Point Reyes Light - October 3, 2002
West Marin returning to cheese-making past
By Andrea Blum
There should be a day dedicated to Clara Steele. The Two Rock and later Point Reyes resident was not only a pioneer in an historical sense, but a food pioneer for West Marin and the surrounding area. She introduced the first West Marin cheese locally in 1857 and began a century-and-a-half of tradition that has produced some of the finest cheeses produced in the United States.
With the help of an Indian ranch worker Steele roped wild Spanish cattle that roamed the hills above the Tomales bay and as stated in one account: "From the milk so obtained, using a recipe she found in a book... made some cheese."
By steamer, schooner, and scow Steele exported her product and birthed an entire industry that has never left the area, and is currently in its renaissance.
Better than any dairy in the state
Clara’s husband Edgar’s hands-on operation located in Muddy Hollow on Inverness Ridge, produced cheese, of "excellent quality" and better then any dairy in the state, said a letter written by John Q. Warren who visited the farm in 1861.
The Steele’s operation, which was able to produce 640 pounds of cheese each day during high season, grew from one wild cow to a ranch full. They even produced West Marin’s first rennet. The Steele’s eventually operated many more dairy ranches extending from Marin to San Luis Obispo County.
The milk from Jerseys, Devons, Guernseys, and Holstiens of West Marin dairies produced the best quality cheese and butter in the state. The Steele’s led a burgeoning crop of rancher families to the region which, because of its remoteness, specialized in the transportable, and therefore and more profitable product.
During the turn of the century West Marin was the main producer of rounds to San Francisco’s bustling bay populate.
The Fallon Creamery near Tomales, opened in 1892, was the first to equip steam-run machinery in West Marin, ensuring a new age in cheese production and beginning the region’s tradition of combining latest-technology with old-world know-how in cheese production.
Changing cheese standards came at a cost. Up-to-the-minute production methods and keeping abreast of changing dairy standards forced many West Marin dairies to band together or create collective creameries in the early 1900s.
The Point Reyes Cooperative Creamery (located at the creamery building, which houses The Point Reyes Light ) opened its doors in 1915. The cooperative produced butter, cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses. "It produced World War II cheddar cheese for the government(s) war effort," said local historian Dewey Livingston.
"There were so many cheese makers in the area because there were so many dairies," said Lois Parks of the Tomales History Center.
Combination of creamery
"By the 1940’s, large milk processors closer to the cities led to the decline of most small creameries, including the Fallon Creamery and the Point Reyes Cooperative Creamery," wrote Livingston of the slowdown of the area’s dairying tradition.
"The local dairies in West Marin are some of the last family-owned food producing farms– the loss of these farms would only help feed the big industrial polluting dairies."
Because even the cooperatives could no longer compete with large-scale automated, and corporate dairies outside the region, over the last 30 West Marin ranchers have gone back to the first days of farm production, starting small beef production farms, or producing top-rated gourmet cheeses, which are having continued success finding an ever-widening niche market.
The renaissance of quality products coming directly from the local producers has new meaning once again and West Marin has taken the leap as well as a lead in this regard.
"As a dairy community we have come full circle," said Jill Giacomini one of the creators of Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, which opened in 1999.
The farmstead blue cheese produced by Giacomini’s company is made on the farm, from milk obtained from same animals on the farm. Although not a new concept, farmstead cheese is a tradition that has finally resurfaced.
A way of life
"For the right reasons, our society is slowly getting back to the farm to table way of life," said Giacomini.
The cheese was named the official domestic blue cheese of America by the Culinary Institute of America. It has recently been selected to represent one of the American cheeses at the Slow Food "Salone de Gusto" (Hall of Taste) in Turin, Italy this month.
The "Salone" is one of most important and highest-quality food events in the world celebrating sustainable agriculture, small producers and showcasing more than 500 different foods artisan-produced. More than 135,000 people will attend, including more than 1,000 journalists.
"It’s important for people to know where their food comes from," said Lynn Giacomini, partner of Point Reyes Farmstand Cheese Company. "We are fortunate and honored to be a part of the movement of American cheese. It all fit’s with Slow Food’s philosophy."
Not all cheese producers are making a comeback. Some never left. The Marin French Cheese Company is in its 132nd year of operation in Hick’s Valley.
The Thompsons, who owned the company and the famous "Rouge et Noire" brand, for the last century, sold the family-run business to the Boyce’s of Bishop three years ago. The brie, the camembert, the schloss, and the quark they produce still sweep awards given annually by the American Cheese Society.
"In the early years we made a granular cheese, it was a ‘bar cheese’ that was served to San Francisco dock workers– it was shipped by paddle wheeler down the Petaluma river to San Francisco," said Howard Bunce operations manager at Marin French Cheese Company. "Now we make 28 different cheeses that are all hand made with traditional recipes and formulas."
The best American cheese made here
In Point Reyes, co-owners Sue Conley and Peggy Smith of Tomales Bay Foods and Cowgirl Creamery are consistently among the best American cheeses taking first place in the fresh cheese category at the American Cheese Society conferences for the past four years. The company has received consistent praise since their founding in 1997.
Conley and Smith cull numerous awards for their Marin certified organic products. West Marin’s own Straus organic milk is used to make their frommage blanc, creme fraiche, clabbered, and triple creams.
" We are the first county in the nation that has it’s own organic certification– and that exciting," said Conley. "People are asking new and informed questions like what kind of milk [is used], [or] if the cheese is made on a farm. People are amazed at how many varieties of cheese there are."
A true West Marin family operation, the Straus Family Creamery not only supply’s top quality organic milk to cheesemakers and consumers but also produces award winning cheeses for their jack and cheddar cheeses.
The unique tradition of preserving the family farm, despite the lure of other markets makes West Marin’s landscape so unique. The tradition has blossomed into a movement for American cheeses.
The Giacomini’s blue cheese is only one of two traditional style blue cheeses in the country. Cowgirl Creamery is uniquely homemade, and is being emulated by an invigorated organic food production trend that’s gaining exposure and credibility nationally and internationally, thanks to the undying spirit of Clara and her wild cow.