Where to Find Us March 15th to 18th

It’s going to be a busy weekend!

You can pick up your cheese at these Farmer’s Markets:

Talitha will be bringing cheese to Ringwood Farmer’s Market on Saturday from 10 am to noon.

Gabe will be at the Cornwall Winter Farmer’s Market on Saturday from  11 am to 3 pm at St. John’s Church located at 66 Clinton St.

Daniel will be at the Beacon Winter Farmer’s Market on Sunday from 11 am to 3 pm.

Can’t make it to the market?

You can find our cheese here:

Blooming Hill Farm will have Canterbury chevre and Moodna feta.

DeCicco’s Family Markets Cornwall carries all of our cheeses.

Need a baby goat fix?

We have tours Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday at both 10 am and 2 pm.  Make your reservations soon because they fill up fast!

Farm Foto Friday March 8, 2013 – Dogs in Snow!

A Friday morning ritual. A series of photographs and brief descriptions that capture the farm at that moment in time.

Where to Find Us President’s Weekend February 15th to 18th 2013

You can purchase all of our cheese at these Farmer’s Winter Markets this coming weekend:

Saturday: Cornwall Farmer’s Market   11 am to 3 pm

Saturday: Ringwood, NJ Farmer’s Market  10 am to Noon

Sunday: Beacon Farmer’s Market  11 am to 3 pm

You can find a limited selection of our cheeses at Blooming Hill Farm Saturday 10 am to 2 pm:  Canterbury chevre, Moodna feta and Sackett Ridge cheddar.

You can find a limited selection of our cheeses at DeCicco’s Cornwall Market: Canterbury chevre, Moodna feta and Sackett Ridge cheddar.

Raw milk is available for sale at the farm only in the creamery during milking hours, 7 to 9 am and 5 to 7 pm.  Depending upon availability, eggs and cheese can be purchased at same time.  Please note it is always good to call ahead to check milk, cheese and egg availability.  Talk to Dan at 914-213-9513.

We are holding educational tours at the farm on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays at 10 am and 2 pm.  These are by reservation only so that the baby goats are not stressed out by too many people at once.  You can find details here.

Do you have a special order?  E-mail us at edgwickfarm@gmail.com and we will bring it to your market.  Or call Talitha at 845-401-2301 and pick it up at the farm.

Have a great weekend!  We look forward to seeing you.

Farm Foto Friday February 15th 2013

A Friday morning ritual. A series of photographs and brief descriptions that capture the farm at that moment in time.

Saturday Barn Report February 9, 2013

Having my second cup of coffee, after a dog walk in the deep snow, and before heading up to milk.  The Nemo blizzard dumped a little over a foot and roads are currently impassable so my milk maids can’t make it to the farm.  I am looking forward to my time alone with the milking ladies.

The snow is over Ruby’s head and she struggled through it as if swimming.  Part of the way, Honey broke the path for her, part of the way I carried her.  The bigger dogs bound through the snow with great joy.

So here we are February already and in the full swing of things.

We have 34 does in lactation and between 6 and 10 still to kid, depending upon who took and who didn’t.  We have eight “keepers”, seven doelings and Eli.  We have the two preemies, Sterling and Bernard, who are thriving and who we have dehorned and will castrate and find them an adoptive pet home.  We have four new babies that will head to Aden Brook Farm.  Cara has been a fantastic farm intern!

The ladies are producing enough milk so we are already making a full vat of cheese daily as well as selling lots of raw milk. Our faithful  milk maids, Rachel and Margaret, have been milking morning and evening and tending to the milk customers.  Dan and I have been experimenting with some fun new cheeses, a Newburgh Brewing Company brown ale washed tome and our own version of Drunken Goat that we think we will call Toasted Goat.  We have also been making vats of chevre, feta and bloomy rinds.  The first batch of bloomy rinds, our Firthcliffe, Aleck Meadow and Idlewild,  are almost fully bloomed and will go into the cave to ripen for the next week or so.   We find ourselves at the winter farmer’s markets in Cornwall, Beacon and Ringwood, NJ with the help of Daniel and Gabe.

Farm Tours started last weekend and were a great success!  The snow cancelled yesterday and today’s tour but Sunday’s tours look good and are fully booked.  Cara does the guided tours through the farm and Dan and I do the tastings in the viewing room and answer questions.  We’ve enjoyed getting to know many of our farmer’s market customers!  Tours continue through the end of April.

Tomorrow Dan is taking Rachel, our milk maid, and little Dor’ss the baby goat to the last Bialas Farms’ Mini-Market and bringing cheese and chocolate chvre truffles.  I can’t wait for the Bialas Farms veggies!  If you happen to go, make sure to wish Dan a very happy birthday.

Yesterday I made more truffles than I could count for Valentine’s Day treats.  I plan to make more this afternoon.  We’ll have them for sale at the markets and at the farm.

Did you see yesterday’s Cornwall Local?  Fun article about the goats eating Christmas trees.  We greatly appreciate DPW delivering to our door all the trees.  The goats have been eating about ten a day!

The chickens are not going to be happy with all this snow so we will likely spread some of the leaf bags we saved for them to romp around in.  I started thinking about what chicks I am going to order this year.  The ducks have started laying again.  Spring is just around the corner!  Things we are looking forward to: maple syruping, starting indoor seedlings, piglets, bees, spring and summer farmer’s markets!

Farm Foto Friday February 8, 2013:The Calm Before the Storm

A Friday morning ritual. A series of photographs and brief descriptions that capture the farm at that moment in time.

Farm Foto Friday February 1st 2013

A Friday morning ritual. A series of photographs and brief descriptions that capture the farm at that moment in time.

Drunken Goat

Have you ever heard of the cheese “Drunken Goat”?

Murcian cheesemakers invented this cheese in 1986 in an attempt to create a distinct regional cheese with big commercial potential. The cheesemakers took a traditional local goat cheese and bathed it in the local Doble Pasta red wine for 3 days. The result was an unqualified success both commercially and gastronomically and has brought attention and capital to that region. Aged for roughly 75 days, this semisoft cheese has a sweet, smooth flavor. The rind has an attractive violet color.  We purchased a wedge from Adams in 2010 ago when we tasting all the artisan cheeses selling in the local stores.  Last year some of the staff at Cornwall Wines encouraged us to make it.

Well, today we did and in about two months, we’ll taste it and see how it came out.  Maybe we’ll have a tasting at Cornwall Wines and pair it with some nice red wines?

Here is the goat cheese and wine before soaking.

Here is each cheese in a ziplock bag surrounded by the wine bath.

We will flip each one as many times as we can over the next 24 hours.  Each cheese comes out to dry for 24 hours and then goes back into the wine bath for 48 hours and then out to dry for 24 hours.  Then we will vacuum pack and age the cheeses for four to six weeks in our bloomy rind “cave” which is set at 50 degrees.

Chris at Cornwall Wines suggested we call it “Buzzed Goat.”  What do you think?

Farm Tours at Edgwick Farm – February 1st to April 29th

Edgwick Farm now offers educational tours of our farm, micro-dairy and creamery.  Our farm provides a unique learning experience for families to see firsthand where their food comes from.

Meet the milking ladies in the hoop house who provide us milk twice a day.  Greet the bucks and Bianci the donkey through the fence.  Cuddle with one of the adorable baby goats.  You might even catch a live birth if you get lucky!  Watch the cheese makers in action.  As spring approaches, you might meet chicks and ducklings.

Tours last for approximately 1 to 1 ½ hours, and will include a guided tour of the farm and dairy.  Guests will view the cheese make room, the milking parlor, and have hands on time with the goats in the hoop house. We also include a tasting of some of our wonderful products – both cheese and goat milk.  (Cheese and goat milk will be available for purchase to take home.)

The tours are only offered from February to April and are by RESERVATION ONLY.  The cost of the tours is $5 per person (both children and adults).  Tours are offered Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 10 am and 2 pm.  Each tour is limited to ten people.  (Larger school or club groups will be scheduled at special times.)

Tours are conducted RAIN OR SHINE.  Please be prepared to walk around the farm in cold weather; comfortable closed-toed shoes are advised.  If you need to cancel, you can let us know 48 hours prior to your scheduled tour time without incurring a fee.  Please do not bring your dog as it would frighten the goats.

To make a reservation and book a tour, contact Talitha.  Call her at (845) 401-2301 or e-mail at edgwickfarm@gmail.com.  We will send you a confirmation e-mail with a paper ticket to be printed out.  Payment is expected upon your arrival.

FEBRUARY 2ND at 2 PM is FULLY RESERVED.

FEBRUARY 3rd at 10 AM and 2 PM is FULLY RESERVED.

Cheese descriptions

The New York Times ran a funny article about cheese descriptions today, “In the Dairy Case, Ripe Prose.”.  You can find it here.

However, they made a good point.  Cheese descriptions help sell artisan and farmstead cheeses.  We had simple descriptions last year and offered tastings to sell the cheese.  Over our break, we worked with a great cheese blogger to finesse our descriptions and add wine pairing suggestions.  You can find Rebecca at Fromagical.

Tell us what you think:

1. Canterbury – A young and fresh goat’s milk cheese that is full of chalky, milky, citrusy, grassy, and bright notes. Tangy in the best of ways. Perfect spread on a piece of toast, crumbled on top of a salad or flatbread pizza or enjoyed on its own with some fresh figs. This youngster is incredibly versatile. When pairing with a wine, go for a light and crisp white full of acidity with a grassy, citrusy, and fruity bent. Think Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc or Chenin Blanc.
2. Marinated Canterbury – Our young fresh chevre is infused with our own special blend of herbes de Provence and garlic and then further marinated with olive oil. Aromatic and herbaceous yet light and milky.  Bold and dynamic, this cheese would be great with diced cherry tomatoes and basil on grilled bread served in a bruschetta format. A glass of Prosecco will be perfect with this cheese – bringing to light the milky tang of the cheese’s paste and the bright herbal notes of marinade.
3.  Moodina – A classic Greek basket style feta crafted with goat’s milk, soaked in brine and consequently aged for a minimum of two months. Firm and dense, this bright white cheese is the perfect blend of salty tang and light milky roundness. Great crumbled over eggs or in salads, this is an honest and delightful cheese. Enjoy with a glass of light fruit forward red wine, perhaps a local Pinot Noir.
4. Sackett Ridge – Crafted in a traditional cheddar style, this firm goat’s milk cheese is aged for anywhere between six and nine months. Sackett Ridge has that classic cheddar density and smooth sweetness but with the bright fancifulness of a goat’s milk cheese. Ivory white in color, this is a perfect snacking cheese, served with roasted almonds, dried figs and crisp morsels of bread. Enjoy with a medium bodied white with a touch of sweetness or even a light to medium bodied fruit forward smooth wine such as a Cotes du Rhone.
5. Firthcliff – A bloomy rind goat’s milk cheese aged with ash. Round and creamy, this unctuous roundelle coats every crevice of your mouth in the most fantastic of ways.  Notes of rustic, mushroomy, earthiness go hand in hand with an honest bright milkiness here. Enjoy on a piece of walnut raisin bread with a glass of crisp white wine full of chalky, acidity like a Sancerre.
6. Aleck Meadow – Our classic bloomy rind aged goat’s milk cheese is infused with our special blend of herbes de Provence on the exterior in the style of Fleur du Maquis or Brin d’amour. Velvety and luscious on the inside with an interior paste full of creamy smoothness; yet aromatic, herbaceous, and grassy on the exterior, this cheese does a dance on your palate. Enjoy with a medium bodied fruit forward yet slightly spicy red, such as a Nero d’Avola or even a crisp white like a Gruner Veltliner.
7. Idlewilde – Our take on a classic bloomy rind aged goat’s milk cheese infused with the fantastic local Cornwall, New York terroir. Bright and honest, creamy and milky, this is a crowd pleaser of a cheese. Enjoy with a glass of bubbles to cut through the creaminess and create that third moment of pairing bliss.
8. Ricotta – Classic fresh whole goat’s milk ricotta. Tangy and light, this luscious milky cheese is perfect spread on toast with honey or baked into pastas or utilized in desserts. You can’t go wrong here! Try with a Pinot Gris.