It was a snowy morning here in Northern BC, When I sat down for a zoom interview with home cheesemaker Marissa Froese. Sitting in front of her computer in Nova Scotia, a four-hour time difference, it was my first time meeting this fellow cheesemaker. Mugs in hand, mine, morning coffee, and hers presumably a cup of hot afternoon tea, I listened, intrigued, as she recounted her cheesemaking journey.
Marissa grew up on an off-grid ranch in British Columbia, she was from a large family, and she spoke to me about how her mother always kept milk cows. She remembers that her mother was often milking multiple cows at a time. Marissa would milk her mother’s cows, if she was away, but rarely had much to do with them.
When I asked if her mom had made cheese, Marissa recounted the story of the time her mother had made many wheels of cheddar, only to have them spoil in the root cellar. An unfortunate event that ended her cheesemaking.
Approximately 10 years ago, Marissa and her husband, Dan, relocated to a farm/homestead in Nova Scotia, where they now reside and own and operate a guesthouse.
Marissa’s progression into owning a milk cow started first with chickens, followed by a pony, a goat and finally a highland jersey, cross milk cow. This first milk cow, though sweet, did not give much milk, not nearly enough to warrant cheesemaking. The Froese family decided to sell their milk cow to a family that was looking for a family cow, and purchase one that more suited their needs.
Mable, a pure-bred Guernsey, was an 18-month-old bred heifer, when she came to live with the Froese family. She had not been handled much, so as the Froese family anxiously awaited a calf, they worked with Mable, and when her calf was finally born, Marissa describes her as being gentle from the start.
Mable has had 2 lactations with the Froese family. Even with calf sharing, she still produces a good quantity of milk.
In the mornings, Marissa, Dan, and their girls head to the barn for chores. Mable is milked, and the milk is brought into the kitchen. On cheesemaking days, it is strained, and put directly into the cheese pot. Marissa homeschools her girls, and she describes how though, the girls often do their school work around the house, they will come to the kitchen counter while Marissa is making cheese, and she will quiz them on spelling or have them read to her. She describes how when making a cheese such as gouda, that requires stirring for 5 minutes, resting for 5 minutes, she uses this rest time to help her girls with school. She states how her children have been getting into this rhythm, that if she is not right there with them, while they are doing school, chances are she is in the kitchen, and that’s where they find her. She laughs as she says, at least until gardening season, then they will find me there.
Marissa describes herself as being a beginner to cheesemaking. Her start to cheesemaking came while she owned her goat a few years back, when she would make fresh cheeses and feta, and has collimated into where she is now, making mostly mozzarella, gouda and asiago.
I laughed and felt a deep connection, as Marissa recounted a tale of when her children were younger, and she made the decision to wait until her children were older, before she continued making cheese;
One Afternoon, I was trying to make mozzarella, one kid needed me to help get on the potty, I just got back to the kitchen, and another child needed me to come wipe her, than the baby woke up and by the time I was done, the cheese was kind of like a rubbery eraser. At that point, I was like, ok, I am not doing any more intensive cheesemaking until I don’t have 2 toddlers and a baby!
When Mable was brought into the family, the girls were a bit older and Marisa was able to manage feta and mozzarella, but it wasn’t until this last June when Mable calved her second calf, that Marissa really jumped into cheesemaking. She read David Ashers book “The Art of Natural Cheesemaking”, front to back and read through Debra Amrein-Boyes, “200 easy homemade cheese recipes”, and started making aged cheese.
As Marissa began her cheesemaking adventure, she was going through chemotherapy for breast cancer. She made many different varieties of cheese such as brie, camembert, and asiago, with the plan of natural aging them in her little cheese fridge. Her plan was to use brine and oil, and do primarily natural curing of her cheese.
After all of Marissa’s hard work, she ended up being hospitalized due to complications with her treatment. Left alone, her cheeses spoiled. When Marissa was released from the hospital, she was so sad when she looked into the fridge to find her beautiful cheeses in this state. She closed the door, and didn’t look back at them for months until her treatment was over.
In November of last year, Marissa, done her treatment, cleaned out the fridge, and since January has begun making cheese again. This time she says that she is being easier on herself. Her freezer is stocked with freeze dried culture and she is vacuum sealing her cheeses for aging. They are being stored in multiple fridges around the house, and she has future plans of converting an old vintage ice box refrigerator, into her cheese cave.
She says that her girls are not completely sold on her cheesemaking abilities yet, but they have been enjoying the mozzarella on pizza. As for Marissa’s husband, he enjoys making soft, quick cheeses, and Marissa’s hope is that he will start to take over some of the hard-pressed recipes. She would be satisfied if the cheesemaking became more communal, and she says that she doesn’t have to be the cheesemaker, she would be happy to just eat the cheese.
Marissa ended our interview with some encouraging words for new cheesemakers, “There are people who own cows, who have never even attempted to make cheese. It feels daunting, but if you plan on getting a cow, plan on making cheese! Just try it, if you are like me, you will probably fail at first”. She recommends getting a few books, or reading some online resources.
You can follow Marissa and her homesteading journey on Instagram @Marissa.Froese and @wyndelin, and on her website.
Thank you to Marissa for allowing me to share your story, and for submitting all the pictures in this article.
Happy Cheesemaking!
Robyn