Field Trip to Cowgirl Creamery!
On their second day at Sprouts Cooking Club, a group of sixteen youngsters coming from across the Bay Area met outside the Ferry Building in San Francisco. Upon arrival, the campers were excited to explore the outdoor farmers’ market, where they were able to taste the local, fresh produce and talk to the farmers themselves.
Hands sticky and bellies full of peaches, apricots, and blueberries, the campers made their way inside the Ferry Building to Cowgirl Creamery, an artisan organic cheese company based in Northern California. The campers learned all about the cheese-making process, and how much work goes into creating a staple food that most of them eat every day. They were surprised to find out that most cheeses take many months to be ready, and some cheeses can be aged up to fifteen years! They got to taste the fresh milk used to make the cheese, and tried two of the company’s most famous cheeses, a triple-cream called Mt. Tam and a hard cheese called Wagon Wheel. They even got to try an expertly made grilled cheese sandwich featuring an assortment of the company’s cheeses.
The campers were delighted to learn some top secret tips about cheese to take home to their families. One of these tips was to never store cheese in tupperware, plastic wrap, or ziploc bags, because cheese is alive and needs to breathe! Instead, cheese should be wrapped either in parchment or wax paper, which are more porous and allow the cheese to stay fresh much longer.
Learning about where food comes from is so important for the campers to truly appreciate the effort and work put in before food reaches our tables. We are so grateful we got the opportunity to learn about cheese-making from Cowgirl Creamery!
