Portland Press Herald columnist Anne Mahle writes about how to make ricotta in your own kitchen:
Thanks to the surge in interest in “keeping it local,” good things are happening — to our economies and to the quality of our food.
What’s true for that carrot also is true for fresh cheeses and dairy products. And it’s easy to make your own ricotta, yogurt, buttermilk and even cheeses such as mozarella, fromagina and ricotta salata.
Waterville will christen the “Barrels Community Market” at 74 Main St. on June 21st — an indoor market offering local food year round. The Waterville Sentinel highlighted the participation of the Kennebec Cheesery in their article last week covering their April 22 open house:
“I think it’s going to be a wonderful addition to downtown,” said Kimberly N. Lindlof, president and chief executive officer of the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce. “It should really complement existing businesses such as Jorgensen’s and Joseph’s Market and be a real asset to the restaurants that are here.”
This is not news, but Maine dairy farmers now stare at a double-set of spinning saw teeth in the form of higher costs of production and shrinking government subsidies. The BDN recently reported on the hearings in Augusta that are taking place to discuss how much the State can continue to afford to prop up the prices paid to dairy farmers given the enormous budget deficits they are charged to with eliminating. I heard all about this at the recent Ag Day at the Legislature, but it seems they’re still no closer to a solution.
Obviously, without Maine milk, there isn’t going to be much of a Maine cheese industry, but the threat goes deeper than that. The remaining 300 dairy farms also support feed dealers, farm equipment dealers, and all other manner of agricultural supply resources in the state. Without a base of dairy farms in the state, these support services won’t be able to stay in business either. In the baldest terms, Maine dairy farms support all Maine agriculture…which means everyone connected with ag in the state are staring at the same spinning saw teeth now.