Photos
What’s even more fun is visiting the animals that make milk for the cheese. In the Chehalis area, that’s not just cows. We’re talking goats and sheep. Plus there’s the friendly herding dogs that look after them.
Two such farms, Black Sheep Creamery and Blue Rose Goat Dairy, are just 15 minutes away from each other along the Interstate 5 corridor near Chehalis, a nice afternoon’s outing from Tacoma or Olympia and a great way for kids to see (and cuddle) where their food comes from.
Nestled in a lush valley with Mount Rainier as a backdrop, Black Sheep Creamery is hard to spot from the road. There’s no sign, but look for the big brown barn on the left a little way beyond the hamlet of Adna and you’re there. Pull in and Padmé, the welcoming border collie, will try to jump in your car to lick you before Brad Gregory can walk over from the farmhouse.
Gregory started the dairy with his wife, Meg, about seven years ago. A crop farmer of 18 years, Gregory bought some sheep when his middle son developed an allergy to cows’ milk. After a few years of hand-milking (“The teats are tiny” Gregory complained. “Those sheep stood there for 45 minutes and we couldn’t get anything.”), they took a course in Vermont and started making cheese.
Now the Gregorys have 100 sheep on their 130 broad, flat acres on the Chehalis River. They supply restaurants and sell at farmers markets, but they also are happy to give tours to visitors and let you taste the delicious products.
After a walk through the cool milking shed where Gregory will show kids the machine milking tubes, you can find out how long they’ll stand it in the cheese room. The smell from the big stainless steel vat and tables is strong, but it’s fascinating to hear Gregory explain the process of pasteurizing at 145 degrees, adding starter and rennet, letting it sit overnight, molding, pressing and draining the whey.
Then it’s over to the tasting room, where kids can ogle the crusty white tub of whey and the “cave,” where mold-covered rounds of hard cheeses such as pecorino are aged for months. Taste everything Gregory offers you – the cheeses are all yummy. (You also can buy some.)
Now comes the fun part (unless you have a grass allergy). Follow Gregory over the road through the thigh-high grass to where the East Frisian ewes are grazing, guarded from coyotes by the adorable Anatolian shepherd dog Jules, who’s as gentle as she is huge. Kids can help Gregory haul over tubs of pellets, which the grass-fed sheep think are the best treats in the world. You can pet that thick, warm wool to your heart’s content, surrounded by excited maa-aa-aa-ing.
Head back down I-5 to Exit 68 to find Blue Rose Dairy, run by Rhonda Rider. She can’t make enough of her fresh and feta goat cheese to satisfy local chefs and shoppers. On a hillside with views of Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens, the farm’s 13 acres are centered on a barn with a hayloft the kids will love to climb. Dogs Maggie, a blue heeler cross, two yappy papillions and three giant Anatolian shepherds (Jules’ mom, dad and brother) are just waiting for visitor attention.
But of course, the main attractions are the goats. About 100 in various breeds, they wander the farm at will, gently clanking cowbells and curiously investigating visitors. The does are happy to be patted while Rider holds on to the big Alpine buck Waldo so kids can stroke his enormous horns. There often are a few cute little kids (goats, not yours) in the pen. Visit in February or March to bottle-feed the young ones.
Rider’s milking shed is set up so the mischievous goats can only mince around in one direction (no seconds for food here), with a tube that flows the milk over to the sweet-smelling cheese room. She holds cheese-making classes, and will happily sell you feta (brineless and marinated) or chèvre, if she has any left in the fridge. Make sure you bring crackers because no one will wait to get home to eat it.
Rosemary Ponnekanti: rosemary.ponnekanti@thenewstribune.com
