Cutting the Curd

Find out what it takes to become a Master Cheesemaker on the latest episode of Cutting the Curd. Now in its 18th year, the Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker® program is the only one of its kind outside of Europe. For cheesemakers, it provides the opportunity to reach the highest levels of their craft. For buyers, it provides unparalleled quality assurance, innovation and expertise. Administered from the Center for Dairy Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the program is open to veteran Wisconsin cheesemakers with a minimum of 10 years experience in Quality Assured plants. Candidates can seek certification for up to two cheese varieties each time they enter the three-year program. They must have been making those specific varieties for at least five years. To talk further on the program is Dean Sommer who serves as a technical resource to the industry regarding cheese, whey products and processing. He assists manufacturers as well as their customers by serving as a consultant and educator. Dean is often involved with trouble shooting, public and private company short courses and is able to consult on issues regarding processing and product defects. He has more than 18 years of experience in the industry, having worked at one of the largest cheese and whey product facilities in the U.S. Cutting the Curd is underwritten by The Dairy Farm Families of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

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Meet Brian Schlatter from Canal Junction Farmstead Cheese, where the higest quality milk is turned into delicious Handmade – Artisan – Raw Milk cheese. Their philosophy is to not only create cheese that is good for you, but also taste wonderful. The cheeses take on their own unique taste and attributes that come from the land on which the cheese is produced. Tune into an informative episode of Cutting the Curd as Brian chats about farming, explains their cheesemaking process, the genesis of Canal Junction and future plans! This program was sponsored by Academie Opus Caseus.

“You want about 3-4 days of sunny skies with no chance of precipitation ever when you’re cutting hay. If molds grow in the hay cows can get sick or it can pass through to the milk.” [27:00]

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Pizza a Casa Pizza School officially opened its doors April 15th, 2010 at 371 Grand Street on New York City’s historic Lower East Side. Since opening, Mark and his wife, Jenny, have been teaching sold-out pizza-making classes to thousands of students from all over the world. Together with their students and the Pizza a Casa team, the home ovens in their classroom have produced more than 15,000 pizzas (as of Spring 2013). On Cutting the Curd, learn about their groundbreaking pizza app, and hear the story of how the decided to make education their outlet. This program was sponsored by Academie Opus Caseus

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Heather Paxson views cheese through an anthropological lens in her book, The Life of Cheese. On this week’s Cutting the Curd Book Review, Diane Stemple invites Heather into the studio to discuss cheese- from its creation to its consumption. Find out why Heather first became fascinated with American artisan cheese in New York City’s Greenmarkets. Learn about the research that went into Heather’s book, and how she visited small farms and famous fromageries. Heather and Diane also tackle the misconception that new artisan cheesemakers are elitist; hear how ‘the food movement’ accommodates for everyone from blue collar workers to artists. What ethics are involved in cheesemaking, and what risks threaten ‘the food movement’? Tune into this episode to learn more about the industrialization of cheese and the prospect of reinventing the food system! This program has been sponsored by Academie Opus Caseus. Thanks to Pamela Royal for today’s music.

“Like any food, cheese is a complex cultural artifact saturated with ethics and politics.” [pg. 214, The Life of Cheese]

— Heather Paxson on Cutting the Curd

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On a brand new episode of Cutting the Curd, discover Mystic Cheese & The 4th Annual Cheesemonger Invitational. Led by Jason Sobocinski and Brian Civitello, The Mystic Cheese Company is composed of highly skilled and and trained cheese experts using science and art to bring milk on a metamorphic jouney to pure deliouness. In the Spring of 2013 Mystic Cheese began releasing 5 handcrafted fresh and soft ripened American original cheeses. In addtion to their cheeses they have an innovative production and marketing infrastructure that will open up new possibilities in the wonderworld of artisan cheese. Organized by Adam Moskowitz, The 4th Annual Cheesemonger Invitational is where cheesemongers from around the country flex their minds and muscle in a battle of cheese skill and will. Tune in for the run down on both of these incredible worlds and continue your radio cheese exploration! This program was sponsored by Academie Opus Caseus.

–Jason Sobocinski of Mystic Cheese Company on Cutting the Curd

–Adam Moskowitz of The 4th Annual Cheesemonger Invitational

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On this month’s special book review edition of Cutting the Curd with special guest host Diane Stemple, listeners are introduced to Diane St. Clair, the author of The Animal Farm Buttermilk Cookbook: Recipes and Reflections from a Small Vermont Dairy. The yet to be released book offers 100 recipes, from sweet to savory, designed to showcase the best that buttermilk can contribute to food, all set in the context of what it is like to live and work on a small Vermont artisanal dairy. Diane has been making artisanal butter for over a decade and started bottling her buttermilk in 2009. Learn about dairy farming, the wonderful world of buttermilk and the book writing journey Diane embarked on for this project. Today’s program was sponsored by Academie Opus Caseus.

–Diane St. Clair on Cutting the Curd

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It’s time for Camp Bacon! Tune in to this week’s episode of Cutting the Curd as Anne Saxelby chats with Ari Weinzwieg, founder of Zingerman’s and creator of Camp Bacon, a fundraiser in Ann Arbor, MI for Southern Foodways Alliance that brings together Bacon-Lovers, -Makers, Cooks, Curers and anyone who likes to learn, eat and enjoy cured and smoked pork belly. Camp Bacon is four days of all things bacon — eating, learning, listening, tasting and talking; a pork centric party that features everything from poetry to pigs. Camp Bacon convenes on the evening of Thursday May 30, moves through a bacon-laden meal to a bacon tinged music to a day long delight of bacon learning and tasting, concluding on Sunday June 2 with a bacon street fair filled with bacon tasting, bacon crafts, bacon games and all around bacon fun. Find out more here and tune in for bacon goodness! This program was sponsored by Academie Opus Caseus.

–Ari Weinzweig on Cutting the Curd

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Lauren Melodia aims to link New York dairy farmers and high incarceration rates with her organization, Milk Not Jails. This week on Cutting the Curd, Anne Saxelby sits down with Lauren, founder and co-organizer, to talk about the prison system in New York, and how it connects the urban with the rural. How do prisons bolster New York’s rural economy? Find out how government support for dairy farms as opposed to prisons creates a sustainable economy. Learn how a lack of processing and bottling plants limits production for small dairy farmers. Find out what Milk Not Jails aims to do to support local dairy farmers and help reform the prison system simultaneously. This program has been sponsored by White Oak Pastures. Thanks to Pamela Royal for today’s musical interlude.

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As Anne Saxelby continues to explore the lives and careers of Cheesemongers across the nation on Cutting the Curd, this week she checks in with Peter Lovis, the warm and charismatic proprietor of the Concord Cheese Shop in New England. Hear his cheese journey and find out why he thinks it’s absolutely necessary to have a face to face interaction with the people selling you your cheese – not a digital relationship. Find out why cut to order is always better and what makes raw milk cheeses so special! This program was sponsored by Academie Opus Caseus.

“How can you buy cheese on the internet!? It’s so wrong to me I can’t fathom how anybody would do it!” [30:00]

—Peter Lovis of Concord Cheese Shop on Cutting the Curd

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Ken Skovron is the owner of Darien Cheese and Fine Foods, based in Darien Connecticut. One of first original cheese stores opened 36 years ago, Darien Cheese and Fine Foods focuses their selection on the heart and soul of cheese making; the artisan cheese maker. In addition to cheese, the shop also offers fine oils and vinegars, chutney, mustards, pasta, olives, teas, oven breads, and much more. Tune in to learn more about the shop, as well as the art of running your own cheese business from an established veteran. This program was sponsored by Academie Opus Caseus

“You gotta love the product and be willing to do the work.” [8:00]

“I didn’t get on the counter for a full year, there’s alot of behind the scenes work, you need to know how to present it to the customer, know your “lingo” kind of things.” [10:00]

“I think the people that are successful [in this industry] have a passion about cheese.” [10:30]

–Ken Skovron on Cutting the Curd

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