![]() ![]() ![]() Kehler is an animated guide, knowledgeable and profoundly engaged with his craft. Then they plowed the earth back on top. At 22,000 square feet undergroud, the Cellars at Jasper Hill is one of the largest cheese aging facilities in the U.S. They blasted open the stony hillside and built seven concrete vaults, each dedicated to aging a different style of cheese. The success prompted the brothers to expand their affinage program, and along with it, their physical plant. The results were superlative: Cabot Clothbound Cheddar won Best in Show at the 2006 American Cheese Society competition. Would the Kehlers be interested in aging Cabot’s new experiment, a small-batch cheddar made solely with milk from nearby Kempton Farm? A wheel of Cabot Clothbound Cheddar finished wheels weigh 32 pounds Aging cellars at Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, Vermont By 2003, their small herd of Ayrshire cows was beginning to crank out cheese, and their project soon caught notice of Cabot Creamery, one of Vermont’s oldest farm cooperatives. My host, Mateo Kehler (above), co-founded Jasper Hill Farm with his brother, Andy Kehler, in 1999. But last month I had a rare opportunity to tour the caves in Greensboro, Vermont, where the company ages its own cheeses and provides affinage and sales support for local creameries that lack the expertise, the space, or both. The Cellars at Jasper Hill are not open to the public, for reasons that should, by now, be obvious. Mateo Kehler, co-founder, Cellars at Jasper Hill And anyway, with no pockets and no backpack, how was I to juggle all of the tools of my craft: notebook, camera, recorder? Regretfully, I ditched everything but the camera, choosing to relying on a mix of memory and the mathematics of imagery, each picture worth a thousand words. I was allowed my camera, but my notebook and pen would have to be sterilized. Advance through a shallow tray of sanitizer to purify your shoes - yes, the shoes they have just loaned you - and proceed to the sink to wash your hands with antimicrobial soap. Thereafter, touch nothing, especially not the cheese. Snap on a Tyvek lab coat, and crown yourself with a hair net. Now, step over the short threshold that separates Out There from In Here and step into whichever pair of loaner rubber boots fits best. Put it someplace safe, because it is not safe for the cheese. Remove your parka and hat, scarf and gloves. First remove your boots, tiptoeing around the slack snow pooling at your socks. Stow your backpack wherever there’s room. When you visit the Cellars at Jasper Hill, you must shed your outer self. Stay on this side of the barrier, for now, while we explain. My visit with co-founder Mateo Kehler offered a rare look inside Jasper Hill’s remarkable cheese aging vaults ![]()
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