THE STORY
Parish Hill Creamery produces seasonal, hand made, raw milk cheeses. Peter Dixon brings over 30 years of cheesemaking experience and is joined in the endeavor by his wife Rachel and sister Alex Schaal.
Parish Hill Creamery uses the milk from the Elm Lea Farm at the Putney School just five miles south of the West Parish Cheese House. The milking herd grazes on hillside pastures and the creamery produces cheese from May to October taking full advantage of the pastures, which yield milk with high aromatic quality and creates cheeses with complex, subtle flavor. Fermented feeds are not fed during the production season of Parish Hill Creamery cheeses.
In addition to the raw milk we use creamery-propagated cultures, traditional rennet, and Maine sea salt. Cheese cultures are propagated continuously to maintain activity and, along with the raw milk microflora, create the fermentations that facilitate the cheesemaking and aging processes. Traditional calf rennet comes from Europe, and our salt is produced by the Maine Sea Salt Company in Marshfield by evaporating salt water.
LOCATION
Parish Hill Creamery
Peter Dixon, Rachel Fritz Schaal, Alex Schaal
873 Patch Road
Westminster, Vermont 05346
802.324.4201
parishhillcreamery@gmail.com
OUR PRODUCTS
Smoked Kashar
Smoked Kashar is made from the same curd as the Kashar and Suffolk Punch and is also aged for at least 2 months. Instead of going to the cave, Smoked Kashar is taken down the road to Grafton Village Cheese where Vermont apple wood provides a mild smokiness to this smooth and supple cheese.
Smoked Kashar ages for at least 2 months, weighs 4 – 8 pounds, and is available in wedges. Whole wheels are available by special order.
For information on where to purchase, click here.
Hermit
Hermit is a larger format, beer-washed Tomme. Rowdy Monk is a limited release, Belgian quadruple ale made by the folks at Hermit Thrush Brewery in Brattleboro, Vermont. aged at least 3 months. Wheels are 12 inches in diameter and weigh approximately 8 pounds.
For information on where to purchase, click here.
Cornerstone
The Cornerstone Original Project
Four cheesemakers made the same cheese, or did they? What happens when we all follow one recipe, each use our own native cultures, use the same forms, and encourage wild rinds? In response to the ACS Judging Committee’s call for American Original cheeses, we hatched a plan to develop an approach to cheesemaking that demonstrates the elemental nature of the raw milk. By limiting the input variables, we allow the raw milk to determine the nuances of texture and flavor unique to each of our Cornerstones.
Stones are 10 inches in diameter and weigh approximately 8 pounds.
For […]
Reverie
Parish Hill Creamery
This traditional Tomma has a bright milky flavor and slight tang when young, becoming sharper and more robust with age. Wild molds are encouraged during aging resulting in rind resembling gray stone. Aged 5 to 10 months.
For more information on where to purchase, click here.
Kashar
Turkish Basket Provolone, aged for at least 2 months, then rubbed with olive oil and polished to create an edible rind. The interior is firm and smooth when young and becomes flaky and drier with age. The flavor is buttery, tangy, and somewhat peppery, with familiar picante notes.
For more information on where to purchase, click here.
Suffolk Punch
Gourd-shaped, whole milk Caciocavallo-style cheese is a classic pasta filata made by stretching lactic fermented curd in hot water to form the traditional shape. Caciocavallo – cheese on horseback, refers to the way two cheeses are tied at the ends of a long rope and then hung over a rod to age, like saddlebags thrown over the back of a horse. Our Suffolk Punch ages for at least 2 months, is rubbed with olive oil and polished during the process to create an edible rind. The interior is firm and smooth when young and becomes flaky and drier with […]
Idyll
Part-skim, long aged Gruyere-style cheese with a scattering of small eyes throughout the solid, toothsome paste. Tropical and piquant notes mingle in this sharp yet sweet cheese. Idyll slices nicely and melts beautifully. 40 pound wheels are 14 inches in diameter and aged at least one year. (available spring 2016).
For more information on where to purchase, click here.
Vermont Herdsman
Whole milk cheese made in the method of Asiago Grasso Monte. VT Herdsman is made in the summertime when the cows are grazing on hillside pastures and aged for at least 9 months to develop a full, slightly sharp flavor with hints of pineapple and hazelnuts. The interior texture is smooth and becomes more granular as the cheese ages beyond 12 months. The outside is periodically scrubbed with salt brine to produce a straw colored, edible rind.
For more information on where to purchase, click here.
Humble
Parish Hill Creamery
A whole milk semi-soft cheese, aged 3 to 6 months with a smooth texture and a smattering of eyes throughout the paste. Young Humble has a mild, nutty flavor that develops a funky earthy flavor with age. The golden-hued, edible rind is formed by brushing the outside with local hard cider.
For more information on where to purchase, click here.
West West Blue
A traditional aged Gorgonzola, West West Blue is made with whole, raw milk from Elm Lea Farm and aged 90 – 180 days. The edible rind surrounds an interior with openings filled with streaks of blue mold, a creamy texture and a spicy, earthy flavor.