Exploring The Deep Roots Of Amish Cheesemaking
The four core values of Amish life — faith, family, community and simplicity — are present in everyday practices, from dressing simply and avoiding technology use, to pooling the milk from the community’s dairy farms and using sustainable practices in agriculture and cheesemaking.
Amish Cheesemaking: A Blend Of Tradition And Community
“The cheeses are crafted by small, farmer-owned dairy cooperatives, according to old-order Amish community standards. This helps sustain dairy farming, and they have a passionate love and stewardship of the earth. Their extra care and centuries-old traditions are reflected in their high-quality milk and cheese,” explained Reginald Pearson, perishable category manager for Texas-based Spec’s Wine, Spirits & Finer Foods, who co-presented “The Amish Flavor Connection” yesterday as part of the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) Webinar Series.
Co-presenter Linda Avila, vice president of retail business development at Houston-based Presenture, who works with Amish cheesemakers to help market and present their products, noted that Amish cheesemaking cooperatives are owned by all members of a community and allow their small farms to prosper and achieve long-term success.
“The farms, whether they have three or 60 cows, really need to have a home for their milk. By working together, bringing new, innovative products to market but emphasizing small-batch production, it’s a way for them to stay relevant and allow them to get to the mass market,” she said. “It’s how the old world and new world come together — traditional practices and new, innovative flavors.”
Trending Flavors And Consumer Preferences
Pearson and Avila presented samples from three Amish creameries across the country that were shipped to participants ahead of the webinar. These included: Blue cheese crumbles from Kingston Creamery in Cambria, Wisconsin; Sunrise Creamery flavored Monterey Jack and smoked American cheeses from Middlefield Cheese Co-op in Middlefield, Ohio; and Symphony brand flavored Fontinas and Symphony White Tie raw milk Cheddars from Eastern Dairy Ltd., Lancaster, Pennsylvania. These cheeses feature innovative flavors that are on-trend with consumer demand.
The first examples of on-trend flavors they presented were Sunrise Creamery’s Pepperoncini Jack, which launched a year-and-a-half ago, and Dilly Pickle Monterey Jack, which is getting ready to launch this week.
“Pickles are on-trend,” Avila noted. “Monterey Jack is a perfect way to follow trends, an easy way to experiment with new flavors. It’s a nice mellow cheese that easily takes on other flavors.”
Sunrise Creamery’s Smokey Creamy American cheese, also new to the market, is another example of a trending flavor, Pearson said.
“The smoked cheese market is growing by a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 5.1% from 2021 to 2028,” he explained. “It’s great for mac and cheese, sandwiches or burgers. American cheeses are well-recognized, and this product is very creamy. There are not many smoked American cheeses out there.”
Sunrise Creamery also offers smoked Apple Jack, Pepper Jack and Cheddar varieties among other flavored cheeses such as a Hatch & Honey Monterey Jack limited-time offering just for Hatch season, which will be shipping in July.
Middlefield Cheese also is offering innovative flavors with its Symphony brand Flatbread Fontinas in flavors such as Sundried Tomato & Basil, and Olive & Pepperoncini, two new flavor combos that just started production.
“Fontina absorbs flavors well and is a really easy cheese to use — an awesome ingredient cheese,” Avila said, noting the rise in popularity of flatbreads and artisan breads. “Flatbread Fontina is great for melting on flatbreads, but also to use on paninis, salads, pizzas, sandwiches or dips.”
In addition to these, Middlefield Cheese also produces a Symphony White Tie line of raw milk Cheddars. These include traditional aged White Cheddars in 6-month, 9-month, 12-month and 24-month vintages; a Bloomy Rind variety; as well as flavored raw milk Cheddars in Garlic & Dill, Smoked, Peppercorn and Espresso varieties.
“The raw milk provides a deeper, more complex flavor profile, giving the Cheddar a reinvigorated boost and point of differentiation,” Pearson said.
He added that the Raw Milk Cheddar also offers good bacteria to aid digestive health, aligning with the functional foods trend.
Exploring Bold Flavors With Kingston Creamery’s Blue Cheeses
Presenting another type of bold flavor, Kingston Creamery offered attendees samples of its crumbled Breezy Blue — a mixed-milk cheese with 60% cow and 40% goat milk — as well as the soon-to-be-launched 4 Blue Salad Blend, which combines Kingston’s Premium Blue, Gorgonzola, Goat Blue and Smoked Blue cheeses.
“The global Blue cheese market is growing at a CAGR of 4.3% from 2023-2032,” Pearson said. “This is attributed to a growing interest in gourmet, artisanal foods. Different milk types and the smoking of cheeses gives the category new life. The combination of flavors keeps consumers engaged and interested in trying Blue cheese.”
Pearson added that Kingston’s Blue cheeses, which are given careful attention in the aging and maturing process, are able to attract consumers who might never have liked Blue cheese.
“In the past, you wouldn’t have had a conversation about Blue cheese — either you love it or don’t care for it,” he said. “With products introduced now like Kingston’s, more people are finding it appealing.”
Avila added that the mixed-milk Breezy Blue, which has won several top awards at cheese contests, has been especially appealing to consumers.
“If you are afraid of Blue cheese, you really need to try this Blue. It does not have that metallic, earthy or pungent flavor. You get the creaminess and smoothness of cow’s milk, and a little bit of the tangy flavor with goat’s milk. It has a nice clean finish, not a barny flavor at the back end. It’s a really nice cheese,” Avila said.
Sustainability In Amish Cheesemaking
In addition to new, bold and innovative flavors, consumers also increasingly are invested in sustainable practices when it comes to their food. A number of innovative cheesemaking technologies are focusing on enhancing sustainability, and the development of eco-friendly cheese production methods — such as energy-efficient equipment and waste reduction strategies — is gaining traction within the industry.
Avila explained that, according to their articles of faith, the Amish have to leave the land in a better place than when they first found it.
“It’s really important to them to have water conservation and use earth-friendly fertilizer from animal waste, leaving the soil in a better place,” she said. “They make old-fashioned haystacks and are still doing old-fashioned farming like a couple of centuries ago.”
As sustainability has become a recent “buzzword,” Pearson pointed out that this is where the old-world practices of the Amish intersect with newer trends in food and retail.
“The Amish start from the ground, to the hay, to the milk, and it all goes back to feeding back into the earth. The process is eco-friendly waste reduction with no modern technology,” he said. “This aligns with consumer preferences for ethically produced, sustainable products.”
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Source: Cheese Market News
