HE TR PBL Black River Cheese - Continued J from p page 1 does the community. Although at least 25% of the cheese is marketed at Black River's store, there are about 250 regular customers from Eastern Ontario and Ottawa to Vancouver Island who receive shipments of Black River cheeses. In 1921, cheese was 15 cents/lb. For 100 lbs. of milk, a farmer received $1.40, or less. Up until 1952, cheese wasn't made during winter because the cows dried up in the late fail, and then freshened again in spring. When the cows first began to eat green spring grass again, after months of barn fodder, some people claimed they detected a different taste in the milk, hence also the cheese and some even used this complaint to unscrupulously bargain about price. This milk was called grass milk, produced in early spring when new grass is lush. After a month or so, the cows adapted to the summer grasses, producing normal tasting milk, lower in butter fat than the "fodder' or winter milk, so they got about 10 cents more. In the 1960's, when the milk carrier came to the farms to pick up milk for the cheese factory, the farmers could just leave him a note saying how much cheese or butter they wanted left, which would then be deducted from their cheque. To keep the milk cool and fresh while waiting for the milk carrier, some used an ice house where blocks of ice from winter had been cut, and covered in sawdust, preventing them from melting even on hot days. Some, says Bill Creasy, suspended their cans of milk into the well (imagine the strength of those men lifting such weights - 1 can't even lift a gallon of gas, let alone 100 pounds of milk). One lucky farmer incorporated the use of ET The South Marysburgh Recreation Committee PHOTOCOPIER is available to the public at Video Variables across from the Post Office . in Milford Phone 476-8891 rr] LER CL HR RRR A AAR Ars TT A RN Ra a 7UP cooler, but still the heavy ca cans s had to ate lifted into and out of the cooler. When 1 first arrived in The County in 1975, I remember buying pop from one of those cold water-filled machines, lifting bottles of pop out dripping wet and drying them on towels provided by the shop- keeper. Most farmers don't pasture their milk cows any more so there's more reliability in the consistency of milk and cheeses. Cows are now fed a mixture of hay, alfalfa, clover etc. which is kept in the silo and becomes somewhat fermented. Does this mean silo-fed cows are the happiest cows? The members acknowledge and heartily thank the numerous volunteers over the years. 'Volunteers have helped to change extremely heavy vats, 'to change the lines in the vats, and are helping now to prepare all the activities for this 100th anniversary. Black River Cheese is celebrating its 100th anniversary and invites you to attend on June 2 at 11 am. Most of the activities will be on Saturday, June 2 with local artists and citizens helping out. A new edition of the History of Cheesemaking in Prince Edward County is being printed by Steve Campbell in Bloomfield; Mia Lane is doing a picture for the front cover; and there are inside photos by Peggy DeWitt. Boxes of historical records from the first 50 years will be presented to the Archives. A plaque will be unveiled by the descendants of the original directors. Black River's books will be stamped by Lyle Vanclief with their official HACCP approval on June 2, (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point Program). Cathy Minaker's scrap book is on the shelf awaiting your perusal, filled with very interesting articles portraying Black River Cheese's. interesting history. There are pictures and news articles, especially noting the many, many awards won, especially by Kevin. The trophies displayed are for Highest Scoring Cheese awards, and Cheese Display awards, and there are so many ribbons - all richly deserved. To make cheese, raw milk is pasteurized or heat-treated; vegetable colouring is added to some; microbial enzymes is added, and the correct amount of bacterial culture. It's congealed, lifted out, and cut into curd. Master Cheesemaker, Kevin Gibson, adds the exact amount of salt, and then it's pressed and aged so it'll cheddar better, as George Emlaw adds, light-heartedly. Black River Cheese is NATURALLY AGED, the way our Grandmothers would have done it, by hand and/or by machines that are manually laboured rather than by computers. Hand-crafted! A Fine Art, for sure. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, you can buy fresh, Continued on page 6