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Touring Southern Oregon’s Artisan Creameries, Chocolatiers, and Farm-made Jams

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the pennington farms rustic barn and bakery

When Tom Vella, owner of Rogue River Valley Creamery visited Roquefort, France in 1955, to learn the secrets of making blue vein cheese, he had no idea that he was sowing the seeds of today’s flourishing artisan creameries in Southern Oregon.

Clustered around sunny Medford, in Jackson County’s Rogue Valley, three artisan creameries are making some superb cheeses and chevres to accompany the marvelous merlots, cabs, syrahs, zinfandels, pinots, and chardonnays produced in the surrounding area.

Tom Vella had been making cheddars since 1935, but his Oregon Brand Blue Vein Cheese (later shortened to Oregon Blue) launched the platform that would make the Rogue Creamery renowned globally. At the time this was a bold move, and Tom’s Blue Vein was the first produced west of the Missouri River. His son, Ig, continued in the same vein, producing a zesty Gorgonzola, appropriately named Oregonzola, in 1988, using an Italian recipe, even using proprietary molds from Italy.

rogue creamery's front store is stacked high with it cheesesAfter purchasing the creamery in 2002, David Gremmels and Cary Bryant, have continued to offer the creamery’s two traditional blues, adding a third generation blue, the Crater Lake Blue. Named after one of the area’s most beautiful natural attractions, Crater Lake, because of the intensity and variety of blue shades in the lake’s deep waters, this rich, broadly profiled blue, has great depth and creaminess. A mixture of several strains of blue molds from France, Crater Lake Blue has added a new dimension to the company’s selection.

Now renamed Rogue Creamery, the former Rogue River Valley Creamery has become an institution for blue cheese lovers, winning 4 trophies and 30 medals and awards around the world, from London to New York.

Different and tasty artisan blues have been added over the years, and Rogue Creamery now boasts Caveman Blue, award winning Smokey Blue, and some creative hand-milled cheddars including Sharp, TouVelle, and Dry Jack, plus some herbal-infused cheddars with Rosemary and Lavender. Still operating out of its original concrete façade building, fronted by bushes and flowering shrubs, on a busy commercial strip, Rogue Creamery has managed to keep the personal touch on a creamery whose product has become virally popular.

one of jeff shepherd's chocolate sculpturesMookie Moss and Stu O’Neill have operated the 64-acre Siskiyou Crest Goat Dairy in nearby Jacksonville since 2007. They hand milk their herd of 50 goats, with 20 milking in any season. The two participate in a herd-share coop program and are dedicated to helping rural economies and community service. The high butterfat content of their goats encourages a nice variety of feta, fresh Chevre and aged cheddar cheeses.

Gabe and Robin Clouser, owners of Mama Terra Micro Creamery, located in the small Applegate Valley town of Williams; use Nubian goats for their cheeses for their high milk butterfat content. Producing fresh and aged farmstead cheeses, they manage the dairy using local organic hay and grains for feed, and are rated a grade A goat dairy.

In these creameries, Southern Oregon has set a uniformly high standard for cows and goat’s milk cheeses. A visit to these farms or storefronts is recommended and cheese aficionados will not be disappointed.

Lillie Belle Farms Artisan Chocolates

Right next door to Rogue Creamery, Lillie Belle Farm’s award-winning artisan Chocolates are completely hand-made using time-honored European techniques, but with a true American twist.

With almost 2 acres of organic raspberries, strawberries, and marionberries, Lillie Belle Farms utilizes abundant crops to make delicious fruit filled bon bons and truffles. Almost all of their ingredients are organic, from the nuts, to the nibs to the sugar. Lillie Belle chocolatiers pride themselves on their organic ingredients.

Pennington Farms

pennington farms are known for their marvelous jamsIn a renovated rustic barn on their 90-acre berry farm, the Pennington family all work together to produce a wonderful variety of berry jams and “old school” style baked goods, as well as their fresh berries in season.

The well-known Pennington Farms products include Jams, syrups, breads and pastries and are well known always sell-out at the farmer’s markets throughout the Valley. Jams are the Pennington’s biggest hits: Tayberry, Olallieberry, Raspberry, Blueberry, Loganberry, Marionberry, Strawberry, Rhubarb, Wild Blackberry, Cascade Berry, and fig conserve.

 

The post Touring Southern Oregon’s Artisan Creameries, Chocolatiers, and Farm-made Jams appeared first on The Traveler.


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