Brazos Valley Cheese

An 11-mile trip to the dairy starts our day, as we go get fresh milk for making cheese. Once our 800-gallon insulated stainless steel milk tank is filled, we return to the shop, where we run several tests on the milk before beginning the first stage of the cheesemaking process.

Our milk comes from a local dairy that's run by a third-generation dairyman. He raises his cattle on pasture, and his milk has a high butterfat content, making it superb for producing artisan cheese.

Testing lets us be sure that no antibiotics or hormones are in the milk, and helps us assess the milk's quality. Cheese quality and yield both depend on milk quality. Milk quality, in turn, depends on the health and care of the dairy herd and on the quality of the pasture and the feed they are getting.

We make a point of using only natural ingredients in our cheese, including raw cow's milk, vegetable-based rennet and mesophilic starter culture, imported from France. We use no artificial colors, flavors, additives or preservatives.