This summer we embarked on an impassioned search for some truly great sheep’s milk cheeses from the mid-west. During our research, our friend John Antonelli—proprietor of Antonelli’s cheese shop in Austin, TX—told Aubrey this crazy story about a guy and a herd of feral sheep in Idaho at a dairy called Lark’s Meadow. So when she had some free time one night Aubrey called this fellow from Idaho, and once cheese makers get talking they tend to go on for awhile. She talked to Mark for quite a long time that night and got the story of these wild-caught sheep straight. Apparently, a farmer in Wisconsin had some sheep that he was trying to turn into a dairy herd so he could make cheese (this can be quite an involved process) and in the meantime went broke.

Unable to care for his herd, the farmer let the sheep go in the wilds of Wisconsin hoping that one day he might be able to round them up when he had the means to properly care for them. A few years go by, and Mark wants to get into sheep dairy and hears a rumor about this rogue herd. He gets a hold of the unlucky farmer and the guy tells him if he can get them to come in from the woods he can have ‘em. Pretty soon Mark heads to Wisconsin in the winter with a trailer of hay and waits for the sheep to come in… And eventually they do! So Mark has now spent several years getting this feral heard of sheep reined in whilst learning the art of cheese making. We think he’s been doing a bang-up job of it—recently he took 1st place at the American Cheese Society for his Dulcinea. Stop by the shop for a taste of something wild!

This week, Josh’s latest seasonal gelato flavors went live in our shop. In addition to our usual line-up, we feature a selection of four rotating gelati that exude what we love most about each season of the year, and we’re super excited about these delicious wintertime treats which include:

Rocky Ride: Our take on an old standard, we start with a dark chocolate base then add both vanilla and chocolate marshmallows from Zingerman’s Bakehouse, and some in-house butter-roasted peanuts. (Pictured)

Chocolate Heat: An extraordinarily rich and smooth blend of our dark chocolate with cinnamon, ancho and cayenne. This slightly spicy gelato recalls classic Mexican chocolate, and for a unique treat we recommend using this as the à la to your strawberry shortcake’s mode.

Pistachio: We use 100% pure pistachio paste from the Piedmont in Italy to make this remarkably velvety traditional gelato. Because we want to showcase the amazing taste of the pistachios themselves, we use nothing but Calder dairy milk, Guernsey dairy cream, a little Demerara sugar to highlight the pistachio paste’s natural flavor.

Paul’s Peppermint: We use the very best peppermint oil we can find—Boyajian—and mix that in with some chopped-up Hammond’s peppermint candies for a very clean, bright mint flavor that is just ridiculous on freshly baked brownies.

We’ll be featuring these flavors through the end of February, and in March we’ll start to carry our Spring flavors. Stop by the Creamery to try these awesome wintertime sweets.

MILK: Sheep, Pasteurized
RENNET: Animal

This aged sheep’s milk gouda is delightful. Developed through a partnership between CheeseLand importers in Seattle and a small Dutch farm, Ewephoria is sweet and slightly nutty with a very balanced and smooth finish. Featuring a very pronounced buttery mouthfeel, it’s the perfect entry-level sheep’s milk cheese. Sure to be a hit at any holiday party, this gouda pairs exceptionally well with amontillado or oloroso sherry, and complements any number of stouts and porters. Stop by the Creamery to get your hands on a piece of this Dutch original.