BY SALLY SUMMERSON
PHOTOS BY SALLY SUMMERSON

Imagine a pot of bubbly cheese grits on the stove or the smell of a warm apple pie straight out of the oven with cheddar cheese melted on top. Envision Southerners gathered for a tailgate party surrounded by pimento cheese sandwiches and tins filled to the rim with cheese straws.

Cheese has always been part of the Southern culture and a staple throughout most Southern kitchens. However, farming and producing cheese has mostly been left to others. Especially in Georgia:WhileWisconsin has nearly 140 licensed cheese factories and Vermont lists 41 farmers on its Vermont Cheese Trail map, Georgia has only three local farmers producing award-winning and handcrafted cheese. Two of them produce goat cheese, and the other makes
cow and sheep cheese. Most people are shocked to learn that these cheeses are made locally because people usually do not associate the South with cheese.

Georgia Dairies include Sweet Grass Dairy, Flat Creek Lodge Dairy and Cole’s Lake Dairy. They do not give their animals antibiotics or hormones, nor are chemicals or additives ever used in the milk. All Georgia cheese makers agree that the key component in producing a well-respected and good-tasting cheese is the happiness of the animals and the farmers’ love and dedication to their job.

Jessica Little, owner of Sweet Grass Dairy in Thomasville, feels that Georgia is a great place to produce cheese due to its climate. “I think that the South in general isn’t a traditional area for cheese making since we didn’t have caves or other areas for aging before refrigeration,” Little said. “In the near future you will see an explosion of cheese makers in this area.We have such a great advantage to dairy farm in the South—it never snows down here and we have enough water to grow grass year-round. Not very many other areas of the country have these advantages.”

Sweet Grass Dairy is a 140-acre family-owned and -operated farm in southern Georgia. Jessica and Jeremy Little bought the farm from Jessica’s parents, Al and DesireeWehner, in 2005. Since then Jessica and Jeremy have been focusing their time on making “handcrafted unique OldWorld–style cheeses.” They produce products such as Georgia Pecan Chevre, Holly Springs Aged Raw Goat Cheese, Georgia Gouda, Thomasville Tomme and others, all either goat or cow’s milk based. The job is rewarding and they are making a difference in the local food system in Georgia.

“We give our land and animals a good life.We have opportunities for our employees to pursue things within the business that they are passionate about and we are able to offer a healthy, tasty food product to the market.We really are striving to make a difference every day.”

Sweet Grass Dairy’s cheese is rich in flavor and has a great taste due to the milk. “It’s an incredibly rewarding and challenging opportunity to see the transformation from milk to cheese every day,” she said. “The most important thing for us is to make sure that we have nourished soil and animals because without good milk, we just cannot make good cheese.”

Raymond Hook with Cheeseworks in New York City (a company that sells and promotes cheese in the US) thinks farmers should start thinking about producing more cheese in the area. “I think the more people making cheese in Georgia the better,” Hook said. “There is a farming history in the South and there is no reason why there shouldn’t be more cheese makers in the area.”

Hook spent his early career days in Atlanta. He worked at the cheese program at Floataway Café and Bacchanalia and became the GM Cheese Manager at Star Provisions in 2001. He encouraged DesireeWehner to make cheese at Sweet Grass Dairy. “I was in Georgia at the time and I was thrilled to see someone wanting to make cheese locally,” Hook said. “Desiree had all the right ingredients to produce the cheese. She had great milk, which is key to great cheese. She just needed someone to encourage her and support her.”

The Flat Creek Lodge Dairy is another licensed artisan cheese maker in Georgia. Since 2000, owners Steve and Caroline Harless have been producing cheese at their 2,000-acre hunting and fishing lodge in Swainsboro.

In 2007, Dane Huebner leftWisconsin to help the Flat Creek Lodge Dairy produce cheese. Now they produce a full line of artisanal cheeses including: Cheddars—Aged, Horseradish, Aztec and Thai Chili; Onion Mustard Kase; smoked cheeses such as Smokin’ Jack; the original Flat Creek Farmhouse and Farmhouse Blue; Dutch-style Leiden and cheeses flavored with herbs. All of the cheeses are made from raw milk except the Flat Creek Feta, which is pasteurized.

Cole’s Lake Dairy in Carrollton is also a local producer of artisanal cheese. Mark Stevens, owner, with partners Daniel Young and Earl Morehead started producing goat cheese because they saw the need for it in Georgia. “Georgia is not a dairy state,” Stevens said. “I wanted to bring true fresh artisan cheese to the area. It was a chance for me to educate people in this region of what a true, fresh cheese is like and show them a good quality. I wanted to fill the void.”

Stevens believes his cheese has a “neat difference in taste” compared to commercial cheese. The quality of the product is in direction relation to using only local ingredients within his cheese. He also links his cheese quality to the happiness of his goats, which produces better milk.

“We keep our cheese fresh by producing it every day and also taking time to care about the wellbeing of the animals,” Stevens said. “All of our goats have names. It is also important for them to meditate. The stress level of the animal can affect the taste of the cheese. We also let them choose when they want to milk. If I did not have the passion for it, I couldn’t do it. It is a hard but rewarding job.”

Stevens uses fresh local ingredients in his goat cheese. Some flavors include: Goat Chevre with Cumin and Seven Peppers, Goat Chevre with Fresh Chopped Onions and Chives, Goat Chevre with Herbes de Provence, Goat Chevre with Roasted Garlic and Red Pepper, Persian Feta, aged semi-ripened Banon-style cheese and Cranberry Cremasina.

Mountain View Dairy, just south of Georgia in Piedmont, Alabama, sells its cheese in the North Georgia area. Owner Cindy Crosby agrees that dairy farming is hard work, and rewarding. “I work seven days a week and 364 days a year.”

Crosby feels that it is important to support local farmers to keep fresh ingredients in the market. She said her goat cheese has a mild and not pungent flavor due to the milk. The fresh goat milk has a lower butterfat due to the breed of goat, which gives it a mild flavor. “First and foremost it is important to support your local businesses,” said Crosby. “The closer the milk is produced [to the buyer] the better taste you will get.”

Mountain View Dairy produces a line of goat cheese including a local favorite raw goat milk plain gouda and an Herbs de Provence gouda. Mountain View Dairy also carries a custom line of feta cheese with Out of the Blue, a gourmet food shop, in Blue Ridge, Georgia. Crosby uses Out of the Blue Salt that has a hint of coriander and lavender in it to brine her feta cheese to create this unique cheese and wonderful partnership.

People overlook a lot of great things that are available in the South, including cheese. A lot of time and energy goes into making cheese everyday in the area. However, cheese in the South is rising and becoming more common on farms. The community support is also increasing, which helps these small family farms produce handmade cheese. More and more families are pulling away from the processed and manufactured cheese and using their same old Southern recipes with fresh homemade cheese that has better flavor.

It is best summarized by Hook: “Cheese is like a good-quality wine. Great grapes equal a great wine; milk is the same way. Next time you shop for cheese, put that extra bit of money in a local cheese. You are supporting a small family farm and purchasing a good, wholesome quality.”

For more information on Georgia cheeses check out mvcheesery.com, sweetgrassdairy.com and flatcreeklodge.com.

Sally Summerson is a freelance writer and photographer from Atlanta. She can be reached at Sally.Summerson@gmail.com.