Really Raw

Most cheese-lovers have a sense of what it means to be a "raw milk" cheese - it's one that was made from unpasteurized milk. In the US, the FDA requires such cheeses to be aged for at least 60 days before being sold. Yet depending on who you ask, even some of those unpasteurized cheeses are not considered truly raw...

Pasteurization is a legally defined heat treatment that eliminates much of the microflora naturally found in raw milk - including harmful pathogens, if present. Many cheesemakers, as well as the Slow Food organization, go a bit further in limiting the term "raw milk" to that which is not heated above cow temperature (about 104°F) prior to setting the curd.

There are many cheeses that are not legally pasteurized, but which are made from heated milk - these are properly identified as "thermalized" (or sometimes "thermized") cheeses, neither pasteurized nor strictly "raw". In the US, thermalized cheese is all labeled "raw" per the FDA guideline. There are a number of reasons to thermalize - reducing risk while maintaining microbial diversity, or creating the perfect environment for a microbe that thrives at a certain temperature. The spectrum from "raw" to "pasteurized" is far more gradient than labeling requirements imply.

So why raw? Removing harmful pathogens from milk is a good thing, but heat treatment can also damage much of the beneficial flora that makes milk and cheese taste interesting, and which makes one farm's milk taste different from another's. An ideal microbial load is rich in organisms that enhance flavor development, in numbers strong enough to out-compete (or even aggressively attack) pathogens. We believe microbial diversity and volume are key to a creating a safe and delicious product, along with impeccable sanitation practices at every step.

The raw milk cheeses made at Jasper Hill Farm follow the Slow Food definition of "raw." Our raw milk contains microflora unique to our own region and even our own farm, and our goal is to amplify those native flavors to create a product of geographical identity - a taste of place.

Jasper Hill Farm began in 2003 by producing only raw milk cheeses - Bayley Hazen Blue, and remember Constant Bliss? Production now includes some pasteurized products (Willoughby, Moses Sleeper, Harbison) because they afford us greater flexibility, and because some styles of cheese are at peak before 60 days or have limited shelf-life beyond that point. And yes, our raw milk cheeses are really raw - no matter who you ask.