Green Dirt Farm Creamery, Weston
August 2020
When autumn’s burnished reds, oranges and golden yellows make their debut, there’s no better time to cruise Highway 45 to Weston and Green Dirt Farm Creamery. The creamery sells the bounty of nearby 150-acre Green Dirt Farm—sheep and mixed-milk cheeses and charcuterie boards, sandwiches and fresh-churned ice cream.
Founder Sarah Hoffman grew up on homesteading farms where her family raised animals and grew their own food. As an academic physician, whose specialty was infectious disease and microbiology, she dreamed of giving her three children that same lifestyle. She and her physician husband transplanted their family from Seattle and bought land just outside Weston where the rolling hills resembled their former home.
“After we bought the farm, I stepped out of medicine and investigated agricultural-based businesses,” explains Hoffman. “I soon realized that my chemistry background lent itself to making cheese.”
Since 2008, Green Dirt Farm has won more than 80 awards, including “Good Food Awards” three years running for their fresh, plain cheese. In 2019, the farm also earned seven American Cheese Society awards.
“Soil matters when making cheese because the flavors in the milk come from what our animals eat, so we give them a diverse grass diet,” said Hoffman.
After ordering a cheese board inside the stone creamery, my husband and I planted ourselves at one of the socially-distanced picnic tables under towering trees. We tucked into award-winning, signature “Bossa” sheep cheese that tasted slightly nutty. A favorite was the mixed-milk “Aux Arcs,” a classic sheep and cow’s milk mountain-style cheese that varies in color from summer to winter due to the amount of beta carotene in the grasses. French farmhouse-style “Dirt Lover,” a smooth sheep cheese, had a thin layer of dusted vegetable ash. And two flavors of spreadable cheese, akin to ricotta, paired deliciously with local blackberry preserves on grilled toast points.
Customizable sandwiches included the popular Rueben layered with “Aux Arcs,” corned beef and small-batch sauerkraut made in Kansas by Hoganville Family Farms. Boulevard beer and local wines pair well with the menu. Velvety ice creams made on-site with local ingredients offered the perfect finish, especially Blackberry Rosemary and Chocolate Brittle. Before we headed home, I bought my favorite cheeses and frozen lamb chops for the grill.
Visit GreenDirtFarm for more information.