In April I began a new job at Jasper Hill Farm in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. I started in The Cellars doing affinage in this amazing facility. Seven Vaults are build in the side of hill and buried to maintain temperature through Vermont's barbaric winters. The cheeses above are Alpha Tolman an Alpine cheese that develops a smear from constant brine washing.
The washed rind vault houses Willoughby and Oma. Oma is made by Von Trapp and the model of The Cellars is to buy and age cheeses not only from Jasper Hill, but also of other nearby producers, mimicking the European model of affinage. Cheeses are kept on wire rack towers with rolly bases and washed frequently. It smells very good in this Vault, each has its own aroma as well as temperature and humidity.
Bayley Hazen Blue is a fascinating cheese to watch age. It starts in a warmer wetter Vault then after the blue covers it is moved to a cooler dryer vault. Each wheel is hand pierced with a single hole piercer giving it a varied less mechanical look inside. Naturally rinded blues are a favorite of mine and getting to see this cheese develop and taste it as it did is a valuable experience.
My experience the Cellars has widened my knowledge of cheese exponentially. I have gotten to learn so much about affinage, sensory evaluation, rind care, and the logistics of managing cheese aging/selection/shipping. Affinage is my favorite aspect of cheese making, this is where the magic happens. The cheese comes in fresh virgin white, a blank canvas. Microbial artists comes in and are steered by human hands into an artistic symbiosis of human, animal, land, and microbes. There is really nothing else like it in the USA and I am glad to say I got to dive into this amazing place.
