, we were able to allow guests into our Church again. Without them, we were missing a part of ourselves. We hope that you, wherever you are, are finding light along your pandemic journey; know that some crazy nuns in the middle of nowhere are praying that you do.
