Cato Corner FarmPrint this Page
Archer and I recently visited with Mark Gillman of Cato Corner Farm who gave us a tour of his farm and a wonderful chance to see the early stages of production for their popular Bridgid's Abbey cheese. We took some cool photos of the process which are at the bottom of this travelogue, but first, let's talk a bit about the farm itself.
Cato Corner Farm is located in Colchester Connecticut roughly 20 minutes outside of Hartford. The surrounding area was once primarily farm land but is now being developed as a result of the urban sprawl of Hartford. Even since my last visit, I've noticed some new houses dotting the hill that leads up to the farm. The farm is a mother-son partnership between Elizabeth MacAlister and her son Mark Gillman. The 75 acre farm has been in the family for over than 25 years and they began making cheese in 1997 as a way to keep the farm sustainable. They have also been working to permanently limit development on their land by putting it into land trust.
They are currently milking about 25 cows made up of mostly registered Jerseys along with a Brown Swiss and a couple of Holstein Friesians. In addition to helping balance certain characteristics in the milk supply, the larger Brown Swiss acts as a type of mother hen to the other smaller cows. All of their cows are free-range and are not given hormones or subtherapeutic antibiotics.
Elizabeth started off the cheesemaking by taking a technical course in cheese making at California Polytechnic University and then a workshop with a Belgian cheese master. Mark has been helping out along the way and has also participated in several cheesemaking workshops that have helped refine their recipes. As with any good cheesemaker, they have created their best cheeses by applying what they've learned through experimentation to suit the particular qualities of their milk and the molds present in their aging room. Theirs could perhaps be called terroir-driven cheeses.
At any given time when visiting their cave, you find cheeses with names like Hooligan, Bridgid's Abbey, Dutch Farmstead, Vivace, Womanchego, Misty Morning and Black Ledge Blue. Some of our favorite cheeses are the washed-rind Hooligan variants including Hooligan, Drunk Monk (washed with beer), Drunken Hooligan (washed with grape pomace) and Depearado (washed with pear brandy).
As the Hooligan is aged, it is periodically washed with a brine solution that keeps the surface moist which in turn attracts the B. Linens molds that give the cheese its distinct aroma and peach to brick-colored rind. The cheese has a texture that is smooth and rich on the palate and a flavor of nuts and hay with an underlying sweetness.
On the day we visited, the cheesemakers had already started a batch of 2000 pounds of milk that would ultimately yield about 24 wheels of Bridgid's Abbey. Having already added the culture and rennet to the milk, we were there for the cutting of the curd and the gradual release of the whey before the cheese could be put into molds.
Mark used a series of steel 'harps' to cut the curd in three directions and which would ultimately yield curds of about 1/2 inch in size. Each cut produced beautiful, almost abstract designs in the curd.
After the third cutting, we can see that the size is about right and the whey is being released.
After using the harps, they get right into the curd to gently stir it up and to hand cut any of the curd that was missed by the harp.
After the final cutting, they hand stirred the curds to separate the cubes and to further release the whey. Additional raking and stirring would then take place until sufficient amount of the whey had been released and the curds would be ready for the molds.
By this time, we were ready to visit the cave where we saw many of the cheeses that they make. A section of wooden shelves on cinder blocks held their popular Bridgid's Abbey cheese.
And the closest wheels in this picture are the Despearado.
We hope you have a chance to taste some of the wonderful cheeses from Cato Corner farm.