Nebraska Artisan Cheesemakers: Farmstead First
Branched Oak Farm is only one-half of the thriving Farmstead First cooperative. The 100 Alpine and Saanen goats owned by Charuth Van Beuzekom-Loth of ShadowBrook Farm’s Dutch Girl Creamery make up the second delicious half.
Branched Oak Farm was started by Doug Dittman in 1991. Krista was studying German literature in graduate school at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln when she moved to the farm after they married in 1999. The couple started small, selling eggs to their neighbors and pasturing organic poultry. The dairy was fully certified as grass-fed organic in 2007.
ShadowBrook Farm has produced a variety of organic vegetables since 1996, and is known in the local farmers’ markets for their fresh greens and herbs.
Dittman and Beuzekom-Loth met through their involvement with the Nebraska Sustainable Ag Society. The lore goes that it was one too many glasses of wine during a cozy winter dinner in 2003 that the idea of developing a dairy was borne. But opening a dairy is no inexpensive proposition. A friend and longtime customer of Branched Oak offered to help write federal grants for training and equipment, and what had started as a fleeting dream quickly became reality.
They made their first cheese at the University of Nebraska’s East Campus. After learning the basics of cheesemaking at UNL, Dittman and Loth utilized grant funding they received to travel to dairies across the United States, Italy and Loth’s native Holland to further hone their cheesecraft. A good chunk of the money was also used to purchase expensive dairy equipment. They began making cheese in May 2006 offsite at UNL. Then, in November that same year, they made their first cheese at their current location.
Dittman and Beuzekom-Loth share the small 12 by 16 foot space to make a variety of cow- and goat-milk cheeses. One of the first cheeses that Farmstead First produced was a cow’s milk quark, a fresh, quickly-aged cheese that’s popular in Germany. Think of it as a creamier, slightly less tangy version of your favorite full-fat cream cheese. The first goat’s milk cheese was a fresh, French-style chevre. Another popular goat’s milk variety is the ash-coated, softly-ripened Natalie Grey, which Beuzekom-Loth described as “mushroomy and earthy.”
“I was surprised by how popular it is,” she said. Beuzekom-Loth also makes a variety of feta, chevre and seasonal goat cheeses.
Cheeses made by Dittman using her cow’s milk include several varieties of Gouda, including a traditional Dutch variety, and others studded with nettle and cumin seeds. In the summer, she will make a fresh mozzarella, which she said pairs perfectly with ripe farmers’ market tomatoes. One surprisingly popular cheese is the washed rind Raymond Red, nicknamed “The Queen of Stink,” by Dittman. She estimated that she makes about 11 different varieties of cheese each year.
Beuzekom-Loth and Dittman together produce Lancaster Duet, a sweet cow and goats milk combination that has soft, butterscotch notes. Food blog Slashfood said of the cheese in 2009, “A bite of this beautiful caramel-colored cheese initiates a complicated succession of flavors that begins with notes of dried dates and apricots, evolves into honey and candy and finally tapers off with a mild, sweet and milky tang” and described it as a “gastronomic masterpiece cave-aged to perfection.”
Last year, it was estimated that Farmstead First used about 3,400 gallons of goats’ milk and 5,500 gallons of cow’s milk. Though they have been making cheese now for over four years, Dittman said they are constantly perfecting their cheesemaking.
“The learning curve is still steep,” said Dittman.Dittman is pleased that so many people enjoy the cheese she and Beuzekom-Loth produce. She chalks it up to the authenticity of their product and the joy with which it’s made.
“Our goal is to care about the food we produce,” she said.
Farmstead First cheese is sold at each dairy’s in-farm stores, in gourmet grocery stores Ideal and Open Harvest, and at farmers’ markets in Lincoln and Omaha. Recently, their cheese has been sold in Kansas City, Denver and Chicago and as far away as Seattle.
Lincoln residents will have the ability to sample cheese and speak to Dittman and Beuzekom-Loth in person when the Old Cheney Road Farmers' Market opens on Sunday, April 25. Read more about the Old Cheney Road Farmers' Market on Star City Blog here. Farmstead First will also have a booth at the Haymarket Farmers' Market, Saturdays from 8 a.m.-12 p.m., starting May 1.
Here are a few recipes utilizing the artisan cheese you can find at Farmstead First!
Quark Tzatziki
From: Caroline Koehler, Branched Oak Farm intern
Ingredients
8 ounces Quark ( a soft, whole-milk cream cheese)
1 large cucumber blended in food processor with:
Small bunch of cilantro or parsley
1 teaspoon garlic (fresh or chopped)
½ teaspoon hot pepper flakes or 1 fresh hot pepper any variety
½ teaspoon lemon or lime juice
Pinch of ground cumin (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Add cucumber mixture to the Quark until a dip consistency is reached. Some liquid from the cucumber maybe be poured off. Extra cucumber mixture can be kept in the refrigerator and added to another carton of Quark. Serve with bread, crackers, or veggies.
Kaseküchen (German Cheesecake)
From Dr. Oetker's German "Baking Today" by Dr. Oetker Verlag
For crust:
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 egg
1/2 cup butter
For filling:
Whites of 3 eggs
8 ounces (1 cup) heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 lbs (24 ounces) Quark (can use Greek yogurt or ricotta instead)
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbl lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
6 Tbl corn starch
Yolks of 3 eggs
1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan.
2) To make the dough, mix together the flour and baking powder, sift into a mixing bowl and add the other ingredients. Stir with a hand mixer on the lowest setting, then at the highest setting until the dough is formed. Then roll into a ball using your hands. Roll out two-thirds of the dough, line the greased springform base and put the ring back around the base. Prick the base of the crust with a fork several times. Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
3) Remove from oven and allow to cool. Roll the rest of the dough flat and press into the sides of the pan to form an edge about 1 1/2 inches high.
4) To make the filling, beat the egg whites until they are very stiff. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until stiff. Mix together the Quark, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and egg yolk. Fold the egg whites and whipped cream into the cheese mixture. Spread the mixture evenly over the cooled cheesecake base.
5) Bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour, 15 minutes. When done, turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake inside with the oven door slightly ajar for another 15 minutes to prevent the top from cracking. Remove the cheesecake to a rack to cool completely before serving.
Learn more at: www.branchedoakfarm.com
Story by: Alexis Abel of Star City Blog
