SLOCOMB, Ala. (WTVY) — Did you know some of the best cheese is being made in our own backyard?
Cheese being made at Working Cows Dairy in Slocomb, Alabama. (Source: WTVY)
Working Cows Dairy in Slocomb has been recognized by the Good Food Awards for their “commitment to creating tasty, authentic, and responsible products” In just three years of making cheese.
The honor is for their organic and sustainable farming.
“There are two dairies in North America that are animal welfare approved, 100% grass-fed and certified organic,” Working Cows Dairy Co-Owner Rinske de Jong said. “There are only two dairies in North America and there’s only one over here.”
The process t making cheese takes more than a day and it starts with cows.
“We milk the cows twice a day and from the last three milkings I pasteurized milk this morning and then when it’s back on 88° I shoot it over here to the cheese room,” de Jong said.
Although the process is completed in a little over a day it’s not quite ready to be eaten.
“Because I make all pasteurized milk cheeses, the cheese can actually be sold tomorrow, but it doesn’t have much taste to it yet so from there we dry them and vacuum seal them and then they lay in a cheese cave on 55° for at least 30 days to get more flavor to it,” de Jong added.
Flipping the cheese is one of the last processes in the 26 hour period before it goes in a 55° cheese cave.
“The cheese-making itself is done, but when you turn these cheeses you use a little bit of pressure first and then a little bit more and then you use 50 times the weight of the cheese on pressure,” de Jong said.
Working Cows Dairy sells their milk and cheese at their location in Slocomb and at select markets throughout the country.
They also provide cheese to the Cork and Cattle restaurant in Enterprise and are hoping to service more restaurants in the Wiregrass soon.