{"id":3333,"date":"2023-08-10T03:03:27","date_gmt":"2023-08-10T03:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/jeff-roberts-shares-his-thoughts-on-vermonts-artisanal-creameries\/"},"modified":"2023-08-10T03:03:27","modified_gmt":"2023-08-10T03:03:27","slug":"jeff-roberts-shares-his-thoughts-on-vermonts-artisanal-creameries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/jeff-roberts-shares-his-thoughts-on-vermonts-artisanal-creameries\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeff Roberts Shares His Thoughts on Vermont\u2019s Artisanal Creameries"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<figure class=\"sqs-block-image-figure              intrinsic\"><\/p>\n<p>                  <img data-stretch=\"false\" data-image=\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/03d7a7c7-7295-4d69-b241-84aa1e0d006b\/Jeff+Roberts+photo+credit+Dennis+Curran.jpg\" data-image-dimensions=\"2245x2675\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"\" data-load=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/03d7a7c7-7295-4d69-b241-84aa1e0d006b\/Jeff Roberts photo credit Dennis Curran.jpg?format=1000w\" width=\"2245\" height=\"2675\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/03d7a7c7-7295-4d69-b241-84aa1e0d006b\/Jeff+Roberts+photo+credit+Dennis+Curran.jpg?format=100w 100w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/03d7a7c7-7295-4d69-b241-84aa1e0d006b\/Jeff+Roberts+photo+credit+Dennis+Curran.jpg?format=300w 300w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/03d7a7c7-7295-4d69-b241-84aa1e0d006b\/Jeff+Roberts+photo+credit+Dennis+Curran.jpg?format=500w 500w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/03d7a7c7-7295-4d69-b241-84aa1e0d006b\/Jeff+Roberts+photo+credit+Dennis+Curran.jpg?format=750w 750w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/03d7a7c7-7295-4d69-b241-84aa1e0d006b\/Jeff Roberts photo credit Dennis Curran.jpg?format=1000w 1000w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/03d7a7c7-7295-4d69-b241-84aa1e0d006b\/Jeff+Roberts+photo+credit+Dennis+Curran.jpg?format=1500w 1500w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/03d7a7c7-7295-4d69-b241-84aa1e0d006b\/Jeff+Roberts+photo+credit+Dennis+Curran.jpg?format=2500w 2500w\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-loader=\"sqs\"><figcaption class=\"image-caption-wrapper\">\n<p class=\"\">Jeff Roberts photo credit Dennis Curran<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"\">In theater speak, there\u2019s a role known as a dramaturg, a historian and scholar of sorts who can help contextualize a script for actors and directors in terms of the time, place, and customs that the narrative depicts. There\u2019s no equivalent in cheese, title-wise, but arguably there should be, as functionally-speaking Vermont\u2019s Jeff Roberts is exactly that. (Dramacurd? Dairyturg?) As the author of the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/American-Artisan-Cheese-Jeffrey-Roberts\/dp\/1933392347\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Atlas of American Cheese<\/a>, he\u2019s had his finger on the pulse of American cheese making since the 1970s, performing various leadership roles for education and oversight programs and consortiums in the industry, acting as a consultant, and helping to shape the tremendous growth in American artisanal cheese in the last several decades, even without being a cheesemaker himself. Having made Vermont his home since the mid-90s, he is especially well-versed on the ongoing development of one of American artisanal cheese\u2019s most important states.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Any discussion of Vermont\u2019s role in artisanal American cheese must begin with a statement of the obvious: the state is geographically-speaking, tiny, compared to American cheese\u2019s other frontrunners. Barely 20% of the size of Wisconsin, and 5% of the size of California, Vermont has nonetheless established itself as a powerhouse when it comes to its impact on artisanal cheese in this country. I spoke to Roberts recently on the significance of Vermont\u2019s past, present, and future in America\u2019s artisanal cheese industry.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Vermont\u2019s Cheesemaking Past: Quietly at the Forefront<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"sqs-block-image-figure              intrinsic\"><\/p>\n<p>                  <img data-stretch=\"false\" data-image=\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/b018095d-cd83-4ac0-bf8d-427e8d979276\/Vermont+cows.jpg\" data-image-dimensions=\"1920x1440\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"\" data-load=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/b018095d-cd83-4ac0-bf8d-427e8d979276\/Vermont cows.jpg?format=1000w\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/b018095d-cd83-4ac0-bf8d-427e8d979276\/Vermont+cows.jpg?format=100w 100w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/b018095d-cd83-4ac0-bf8d-427e8d979276\/Vermont+cows.jpg?format=300w 300w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/b018095d-cd83-4ac0-bf8d-427e8d979276\/Vermont+cows.jpg?format=500w 500w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/b018095d-cd83-4ac0-bf8d-427e8d979276\/Vermont+cows.jpg?format=750w 750w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/b018095d-cd83-4ac0-bf8d-427e8d979276\/Vermont cows.jpg?format=1000w 1000w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/b018095d-cd83-4ac0-bf8d-427e8d979276\/Vermont+cows.jpg?format=1500w 1500w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/b018095d-cd83-4ac0-bf8d-427e8d979276\/Vermont+cows.jpg?format=2500w 2500w\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-loader=\"sqs\"><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"\">Looking back on the genesis of artisanal American cheese, \u201cEverybody thought that Laura Chenel, (in California,) and a couple of other people from either the West Coast or the Upper Midwest were among the first,\u201d says Roberts, in terms of applying European cheesemaking techniques to American dairy toward the creation of small-batch, handmade cheese. While Chenel was specifically introducing the idea of European-style goat\u2019s milk cheese to American palates via a partnership with farm-to-table restaurateur forerunner Alice Waters, (potentially appealing to Baby Boomers who\u2019d recently started traveling more in Europe,) Roberts maintains that high quality, small batch cheese was already happening in Vermont and in the upper East Coast. \u201cThe understanding of how you make a great cheese is rooted great milk,\u201d says Roberts. \u201cVermont has this long dairy tradition, and this was still pre-industrialization of the milk supply,\u201d he says. \u201cWe always had good cheese being made here. There were all kinds of small, pressed cheese, mostly cheddar producers dotted around the state using great milk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">According to Roberts, Vermont\u2019s petite stature worked in its favor where artisanal dairy was concerned. First, many of the state\u2019s small dairy producers were largely able to skip the need to industrialize their operations by cooperating toward artisanal cheesemaking early in the game, working with highest quality, unadulterated dairy. Furthermore, those that did form co-ops and combine batches of milk had comparatively little distance to travel in order to do so. \u201cWhen you transport milk, any long distance, it\u2019s getting shaken up,\u201d says Roberts, who explains that for making cheese, \u201cIt\u2019s not the best thing in the world when it\u2019s shaken like that.\u201d American creamery businesses such as <a href=\"https:\/\/vermontshepherd.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vermont Shepherd<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.graftonvillagecheese.com\/about-us\/history\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Grafton<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/shelburnefarms.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Shelburne Farms <\/a>are some of the pioneers that Roberts names as having been central to the cheesemaking energy that rose out of Vermont in the 1980s and 1990s.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Contemporary Cheesemaking in Vermont: America\u2019s Award-Winningest Cheese State<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"sqs-block-image-figure              intrinsic\"><\/p>\n<p>                  <img data-stretch=\"false\" data-image=\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/3a220cc1-0ee4-4883-8a23-899c2e8a4897\/Jasper+Hill.jpeg\" data-image-dimensions=\"2000x882\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"\" data-load=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/3a220cc1-0ee4-4883-8a23-899c2e8a4897\/Jasper Hill.jpeg?format=1000w\" width=\"2000\" height=\"882\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/3a220cc1-0ee4-4883-8a23-899c2e8a4897\/Jasper+Hill.jpeg?format=100w 100w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/3a220cc1-0ee4-4883-8a23-899c2e8a4897\/Jasper+Hill.jpeg?format=300w 300w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/3a220cc1-0ee4-4883-8a23-899c2e8a4897\/Jasper+Hill.jpeg?format=500w 500w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/3a220cc1-0ee4-4883-8a23-899c2e8a4897\/Jasper+Hill.jpeg?format=750w 750w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/3a220cc1-0ee4-4883-8a23-899c2e8a4897\/Jasper Hill.jpeg?format=1000w 1000w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/3a220cc1-0ee4-4883-8a23-899c2e8a4897\/Jasper+Hill.jpeg?format=1500w 1500w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/3a220cc1-0ee4-4883-8a23-899c2e8a4897\/Jasper+Hill.jpeg?format=2500w 2500w\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-loader=\"sqs\"><figcaption class=\"image-caption-wrapper\">\n<p class=\"\">Jasper Hill<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"\">Vermont continued to be a trailblazer in the world of artisanal cheese throughout the 90s and into the 2000s. The state was the first to organize a professional association \u2014 the <a href=\"https:\/\/vtcheese.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vermont Cheese Council<\/a> \u2014 to help establish standards of quality for the state\u2019s dairy producers and to promote Vermont-made cheeses. (The VCC now boasts over 50 member creameries.) In the late 90s, with Roberts\u2019s help, Shelburne Farms also organized \u201cPasture to Palate: The Art of Cheesemaking\u201d intensive for aspiring cheesemakers, a 3-day residential program that began with participants milking cows and ended with them making cheddar cheese. \u201cSomebody from the New York Times ran a little story about this in the Times\u2019 Travel section,\u201d says Roberts. \u201cAnd we basically ran this program for three years just based on the number of phone calls and inquiries from that article. That put Vermont on the map in a different way, and created national recognition, not only just for Vermont but for handmade cheeses in general.\u201d Partnerships with Slow Food International, and the establishment of a cheesemaking certificate program called the Vermont Institute continued to showcase Vermont as a force of energy where artisanal cheesemaking is concerned.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"sqs-block-image-figure              intrinsic\"><\/p>\n<p>                  <img data-stretch=\"false\" data-image=\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/3df5a14a-5b55-4f25-ad03-680d84ee1989\/Invierno+cheese+from+Vermont+Shepherd.jpeg\" data-image-dimensions=\"2000x1142\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"\" data-load=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/3df5a14a-5b55-4f25-ad03-680d84ee1989\/Invierno cheese from Vermont Shepherd.jpeg?format=1000w\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1142\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/3df5a14a-5b55-4f25-ad03-680d84ee1989\/Invierno+cheese+from+Vermont+Shepherd.jpeg?format=100w 100w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/3df5a14a-5b55-4f25-ad03-680d84ee1989\/Invierno+cheese+from+Vermont+Shepherd.jpeg?format=300w 300w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/3df5a14a-5b55-4f25-ad03-680d84ee1989\/Invierno+cheese+from+Vermont+Shepherd.jpeg?format=500w 500w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/3df5a14a-5b55-4f25-ad03-680d84ee1989\/Invierno+cheese+from+Vermont+Shepherd.jpeg?format=750w 750w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/3df5a14a-5b55-4f25-ad03-680d84ee1989\/Invierno cheese from Vermont Shepherd.jpeg?format=1000w 1000w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/3df5a14a-5b55-4f25-ad03-680d84ee1989\/Invierno+cheese+from+Vermont+Shepherd.jpeg?format=1500w 1500w, https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5eb43938f468c330e7d8d665\/3df5a14a-5b55-4f25-ad03-680d84ee1989\/Invierno+cheese+from+Vermont+Shepherd.jpeg?format=2500w 2500w\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-loader=\"sqs\"><figcaption class=\"image-caption-wrapper\">\n<p class=\"\">Invierno cheese from Vermont Shepherd<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"\">Now, Roberts points out Vermont\u2019s track record at events such as the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cheesesociety.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> American Cheese Society<\/a> as evidence of the state\u2019s continuing importance to the overall American cheese scene. Vermont Shepherd won Best in Show in the year 2000 at ACS, and, according to Roberts \u201cit really set a bar,\u201d and inspired further innovation and creativity for the state\u2019s dairy producers. Of note, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jasperhillfarm.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jasper Hill<\/a> \u2014 arguably Vermont\u2019s most famous creamery, set up shop around this time, buying their farm in 1998, and putting out their first cheese in 2003, which has a major impact on the following statistic: In 20 years of ACS conference competition, (there was no conference in both 2020 and 2021) Vermont creameries took the top prize in 7 of those 20 years. Again, consider the size compared to California and Wisconsin, or even Oregon and New York State, which have more recently entered the picture as heavy hitters. <em>Read more about<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cheeseprofessor.com\/blog\/whats-new-at-jasper-hill\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em> Jasper Hill.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cThere isn\u2019t any other state that has that kind of creme de la creme series of awards than Vermont,\u201d says Roberts. \u201cI\u2019m so blown away when I think of that because if anything what illustrates is the attention to quality across the board. Whether you\u2019re making cheese, or beer, or bread or whatever, we are one of the best.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Vermont\u2019s Cheesemaking Future: The Challenge of Passing the Torch<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\">While Vermont\u2019s artisanal cheese industry continues to grow and innovate, and new creameries enter the picture, one concern looming ahead is the passing of the torch for some of the small creameries that have been in the game since the beginning, and whose owners are now reaching retirement age. \u201cUnlike Europe, we\u2019re not talking about multi-generational operations,\u201d says Roberts. \u201cIf anything, what we see with some of the sales of these really top-quality cheese companies is that they\u2019re being bought up [by larger corporations] and then they\u2019re expanding. What I\u2019m concerned about is the current generation finding a buyer \u2014 if it doesn\u2019t stay within the family \u2014 being a significant hurdle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">While Massachusetts creamery <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cheeseprofessor.com\/blog\/massachusetts-cheesemakers-round-table-farm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Round Table Farm<\/a>, whom we previously profiled, demonstrates how creamery owners problem-solved in order to pass the torch to new owners, Roberts points out that Vermont\u2019s unique location poses an additional difficulty. \u201cThere are people out there, but if you\u2019re coming from a larger state, the idea of essentially becoming isolated is a challenge,\u201d says Roberts. \u201cThis is a very focused profession, you gotta be happy with being where it\u2019s just you and the cows or the goats or whatever.\u201d On top of which, buying into an established company may not appeal to aspiring cheesemaker. \u201cMarketing as an established business isn\u2019t easy,\u201d says Roberst. \u201cAnd I know there are companies that have gone under because there was nobody there to buy it.\u201d The hope is that Vermont creameries on the market don\u2019t get snapped up by big, European-owned cheese conglomerates. Vermont is a small state, and its quality is kept high by its small-scale mentality. \u201cWe don\u2019t need to push cheese out the door,\u201d Roberts says. \u201cThat\u2019s not what we are about.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jeff Roberts photo credit Dennis Curran In theater speak, there\u2019s a role known as a dramaturg, a historian and scholar of sorts who can help contextualize a script for actors and directors in terms of the time, place, and customs that the narrative depicts. There\u2019s no equivalent in cheese, title-wise, but arguably there should be, &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/jeff-roberts-shares-his-thoughts-on-vermonts-artisanal-creameries\/\" class=\"more-link\">Okumaya devam et<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Jeff Roberts Shares His Thoughts on Vermont\u2019s Artisanal Creameries&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1271,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[395],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-milk-and-diary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1271"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3333\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}