Reading

Raw Cow Milk
Washed Rind
Spring Brook Farm
Reading, VT

In May of 2010, with help and expertise from a French cheese making consultant, Spring Brook Farm produced its first make of Reading. Utilizing the same copper vats and cheese making equipment used for their award winning Tarentaise, Reading is a semi-soft cheese ideally suited for melting over vegetables, breads or meats, yet it can stand alone on any cheese plate. It offers a creamy, nutty flavor that is again unique to this cheese coming from cows grazing in Vermont pastures. Reading is aged at least three months and given the same loving and patient care and nurturing the cheesemakers show towards their Tarentaise. Wheels average between 15 and 18 pounds.

Farms For City Kids Foundation
Tarentaise and Reading are made at the same farm that houses the Farms For City Kids Foundation. This non-profit has been in operation since 1994, bringing groups of children to the farm for a week at a time to experience a farm based curriculum. Besides learning to take care of farm animals and helping with making maple syrup (in season), the educational mission also includes helping with the aging of cheeses. The cheese house is designed to allow students and visitors to view the cheese making process through windows over the make room and offers a venue for students to study economics, chemistry, microbiology, food preservation, health and nutrition. All funds from the sale of Spring Brook Farm cheese go to support the Farms For City Kids Foundation.

“We are extremely proud of our Vermont made cheeses, the award winning Tarentaise and Reading, but we are even more proud of the work we do at Spring Brook Farm with the city kids. Their enthusiasm and sense of pride for everything they help with on the farm is priceless!” Karli Hagedorn—Chair of the Board of Directors, Farms For City Kids Foundation

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.