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 Cheese from a Violet - Yellow Branch FarmBy Charlie Jackson (Originally
printed in the April/May 2003 New
Life Journal)
And it all started with a cow. Bruce and Karen moved to Graham County
22 years ago and were interested in producing as much of their own food
as possible – to homestead. Bruce and Karen and a neighbor bought
a cow, the neighbor moved away, and Bruce and Karen suddenly found themselves
with more milk than they could use. They read a few books and jumped
into making cheese. They then Yellow Branch cheeses are made by hand in 50-pound batches following an original recipe developed by Karen and refined by Bruce. This artisan, handcrafted cheese gets its distinctive flavor from the high-quality fresh milk, flavored by the nutritious pasture grasses and hand-cut, fresh greens consumed by the cows. The dairy is pasture-based, and the pastures and hay fields are managed using sustainable organic practices. No herbicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers are used and no growth hormones are given to the cows. The cows remain vibrant and healthy because they are not stressed, not confined, and not pushed for milk production. One of the main reasons that Bruce enjoys cheese-making so much is his interest and love of his cows.
The process followed, the culture used, and the high quality milk are
what makes Yellow Branch cheese unique. Just as you can only get champagne
from France, you can only get the unique flavor of Yellow Branch cheese
from Yellow Branch Farm. Preserving this local identity, of a locally
produced food, is vital not only to Bruce You can find the delicious Yellow Branch cheese at Earth Fare, Asheville Wine Market, Trout Lily Market, Early Girl Eatery and other fine establishments. Karen and Bruce also sell the cheese at their pottery studio on their farm, where Karen creates and sells her pottery table and ovenware, planters, luminaries and visitors are welcome to watch production. Yellow Branch Cheese and Yellow Branch Pottery are located in western North Carolina in the Smoky Mountains. From US 74 take NC 28 toward Robbinsville and Fontana Village. Look for the Yellow Branch sign on your right and follow the signs. Contact information:(828) 479-6710, e-mail at mail@yellowbranch.com and website www.yellowbranch.com. Their hours at the Yellow Branch Pottery/Farm are: Tuesday to Saturday 2pm – 5pm (April – October); all other times by chance or appointment. Find Yellow Branch Farm online in the Local
Food Guide! ©Copyright 2004 Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture
Project
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Violet. Trillium. Primrose. Lovingly tended Jersey cows that are the
source of Yellow Branch Cheese. Every morning Bruce DeGroot milks them
and then, on cheese-making day, turns their fresh milk into mild, buttery,
full-bodied farmstead cheese. You can’t get this kind of cheese
everywhere, but you can get it in western North Carolina because of innovative
farmers like Bruce DeGroot and Karen Mickler who are experimenting with
new “old” ways of making a living on a small southern Appalachian
farm.
decided that they should educate themselves
a bit more, so Karen attended schools - the University of Wisconsin and
a school in Canada. Bruce and Karen have been licensed to produce and
sell cheese since 1986.
Each of the Jersey cows produces 6-7 gallons per day. Every 4 days Bruce
makes cheese. He starts early in the morning after milking. He uses that
day’s milk in the cheese crafted that day, resulting in farmstead
cheese, which simply means cheese made on the farm from the farm’s
herd. This cheese is a versatile table cheese that goes well with many
foods. It is equally suitable as a dessert cheese and pairs well with
fresh or dried fruit. It melts well and can be grated when chilled. The
waxed rind cheese is aged for a minimum of 60 days and the unwaxed is
aged for at least 120 days. Award winning Yellow Branch Pepper Cheese
is made with jalapeno peppers grown organically on Yellow Branch Farm,
enriching the creamy flavor with a mildly hot pepper taste. Karen and
Bruce must follow strict guidelines to insure the quality of their cheese.
Every month they send a sample of their milk to Raleigh to be tested
and four times per year NCDA visits to take samples.
and Karen but to us all. Once
we lose that local flavor that comes from our local farms, it is hard
to be recaptured. Karen and Bruce encourage others to get into the cheese-making
business and offer their experience and knowledge to anyone interested.
Karen believes that people are beginning to acknowledge and value locally
grown food and finds her interactions with the growing community “inspiring…these
are exciting times.”