There乌鸦传媒檚 something special about seeing a product come to life from start to finish, and in the case of The Farm House Natural Cheeses you can do just that.

On a self-guided tour through the Agassiz property, you乌鸦传媒檒l find cows and goats grazing the fields and a farmer milking the animals daily in the barn. After that, the milk gets transferred to the farm乌鸦传媒檚 processing plant. Viewers are invited to peer through the windows and see how the cheese-making process works. Inside is what looks like a bathtub 乌鸦传媒� a large metal vat that heats the milk, pasteurizing it.

乌鸦传媒淐ustomers appreciate they can view the whole story,乌鸦传媒� said Dana Dinn, the wholesale manager who has been with the company for over 10 years. 乌鸦传媒淓veryone wants to know and see where their food is coming from and what goes into it.乌鸦传媒�

The Farm House Natural Cheeses was established in 2003 by Debra Amrein-Boyes and her husband, George, who learned about cheese making in Switzerland before bringing the craft to B.C. The couple has since retired, relocating to Quebec. The new owner, Brian Bilkes, took over, and the company still maintains that family feel, with a tight-knit team of around a dozen.

In the summer, they pack their products into a truck and drive them to different farmers乌鸦传媒� markets, mainly in Vancouver, where they sell cheese, milk, butter and yogurt. Their cows have a higher fat content, which in the case of cheese, is part of what makes it so delicious.

Their European heritage breed cows 乌鸦传媒� Jerseys, Guernseys and Brown Swiss cattle 乌鸦传媒� contain the A2 protein, which produces a higher butter-fat content, creating those creamy and rich cheeses.

Dinn said that people who think they are lactose intolerant come to their farm and realize they can consume their products, which may be partly due to the A2 protein and also because their milk isn乌鸦传媒檛 homogenized.

乌鸦传媒淸Homogenized milk] can be difficult for our bodies to digest. When the milk is homogenized, it changes the structure in the molecules of the milk, making it harder to break down.乌鸦传媒�

The Farm House Natural Cheeses takes the word 乌鸦传媒榥atural乌鸦传媒� seriously, which is often misused within the food industry. Despite regulations by The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 乌鸦传媒榥atural乌鸦传媒� products can still contain artificial or synthetic ingredients.

乌鸦传媒淥ur products are the bare minimum. Milk, culture, a little salt, sodium chloride. That乌鸦传媒檚 it for our cheeses. Our milk is heated-up with no additives. We make a drinkable yogurt, and we don乌鸦传媒檛 add sweeteners. It乌鸦传媒檚 just honey and fruit puree, for example. No sugar or anything like that,乌鸦传媒� said Dinn.

The Farm House Natural Cheeses offers various kinds of cheese, some of which are pressed into a mould, coated with an antifungal layer and then dipped into a wax 乌鸦传媒� think gouda or their Country Morning cheese.

Other cheeses are their washed-rind cheeses, Heidi or Alpine Gold, for example. The cheese is washed with brine (salted water) every two or three days, forming its own rind and developing more colour while it sits and ages.

Most of their cheeses age three to six months, with some aging a year, two or more. Some cheeses head to the farmers乌鸦传媒� markets, others to stores or restaurants, including the farm乌鸦传媒檚 gift shop, where people can purchase them and indulge in cheese tastings. They also sell other curated products, supporting local artisans in the area.

It all sounds picturesque, although it comes with much hard work. For example, due to flooding a few years ago, many larger farms producing on a commercial scale could not transfer their products.

乌鸦传媒淲e were working every day trying to get more milk bottled and products made. All the local grocery stores were calling us trying to get their shelves stocked because they didn乌鸦传媒檛 have butter, they didn乌鸦传媒檛 have milk. Everyone was kind of scared in that situation. It was a crazy experience,乌鸦传媒� said Dinn.

Since their farm doesn乌鸦传媒檛 rely on external transportation and everything is made directly on-site, their employees loaded up their vehicles, delivering milk, butter, yogurt and cheese products as quickly as possible.

To keep up with demand, much of the milk regularly used to make cheese was instead bottled or made into yogurt. Yogurt takes around three days to make, but it乌鸦传媒檚 a quicker turnaround time than cheese, which can take a few months, said Dinn.

The Farm House Natural Cheeses is quaint, and they love to support their community.

乌鸦传媒淲e encourage people to go around, farm to farm, and see everything that the community has to offer.乌鸦传媒�

They乌鸦传媒檙e part of the Circle Farm Tour, which guides people to 10 to 20 different farms, markets, eateries, fairs, heritage sites and other special events in the area. The brochure and map allow people to create a leisurely self-guided trip through the grassy fields of the Fraser Valley.

乌鸦传媒淎 lot of people hop on their bicycles and go around to all of the different destinations,乌鸦传媒� said Dinn.

Visit for all your cheese needs.

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kim.kimberlin@blackpress.ca
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