Farmstead cheese

{{Short description|Cheese made on the farm where its milk is collected}}

File:Semi hard goat cheese Kozjak 01.jpg

Farmstead cheese, more commonly known in Europe as farmhouse cheese, is produced from the milk collected on the same farm where the cheese is produced. Unlike artisan cheese, which may also include milk purchased and transported from off-farm sources, farmstead cheese makers use milk only from animals they raise.{{citation|author=Giannaclis Caldwell|title=Farmstead Creamery Advisor: The Complete Guide to Building and Running a Small, Farm-Based Cheese Business|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ejnkJVc3EbYC|date=14 May 2010|publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing|isbn=978-1-60358-283-4|pages=6–7}} According to the American Cheese Society, "milk used in the production of farmstead cheeses may not be obtained from any outside source".{{cite web|last=American Cheese Society|title=Cheese Glossary|url=http://www.cheesesociety.org/i-heart-cheese/cheese-glossary/}} As a result, the cheeses produced often have unique flavors owing to the farm's local terroir.{{citation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/dining/04cave.html?pagewanted=all |title=The Earth Is the Finishing Touch |work=The New York Times |date=October 4, 2006 |last=Burros |first=Marian }} Most farmstead cheese is produced from cow, goat or sheep milk, although some farmstead cheeses are produced from water buffalo milk (mainly Buffalo mozzarella).{{citation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/magazine/buffalo-mozzarella-craig-ramini.html |last=Anderson |first=Sam |title=Go Ahead, Milk My Day |date=October 11, 2012 |work=The New York Times }}

Farmstead cheeses are most often made on family farms in small batches and are often sold at local farmers' markets.{{cite web|last=Watson|first=Molly|title=What is Farmstead Cheese|url=http://localfoods.about.com/od/localfoodsglossary/g/farmsteadcheese.htm|accessdate=3 October 2013|archive-date=9 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009110823/http://localfoods.about.com/od/localfoodsglossary/g/farmsteadcheese.htm|url-status=dead}} While Europe has long had a very strong tradition of farmstead cheese-making,{{citation|author1=Barbara Reed|author2=Leslie James Butler|author3=Ellen L. Rilla|title=Farmstead and Artisan Cheeses: A Guide to Building a Business|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7fHu9W6LvG4C|date=1 January 2011|publisher=UCANR Publications|isbn=978-1-60107-692-2|page=2}} it is only in the last decades of the 20th century that farmstead cheese-making began to return to prominence in North America.{{citation|author=Paul Kindstedt|title=Cheese and Culture: A History of Cheese and Its Place in Western Civilization|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_HiGGcFomlUC|year=2012|publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing|isbn=978-1-60358-412-8|page=210}}{{citation|author=Paul Kindstedt|title=American Farmstead Cheese: The Complete Guide to Making and Selling Artisan Cheeses|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ifzfCcTX-m4C|year=2005|publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing|isbn=978-1-931498-77-7|pages=29–32}} In the United States, the top states for farmstead cheesemaking include Vermont, California, and Wisconsin,{{citation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/style/tmagazine/30wisconsin.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |title=Push Comes to Chèvre |last=Muhlke |first=Christine |date=March 30, 2008 |work=The New York Times }}{{citation |title=5 Stops on a California Cheese Trail |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/travel/5-stops-on-a-california-cheese-trail.html |date=March 29, 2013 |last=Hall |first=Christopher |work=The New York Times }} although farmstead cheese is growing rapidly in other states, like Georgia,{{cite news|last=Kaplan|first=Brad|title=Farmstead Cheese Takes Route in Georgia|url=https://creativeloafing.com/content-198521-food---farmstead-cheese-takes-root-in |work=Creative Loafing Atlanta }} as well. North Carolina is another state that has recently gained accolades for its farmstead cheeses, even creating the WNC Cheese Trail.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wnccheesetrail.org/|title=WNC Cheese Trail|website=WNC Cheese Trail}}

In Europe, these cheeses are more commonly known as farmhouse cheeses and there are many different varieties available, especially from Ireland and Germany. The small scale of production allows for unique sales points such as cheese from cows raised on non-genetically modified organisms (GMOs)-containing feed.{{Cn|date=March 2021}}