After a long drive, we were out of Denver and among the farms that fed the people. The surrounding area was beautiful and we drove around to admire the scenery and back roads, since we were more than a little early for our tour of Fruition farms. Eventually, we drove back and entered the farm property.
Reluctantly getting out of our car we looked around for someone to speak to. Kittens were playing at the foot of the house, making the whole scene very picturesque. Ultimately distracting me from my goal of finding Jimmy our tour guide for the day. Off to the side, I noticed a group of people deep in conversation so I timidly walked over and stated that I had a tour scheduled with Jimmy. They enthusiastically introduced themselves and luckily Jimmy was among the group.
He started the tour by taking us inside the barn where they kept their animals. Their menagerie included black pigs, ten sheep, llamas, and goats. The purpose of the animals being to maintain the pastures by grazing them down, which will help to rebuild the pasture. Originally they were milking their sheep daily and had more than just ten, but the labor and demand were just too much. So now they get their milk delivered 2000lb at a time from Nebraska, which helps increase their production and their sales.
Their milking room was designed by them personally and has a unique sliding gate system for keeping the sheep in place for milking. A large window between the milking room and cheese making room was also included in the design, so there is no separation from tasks and full visibility for the workers.
As we moved from the barn to the next building, we put on rubber clogs for sanitary reasons, since we would now be in the area where cheese is made. All of their cheeses are made from clean and healthy sheep’s milk and this creates the best raw milk cheese. (They are also the only sheep’s milk cheese producer in Colorado.) The raw cheese must be aged between 6 months and 1 year by law, to ensure the safety of consuming the cheese. Jimmy spends five days a week making cheese to keep up with demand.
Bulk pasteurization is done at 145 degrees Fahrenheit for thirty minutes; this is the minimum allowed by law. It is done at a low temperature for a long amount of time in order to keep the product unadulterated. Starter cultures used in the various cheeses come freeze dried and bought from other places.
Cheese is made out of four key ingredients: milk, a bacterial culture, a coagulant (like rennet), and salt. Minimizing the variables is a huge part of being a cheese maker and the process is “extremely detailed” according to Jimmy.
Next came my favorite part of the tour, entering the cheese cave. The smell, the sights, the temperature…it was all a beautiful dream come to life. I was absolutely entranced by the cave and listened excitedly to everything Jimmy had to say about it. He explained that the cave was alive and growing; the mold growth on the cheese depended on the cave. Everything imparts flavor onto the cheese, including the smell and humidity within the cave. He pointed out the different colors of mold on the cheese, explained what he wanted and how sometimes blue wasn’t the desired mold color on the cheese. Oftentimes he will give rounds of cheese a citric acid wash to eradicate unwanted mold.
Something new he was trying on his current batches of cheese was rubbing them once a week with Sicilian extra virgin olive oil to help maintain sweet grassy flavors and to help mold grow.
Before leaving the building he casually showed us some of his finished cheeses and let us sample a too salty cheese, that still tasted like heaven. I slipped my boots back on and we were transferred over to a new tour guide, so Jimmy could focus on cheese making. Elsa was our new guide and she took us into the greenhouse.
Working here for the past four years with a degree in ornamental horticulture, Elsa was a overflowing well of knowledge. She talked about the greenhouse fondly, apologizing about the mess like someone would apologize for their state of their house. To me everything was picturesque, new, and interesting…no mess to be seen.
They grow year round in the greenhouse and heat it during the winter time with 2 space heaters plus cloth/plastic covers. This method allows the greenhouse to freeze but the plants do not.
During the winter, they grow plenty of microgreens and transplants. Summer includes a large variety of radishes, arugula, edible flowers, and many other plants. Many of the beds are surrounded by cinder blocks which retain heat and sometimes they employ the use of shade curtains.
As we moved outside to look at the other garden plots, Elsa described the challenges of being at an even higher elevation than Denver, which leads to an even shorter growing season. Although they do have a four season hoop house for growing heirloom tomatoes (Cherokee green and purple, brandy wine, and striped German), cucumbers, and peppers.
Elsa pointed out all the pest problems and diseases they were currently dealing with like thrips damaging the flower parts or blossom end rot on the tomatoes. After awhile Jimmy came over and joined us, asking when the garlic would be ready and how much was left. Elsa dug around in the ground a bit to find the single clove garlic and Jimmy brainstormed for a special dinner out loud. The simple act of hearing him brainstorming and picking various things out of the garden for the event dinner was inspiring. He put together dishes with ease with a creativity I could only aspire to have one day. As time went on the conversations heavy with knowledge died down as thunder was heard in the distance. We exchanged goodbyes and set off on the road right before the rain came pouring down. Our tour completed and the day still young, we headed back to Denver.
