It’s that time of year–babies are here!

Now, they’re all terribly cute to look at, but here at Lucy’s Whey we love that they serve as harbingers of cheese to come.  Nowadays, of course, with modern technology and staggered breeding, cheesemakers can arrange for their animals to give birth, and hence give milk, year-round.  Many cheesemakers, however, still operate in accordance with seasonal cycles, with their animals giving birth to their young in the spring.

In cheese terms, this means that cheesemakers begin making their cheese in the spring.  Thus, cheeses available early in the cheesemaking season–now!–are young fresh cheeses.  Older cheeses made from this spring’s milk won’t be available until summer and fall.

After their recent trip to Wisconsin, Lucy and Amy returned to New York raving about Driftless, a fresh sheep’s milk cheese from Hidden Springs Creamery in Westby, Wisconsin.  It’s light, lemony, and grassy, and exists thanks to these little ones:

Lambs at Hidden Springs Creamery, Westby, WI

We cheesemongers here at Lucy’s Whey can’t get enough of it–we’ve been mixing Driftless with honey for dessert, eating it by the spoonful like yogurt (yikes!), and sneaking it between a crusty slab of toast and a tomato jam-topped fried egg.

And when we thought we’d had enough already, this season’s first wheels of Rainbeau Ridge cheese arrived–delicate, fine, silky little rounds of fresh chevre from Bedford Hills, New York.  Their wheels of Chevre Lait and Meridian elegantly serve in any of the above situations, though sometimes they’re better just enjoyed like cheesecake.

Kids at Rainbeau Ridge, Bedford Hills, NY

And when we’ve really had enough of all of this freshness, we’ll turn our palates to one of our never-failing favorites, Pleasant Ridge Reserve from Uplands Cheese Company in Dodgeville, Wisconsin.  The wheels we’re currently snacking upon were made last summer, and their standard alpine nutty and pineapple-y notes are heartily balanced by a good dose of herbs and grass.  Such good cheese comes from a carefully conceived herd of cows–just take a look at this charming baby!

Calf at Uplands Cheese Company, Dodgeville, WI

Do come by and fix yourself up with some cheese!  It’s the season for lots of new goodness–babies and cheese!–and you don’t want to miss out!