Farm House Natural Cheeses

Everyone at the farm is looking forward to the 2010 Slow Food Cycle tour; it’s lots of fun, and the animals love all the extra attention!

While visiting the farm’s animals, you may be greeted by their two lovely Bernese Mountain Dogs, Phoebe and Poppy, who take on their task with boundless enthusiasm.  You may also make the acquaintance of the patient donkey Magoo, or the small flock of sheep tending their lambs

This year for the Slow Food Cycle Tour, we will be offering for sale cheese sampler plates and “Farm House Raclette” with boiled potato and pickles. You may also sample their cheeses at a special table outside the building.  After sampling, be sure to buy their cheeses, gelati and cold drinks.

These long-time dairy farmers recently found themselves in a familiar position—should they expand their dairy farm in order to stay in business or try a value-added enterprise? Well, cheese-making made sense. Debra pursued a course in Cheese Making and George reduced his dairy herd.

Debra and George Boyes both come from generations of farming families. Debra actually began simple cheesemaking while living in the Swiss Alps, but once they decided to diversify she attended the cheesemaking shortcourse at the University of Washington in Pullman, and worked with an experienced cheesemaker in Ontario, all with the goal to creating and selling artisan cheeses on their farm.

This changed George’s focus as well. He reduced the size of his dairy herd and diversified into different breeds of cows that have special attributes for cheesemaking. The decision was made to start milking goats as well, as the demand for goat milk and cheese was increasing, and the supply of milk was limited. Now, he raises and milks animals mainly for the cheese business though he still ships some cows milk. Together, they have created one of the most unique and interesting farms in the Fraser Valley, a delight for food enthusiasts, shoppers, families, and for cow and goat connoisseurs alike.

Here you can see very rare breeds of cows. Everything Swiss is well-loved at this farm, so you have a chance to become acquainted with the calm, gentle Brown Swiss cow, a breed that is known as the oldest of all dairy breeds. This cow is not frequently seen in dairy herds, although it produces milk rich in protein, butterfat and special qualities that lend itself to making the most flavourful cheeses. George has a particular love for the refined and delicate Guernsey cow, a breed that originates from the Islands of Guernsey off the north coast of France, and has become quite rare in modern times. He has gone to great lengths to find Guernsey cows and bring them into his barn, as these cows have milk so rich in butterfat, that they are the original “butter cow”. Indeed, at the cheese shop, you can purchase butter where the yellow colour of this delicacy comes not from food colouring, but from the real colour of the rich Guernsey cream, which also adds the golden hue to the cheese. George also has the traditional Holstein, a cow that delivers such a superior quantity of milk, that it remains unsurpassed in the dairy industry.

George has also acquired a herd of goats in order to produce the best quality goat milk for making Debra’s popular chevre cheeses. He has a variety of goats, featuring Alpine breeds such the Saanen, the Toggenburg and others such as the exotic African Nubian goat, and the “earless” La Mancha.

The cheese shop features a wide variety of cheeses that re-define the word “fresh”: milk is delivered straight from the milking dairy to the cheese room. On hand are cheeses like traditional farmstead cheddar, “Country Morning” cheese, a Welsh-type Caerphilly, the washed-rind Alpine Gold and a delightful old-fashioned Gouda. You can re-discover rich artisan brie and camembert cheese here. In addition, there are some soft cheeses perfect for spreading. There is a large selection of goat cheeses, ranging from the exquisite, ash-ripened soft cheese, La Pyramide, (featured in the Globe and Mail, and along with the Lady Jane and Castle Blue served at a special event at the White House) to Goat Caerphilly, a firm cheese with a rich-textured tangy-nutty taste. The newest cheese is the Kabritt, a smooth dense goat cheese with an edible natural rind, aged a minimum of 2 months to a rich earthy flavour with the merest hint of blue acidity.

George and Debra’s efforts have been well-rewarded, with first prize ribbons from Artisan cheese competitions, and Debra’s induction in 2008 into the prestigious French Cheesemakers Guild Guilde de Fromagers de St. Uguzon. Debra has also written a cheesemaking book 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes, which was chosen as one of 11 cheese book finalists in the world to compete in the World Gourmand Cookbook Awards in Paris. The book, published by Robert Rose, is available for purchase at the farm store, or at major book retailers.

farmhousecheeses.com