A few week’s ago, before the dog days of summer in The South, fellow CCP and friend, Allin Tallmadge, and I took a leisurely drive up into the Blue Ridge foothills of North Carolina to visit Looking Glass Creamery. Located near Columbus, North Carolina, the drive is about three hours from Atlanta and half that from Lavonia. Allin picked me up at Sweet Combs of Honey following a meeting with the State Agriculture Inspector (I passed.) We caught up on gossip on the way, enjoying the sunny, cloudless day.
Looking Glass is a family farm producing cheese, caramel and cider from milk and food produced at their farm. All of their cows have been born and raised on the farm. Of the 50 cows, they currently milk about 30. When the Perkins bought the farm, the herd was primarily Jersey and Holsteins, a cross of the two with a little Norwegian Red and Geurnsey. Using high merit genetics, Andy and Jennifer have added some Ayreshire and MontBeliarde into the mix to produce the “perfect cow” for their farm and needs. Their perfect cow produces high-component milk and is suited for living outside on green grass and can manage navigating the hills of the farm.
In 2019, they began following a seasonal dairy model, drying off the herd, giving everyone (human and cows) a break from December until calving begins in February. Because they don’t sell milk to cooperatives, they are not under financial pressure to produce milk 365 days a year. It’s good for the cows and good for the staff as well.
when we arrived, Jennifer, Co-Owner and Cheesemaker had just finished her make and graciously gave us the tour. Andy, her husband and partner, was on the tractor out in the field mowing.
I always marvel at how clean (thankfully) the make rooms are. You can eat off the floors. The rooms smell of clean milk mixed with cleaning mixtures.
Jennifer had made Drovers Road, a cheddar, the day we visited and also showed us an “experiment” with some bloomies she had made. Her blues were, of course, in a different aging room from the other cheeses.
In addition to making Drovers Road, they also make Bear Wallow, an Alpine style cheese; Chocolate Lab, a washed rind; Green River Blue, Ridgeline, their “take” on Morbier; a Gouda, Feta and Fromage Blanc.
The Creamery is built as an extension of a hill and the aging rooms are inside the hillside, making them true caves. This helps control temperature and humidity to assist the aging of their cheeses.
After the tour, we stopped in the Farm Store and visited with Alicia, the store manager. We sampled a few of the cheeses and a “brand new” batch of hard cider from apples grown on the farm.
I brought home wedges of Drovers Road and Green River Blue (which I will review in a separate posting). You can purchase directly from the creamery at the Farm Store in Columbus or their original location in Fairview, NC (just outside Asheville). Both locations are open Thursday through Sunday. For more information on locations and operating times, check here.
After our visit we stopped at a local biker bar that “proudly serves Boar’s Head“; which proves that even bikers have sophisticated palates. In addition to a Boar’s Head sandwich, in honor of Nathan Aldridge, another CCP and friend, I had Tater Tots.
It was the second creamery Allin and I visited that week. The other is a well-known Southern Cheesemaker who is remaking her brand… more at a later date…
In addition to being a member of the Internationale Guilde des Fromagers (Jura and Garde) and an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, I am a Certified ServSafe Food Production Manager with certifications that also include ServSafe Certified Instructor and Proctor. I am available for cheese events, cheese program development, cheese training, food safety training and 3rd party food safety auditing. See my About Me and Resume pages for more details or call me at 360 921 9908 to discuss availability.
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