Kaycee, a Fleckvieh/Holstien mix, gives sweet milk for my blue cheese and gouda.
Kaycee is one of the two cows owned/taken care of by Karova Farmstead, which is Karyn and Carissa, two women who get all dreamy eyed when talking about their bovine friends. I was part of a very happy raw milk coop that picked up from them, and I made my first successful cheeses with their milk. They taught me a lot about pasture management and the differences between big dairy cows and farmstead cows. Sadly, they recently lost control of the land their cows were using, and have placed both Kaycee and Opal (a jersey) with other farmers while they regroup and look for their next opening into farming.
This is Opal, a Jersey cow who gives very creamy milk and lots of it, which is perfect for Camembert and other "bloomy" soft cheeses.
Bambi is Opal’s week-old heifer. Here, she snuggles with a little girl of exactly the same hair color and playful spirit.
These are a few of the Camembert type cheeses made with Opal's milk.
These are two Goudas, one with Opal's milk (on the left) and one with Kaycee's. Even with the poor photo you can see that Opal's is yellower and thicker (from the higher cream content). Four months later, Kaycee's was more gouda-ish and tastier.
