2008 ACS Conference Blog: To The Finish Line

chi_unpack

Up early, and as I had hoped, the motel shielded the early sun so I could ice and pak before the sun hit the trunk. A quick breakfast and we were onto the Interstate west. Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, Paw Paw, and then finally Michigan City in Indiana said that we were making headway. My goal was to make the Chicago drop-off by noon, and we did (thanks to the time change!), with the largest box registering 42 degrees F: Five degrees change over 1150 miles — I hope that translates to ribbons. We were warmly greeted by ACS representatives who made it easy to unload and register the entries.

chi_checkin

Once we had left the cheeses behind, we swung around the corner to a diner that caught our eye: The Palace Grill. Open-face Meatloaf Sandwich and a Skirt Steak Sandwich later, we were ready to move on. Thanks Windy City!

palace_grill_1palace_grill_2

On to Indianapolis, Ohio, and beyond; more when we get back to Chicago.

2008 ACS Conference Blog: Away We Go!

We woke up in Brockville, Ontario and my Dad took a walk while I re-iced the cheese. I had some re-frozen ice packs to insert, along with ice from the ubiquitous motel ice machine. I also had a digital temp gauge stuck in one of the boxes to monitor how fast it was warming. Yesterday it started at 37 degrees F and didn’t change even after I crossed the CAN border, so I switched the probe to the other box, which was at 39 degrees F in Montreal and then to Brockville. In the morning it was still at 39 degrees F. I added ice and re-frozen paks to all the boxes, and then put the big boxes in the trunk under a sleeping bag. The biggest box stayed at 39 degrees F through the day, even when we stopped for lunch and couldn’t find shade, so we covered the trunk with a white cloth anchored by the boxes of brochures that Jennifer provided.

cross_to_mi

The day started overcast, but the sun came out for real by 11am, and stayed out until we reached our stopping point. This seemed especiallhy brutal as we inched over the Point Huron, MI bridge and customs crossing, but the temp gauge was solid at 39 degrees F the whole time. At the border I was terrified that the border agent would see the wire for the gauge sticking out of the box and immediately call the Marines in, but he didn’t — he had more of a problem with the boxes of brochures…!?! (He said, “you know, using an international bridge for commerce could make you liable for stiff duty fees…” but he let us go with ‘just a warning’ — ouch.)

When we stopped in East Lansing, MI the probe read 41 degrees F. I re-iced everything before we retired — this room didn’t have a refrigerator in it, but they provided a tiny one when I asked. Still I could fit about nine of the smaller paks in the little freezer section overnight. Unfortunately, I didn’t remember that even though they were flexible when I put them in the tiny freezer compartment, they were very stiff when I tried to take them out. It took quite a bit of manipulation to wiggle them all out, but I did, and then iced everything else. Those extra plastic bags that Cathe had offered when I picked up the cheese really came in handy. I made sure to park on the south side of the motel building so that any morning sun would be blocked.

2008 ACS Conference Blog: Pick Up And Go

The Maine Cheese Guild has sent Eric Rector to represent them at the 2008 ACS conference and competition, to be held July 23rd – 26th in Chicago, Illinois.

At last year’s conference, held in Burlington, VT, many Maine cheesemakers attended the seminars, classes, and other knowledge diffusion events at the conference. In addition, MCG members won 17 awards in the largest US cheese competition every held. We very much hope to build on that experience and success this year.

Eric left a week early to also deliver many of this year’s competition entries from the Guild; below is a semi-regular entry of his experience.


pack_in_brockville

After tying up loose-ends around the farm, and delivering a last batch of yogurt (until I return) to the Belfast Coop, I arrived at The State of Maine Cheese Co. on schedule at 8:30am, with a cheerful greeting by Cathe Morril, who had helpfully agreed to serve as a drop-point for the competition entries. We sorted through the boxes of entries, I cataloged all of them against their packing lists, and made sure to pack them so they could be easily “re-iced” but not soaked in the process, and compact enough to fit into my 2001 VW Jetta, along with all my other stuff. At 9:00am on the dot I pulled out of Cathe’s parking lot (after admiring her new sign), and I was off.

Route 17 through Augusta, to Wintrop, left in Jay, right in W. Paris, and another right in Bethel to get onto Route 2. Gorham, St. Johnsbury, and then Derby Line before I entered Quebec. Eventually I made it to Montreal where I picked up my father at the airport (he found a cheap flight to join me on the drive). We left Montreal and got about 100 miles down the St. Lawrence River before stopping at Brockville, Ontario for dinner and the night. Our motel offered a refrigerator (to refreeze ice packs), and an industrial size ice machine (for more cooling) to keep the cheese in good shape.

Our dinner (on a roof-top patio) featured blooming thunderstorm clouds to the east over the river, sparked by the occasional bolt of lightning over northern New York, lit in the dying light of the sunset behind us. Our big day of driving lay ahead tomorrow, but we enjoyed the show while it lasted. Unfortunately, neither of us remembered to bring our camera! Next time…