LUDLOW, Vt. – At its Aug. 9 meeting, members of the Ludlow Rotary Club (LRC) traveled to Healdville to tour the facilities of Crowley Cheese and learn how their cheese was produced.
Crowley Cheese began making cheese in 1824 in the Crowley farm kitchen. In 1882, it built its factory next to the Crowley farm in Mount Holly and has been producing its fine cheeses ever since. Recognized as a National Historic Place, it is the oldest continuously-operating cheese producer in America.
Galen Jones, President of Crowley Cheese, detailed the process by which their special version of cheddar cheese is created. Unlike the usual process, where the bulk of the process is handled by machines, Crowley still employs its age-old process requiring the patience and attention that only direct human involvement can produce.
Crowley Cheese is made according to a unique recipe. It falls into the cheddar family, but unlike a cheddar, it doesn’t go through the cheddaring process. Instead, the production adds a rinse step that reduces the amount of whey in the cheese. This step is somewhat similar to the wash step used in Colby. As a result, their cheddars are more moist. Jones also noted that it takes ten units of milk to create one of cheese.