Roger’s Robusto

Organic Dutch Belt and Holstein Cow Milk
Scholten Family Farm
Weybridge, Vermont
Patty Scholten, Cheesemaker

The mission statement of the Scholten Family Farm is to produce and provide from our family farm, the highest quality products for our consumers in an environmentally and socially responsible way for future generations. The Scholten Family consists of Patti and Roger – the namesake of Roger’s Robusto – and their 4 children. The farm rests on 400 certified organic acres on the outskirts of Middlebury. The idea of making farmstead cheese came about as the Scholtens sought ways to make the family farm sustainable and to create opportunities for their whole family to participate.  Scholten Family Farm promotes farming in a manner that improves and sustains the environment, practices good animal husbandry, and upholds personal values where family comes first. In addition to Roger’s Robusto, Patti makes Weybridge, a bloomy rind organic cow milk cheese that is aged at the Cellars at Jasper Hill.

Roger’s Robusto is a fresh cheese made with organic cow milk and coated with a mixture of dried herbs with a touch of hot pepper. It is a perfect cheese for summer: light, uncomplicated, and filled with the taste of fresh Vermont milk. Serve it along with some crusty bread or marinate it in your best olive oil for a day or two. Great crumbled on salad or pasta, much as you would use feta.

Cave to Co-op is a partnership between Provision International and the Neighboring Food Co-op Association (NFCA) to support local, artisanal cheese producers in our region and make their products more easily available to co-op shoppers.  The NFCA is a network of more than 20 food co-ops in our region — including yours — that are working together to advance their vision of a thriving regional economy, rooted in a healthy, just and sustainable food system and a vibrant community of co-operative enterprise.  For more information, please visit www.nfca.coop.