What is the future of being able to legally make and sell raw milk cheeses in the wake of the new Federal Food Safety bill passed last December? Although there is nothing specific in the bill about new rules guiding its production, the New York Times has published an article speculating that new proposals from the FDA may alter the existing 60 day rule, perhaps significantly.

In that vein, Caitlin has learned through the Southeastern Cheesemakers Guild listserve that a recommendation from Dr. Cathy Donnelly (of the Vermont Institute of Artisanal Cheese) may be one of those being considered:

Mandatory pasteurization for bloomy rind, washed rind, Hispanic and Tomme style cheeses. 90 day aging above 35F for raw milk cheeses. Mandatory technical training for cheesemakers. Mandatory risk reduction plan. Mandatory pathogen testing for finished product.

I’m sure this will be a topic for conversation at the next MCG meeting, and probably in future meetings. But there’s no need to hold your tongue until then: post your comments on this topic here to begin the conversation.

The New York Times reports on a new American cheese that’s being offered by a Wisconsin cheesemaker based on the Mont d’Or idea of a super soft bloomy rind cheese wrapped in a spruce strip during aging. The interior will get soft enough inside the rind that it can be scooped with a spoon for service, rather than need to be sliced. Another interesting aspect of this cheese is that they’re apparently aging it for over 60 days.

Maine has plenty of spruce for this kind of experiment, although I’m pretty sure that wood from the white spruce would be preferable to the black spruce (aka “cat piss spruce”)…does anyone have experience with this?