Good things come to those who wait. That's what I say! 2008, that is. After a challenging 2007 on the farm with everything electronic or electric breaking I relish the entry of 2008. It began with my husband and I attempting to 'finish' the two and a half year cheese house construction project by ourselves. Especially since the old one was completely disassembled and unusable. Then all of a sudden, it seemed each and every compressor, condensing unit, bulk tank, motor and engine broke here on the farm. For those unfamiliar with these terms, they are all related to refrigeration. The kind that keeps cheese, meats and blueberries cold. Refrigeration costs are expensive and always break down on a Sunday, when charges to fix them double. This mostly affects those small delicate soft cheeses and not the larger natural rinds in our cave.
Due to the ever lengthy construction project, we also were unable to produce the normal volume of our award winning natural rind cheeses which age in the caves: Autumn Oak, Mountain Tomme and Blue Moon. Hopefully we will be back on track for 2008. I look forward to this year as one friend said recently "the 2007 curse has broken."
Great things that happened in 2007? We released a new washed rind cheese appropriately called 'Paniolo' which means 'cowboy' in Hawaiian. This, in honor of at least 10 generations of familial lines of those Paniolos who have worked the cattle and land on our family ranch in Hawaii. As their numbers are on the decline we felt it a propos to pay homage to them. This one is a stronger cheese, what some call 'stinky cheese.' I prefer aromatic. It is creamy and mild when young, maturing into a luscious texture and unctuous character-like a true cowboy. Complex in nature, it deserves to be served with an Alsatian Riesling or a big Belgian beer.
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