Edible Chesapeake

Stonyman Gourmet Farmer, Purveyor of Exceptional Farmstead, Local Cheeses
Edible Chesapeake, Spring 2009

Drew Spangler Faulkner

It’s early Saturday morning and a line of cheese enthusiasts is forming at Bethesda’s historic Montgomery Farm Women’s Cooperative Market. They are standing in front of a long, tall glass-and-stainless-steel deli case filled with an intriguing array of European-style cheeses. The shapes are beautiful:  large wheels, small rounds, pyramids, hearts, cones and bricks. Colors range from stark white to rich orange. Some are ash covered, others are rolled in herbs, some are streaked with blue mold. They are artfully displayed on antique transferware. Perhaps most intriguing of all, the cheeses of Stonyman Gourmet Farmer are all local, farmstead products.

The Milk, The Make & Affinage

Susan James, proprietor of Stonyman Gourmet Farmer, has gathered this collection of cheeses, combining the finest from farms in the Southern Appalachians with those from her own farm at the foot of Stonyman Mountain in Virginia’s Blue Ridge. All are artisanal, produced within the Chesapeake watershed, and farmstead—made from the milk of livestock grazing on the farm where the cheese is made. 

Stonyman Gourmet Farmer’s selection of cow’s, goat’s and sheep’s milk cheeses includes products classified as fresh fromage blanc and crème fraîche as well as aged cheeses offering surface-ripened or bloomy soft rinds, and rinds washed with brine, wine or vinegars. Others are finished with herbs, spices or ash. There are cheeses that are hand-ladled, hand-molded, cooked curd or cheddared. They are labeled by their properties: estate cheddar, chèvre tomme, petit carré, ash brick. 

Many are seasonal, reflecting the life cycle of dairy herds and the food they graze upon. If a farmer implements seasonal herd management, livestock are bred to give birth in late winter, February or March. When the animals feeding on the tender green shoots of spring forage begin lactating, they produce exceptionally flavorful milk. Since farmstead cheeses reflect the milk used to make them, the rich taste and sometimes even the color distinguishes spring cheese. “For example, spring cheddar can have a pale, very slight green tint,” says James.

In fall, when forage material has matured and completed its growth cycle, the herds at the end of their lactation cycle tend to produce milk that has a heavy, almost woodsy taste. Farmstead cheese producers traditionally allow their dairy herds to “dry,” stopping milk production in November or December as the animals prepare to give birth in late winter. There is no milk and no fresh cheese produced during this time. True winter cheeses are aged cheeses, ripened from “milking seasons” earlier in the year. Then the cycle is renewed again in early spring.

The art of affinage, or aging, plays a critical part of Stonyman Gourmet Farmer’s offerings. James herself handles the affinage, or aging, for all of the delectable cheeses in the collection, ripening them to perfection. “Cheese is a constantly evolving ‘cultural’ event,” says James. ”It consists of active cultures that are continually developing and reacting.” In the ripening of a camembert-style cheese, for example, the bloomy surface on the soft cheese protects it from drying quickly. As the cheese ripens, it goes through a process called proteolysis as proteins in the interior break down, resulting in its characteristic creamy consistency. That is why Stonyman wraps cheeses in wax paper. “Tightly sealing them in plastic would ‘suffocate’ them,” says James. Stonyman offers cheeses in various states of age and development, from fresh and spoonably soft to hard-aged.

Rooted in Farming

James has strong ties to both Virginia farm country and France, to both rural and city life. Her ancestors began farming in Virginia in the early 1700’s, and members of her family have been involved in farming there ever since. Throughout her childhood, there was always farm property held by the family in Virginia, where she would spend holidays and summers. For a few years her family lived on a farm in Montgomery County, Maryland, as well. James remembers that farm life and good cuisine made of fine ingredients seemed synonymous. She also has fond memories of traveling to New York City with her family and being exposed to the wide range of foods from fancy white tablecloth establishments to fresh food markets and neighborhood ethnic restaurants.

After college, James lived in France for nearly 10 years, first pursuing graduate studies, later working for the major multinational Schlumberger. Immersing herself in the lifestyle of France, she found the situation similar to her childhood experiences: there was always fine food to be had in the city—Paris or New York. Weekends and holidays were spent at country houses or on farms.

The Gourmet Farm Food Trail

A difference that James noted, however, was that “much more than here, the French were devotees of farmstead products.” James’s French friends would know to “stop at a particular farm to purchase a special ingredient.” James found these explorations and experiences to be “very simple, natural, direct and organic. It was just the normal thing to do.” The result was that “we enjoyed simple, delightful and delicious food and wine on weekends whether it was in the Loire, Dordogne, Brittany or Normandy. We searched out food with the taste of terroir (that unique blend of a region’s, soil, ingredients and skillful preparation): farmstead cheese, seasonal fruits and vegetables, wild mushrooms. We drank wines that could only be purchased from the winemaker at his vineyard. The French were inspired culinary mentors.”

Upon returning to the US, James met and married her husband, Alan, a man who had had much the same experience of France as had Susan. Alan had spent 15 years living, going to school and working in France. They both shared a love of fine food and quality ingredients.

Back to the Farm

In 1988 Susan and Alan purchased Walnut Hill Farm in Stonyman, Virginia from Susan’s father. For years “all we would say about the farm was that it produced expenses!,” James says. “We never thought it could be self sustaining.” She transformed her approach to the farm after her father became gravely ill and she became his caregiver. After he died, James didn’t want to go back to a corporate career. “Alan and I decided to develop a small business using the model of our lives. We decided we would bring the farmstead products we enjoyed to market.” They opened Stonyman Gourmet Farmer in October 2005.

James was aware that other regions of the US were better known for their cheese making—New England, Wisconsin and California. But she also knew, from the experience of dairy farmers in the family, that Virginia had a long tradition of fine farms with first-rate dairies. She felt confident that “we could develop a taste of terroir in our area.” This is what was, and remains, very important for James: that the cheeses she sells be from “our area” and farmstead, made by the farmer on his or her farm from ingredients produced on the farm. In these small-batch, hand-made cheeses, the uniqueness of each cheese and the art of the individual cheese maker is captured and displayed. “In France, fermier, or farmstead, is something greatly prized, especially today,” she says, because it is increasingly rare.

To learn how to make cheese herself, James pursued formal classes in agriculture through the Virginia Department of Agriculture, Virginaia Tech’s Agricultural Extension Service and training at North Carolina State in “one of the best ag programs in the South for dairy and cheese making,” she says. Additionally, she consulted with professors at Cornell University and the University of California. Next, she began the practical application of her knowledge, working with other Virginia cheese makers, making cheese and pursuing the essential art of affinage. Her initial focus on Virginia cheeses has now expanded to include the Southern Appalachians.

To round out the offerings of Stonyman Gourmet Farmer, James added other, equally high-quality products. She worked with neighbors on raising authentic free-range chickens—the birds roam freely over the entire farm during the day and only enter the hen house at night. The result is Grade AA eggs, the highest quality eggs possible, with fantastic flavor and rich texture. She follows lamb and beef cattle from pasture through the butchering process to ensure the quality and cuts of meat that she desires. Local women produce creamy biscuits she sells with locally-cured Virginia country ham.

Market Access

When looking for a location to sell her products, James chose the Montgomery Farm Women’s Cooperative Market in Montgomery County, Maryland, because it satisfied all of her needs: a permanent site where she could install substantial refrigeration; enough space to attractively display her products; and a situation in which she could comfortably provide tastes of numerous cheeses to individual customers. “I thought immediately of the Montgomery Farm Women’s Market.” She says, “My family had always shopped there when in the area.”

The Bethesda shop has developed a loyal following and a growing reputation. Its success enabled the company to expand to a second retail location, opened in 2008 in an early 19^th century mercantile building in historic Washington, Virginia, close to their farm. This location provides Stonyman Gourmet Farmer with a superb market venue and more space to offer farmstead products along with prepared foods created from their farm ingredients.

James finds the development of American farmstead cheeses to be exciting. “How Americans make it their own,” she says, “is still developing and evolving. It’s such a new world and such an old world at the same time.”

Montgomery Farm Women’s Cooperative Market Endures

A group of Montgomery County farm women who were looking for a way to raise cash to provide for their families during the Great Depression founded the Montgomery Farm Women’s Cooperative Market in 1932. The market, always in Bethesda, was originally located in the 6700 block of Wisconsin Avenue. After several moves, it purchased its current location, a 105’ x 45’ single-story white-and-green wooden-framed building at 7155 Wisconsin Ave in the heart of Bethesda, where it has been housed for over 50 years.

On opening day, February 4, 1932, there were 19 vendors, selling meat products, baked goods, home-made jams and jellies, fresh fruits and vegetables. By June of 1932, there were 81 sellers. The success of the Farm Women’s Market drew national and international attention as the only farm women’s cooperative of its kind in the world. Agriculture agents from around the country visited to observe the market in operation, as did numerous international guests. A local agriculture agent was quoted in a Reader’s Digest article about the market saying, “The example of the women in the cooperative has put the county 50 years ahead in its agricultural ideas. Even more important we are providing [sic] to the youth of the county that farming can be made to pay and farm life can be attractive.” Today, 17 vendors sell from inside the market. A number of vendors have been at the market for two or three generations. The market is still owned and operated by the cooperative. The current president is Barbara Johnson, a vendor well known for her traditional sugar and ginger cookies. An outside flea market also operates with a fluctuating numbers of sellers. The original building has undergone modernization but its original purpose continues: direct contact between farm producers and consumers.

The Montgomery Farm Women’s Cooperative Market is located at 7155 Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda, Maryland, and is open 3 days a week: Wednesday 7 am- 4 pm, Friday, 9 am – 5 pm, and Saturday from 7 am- 4 pm year round.