Say Cheese

“We make what I’ll describe as a European style artisan cheese. Gary Corbett is talking cheese, specialty cheeses, like those made at the Fair Oaks Farm Cheese Factory in Fair Oaks, Indiana. American cheese makers produce more than 9 billion pounds of cheese a year and “specialty cheeses” are a fast growing segment of the industry. 

Corbett adds, “We make 22 to 24 different style cheeses. Swiss, Havarti, Gouda, real hands-on craftsmanship type cheeses.”

Cheese maker Randy Krahenbuhl oversees the process which involves several steps in heating fresh milk; adding ingredients to gel the mixture; then cutting the product into curds. While visitors look on, the freshly cut curds, the initial step are packed into stainless steel boxes and put on a press where the liquid or whey is squeezed out.

Krahenbuhl says, “At this point, after we put the curds in the boxes, we step up the pressure from 3 to 6 to 12 pounds per square inch over about and hour and a half. We’ll let this press overnight. Fermentation is going on which helps expel the whey. “What we end up with is cheddar cheese.”

Visitors here get a chance to taste both the curds and finished cheeses. And many of the items on the farm’s lunch room menu feature cheeses made just a few feet away.

Gary Corbett says that’s a plus, “You get to be kind of up close and personal in that the viewing area is quite large and you get to see the whole process evolve right in front of you. Visitors come out of here with a far different understanding of 21st century agriculture and, literally, develop this bond between dairy and themselves. That’s really been over the top for us.”

The handcrafted cheeses made here have received both national and international honors at competitions worldwide. Gary Corbett says visitors sample...and take away some of their favorites as well as a greater knowledge of products that come from the farm.