Juniper Grove Farm

I’m having trouble deciding what was better about visiting Juniper Grove Farm. On a recent sunny day drive out to the farm we had an absolutely stunning view of the majestic Three Sisters mountains, freshly covered in snow. That was in addition to the pastoral beauty of the gently rolling, golden high desert hills dotted with tumbling-down homestead shacks and remnants of rock fences from the farms of the past… but there were also the baas, bleatings and the dramatically plaintive wails of young goats greeting us as we pulled in the driveway of Juniper Grove. Cute and stubborn in their hunger for attention, and with quite the flair for drama, these young ones (some with the beginnings of little horns poking through on their heads) were happy to act as greeters and performed their role perfectly.

And then, of course, there’s the cheese. As we continued down the driveway, a cabin appeared carrying a sign designating it as the “Cheese Shop.” The Cheese Shop is a combination mini-store and viewpoint with windows looking onto the cheesemaking area. The shop, such as it is, is self serve…a small refrigerator case offers a variety of Juniper Grove cheeses and a calculator sits on a shelf, ready for you to total your purchases. You leave your money in a cash box, also nearby. I'll have to say that the best part of all was seeing the cheese becoming cheese, the process where milk is transformed from snowy white liquid into curd, then to cheese. When I was there the cheesemaking folks were cleaning up, but over to one side cheese curds hung in cheesecloth draining whey alongside neat rows of chevre buttons and pyramids – future cheeses taking shape.

Pierre Kolisch has been making cheeses in central Oregon for about 18 years. A former practicing attorney (and, I might add, a fellow University of Oregon Law School graduate) Kolisch left the practice of law and spent several years in France learning to make cheese. He brought back the knowledge and experience of the continental masters to central Oregon and now, with his herd of around 70-80 milk producing goats, makes 12 types of goat cheeses. Fresh chevre (both plain and with a variety of herbs or with pepper), aged Buche logs, goat feta and Juniper Grove's signature cheese, the aged, semi-firm Tumalo Tomme were available at the Cheese Shop on the day I visited; Juniper Grove's other cheeses include Pyramid, Dutchman's Flat, Gruyere and Redmondo.

For me, one of the most impressive things about Kolisch’s approach to cheesemaking is his commitment to craft. Juniper Grove Farms is a true farmstead, where the milk used to make the cheese comes from goats raised on the farm…but it’s not a farmstead in name only or just for marketing purposes. Kolisch focuses on cheesmaking (see here for example) the way winemakers make wine – seeing not just the goats or the milk but also the terrior, the complex variables of climate, feed and seasonal shifts that contribute to the character of the end product. Kolisch prefers to use raw milk in his cheeses, enabling him to take advantage of the flavors lost in the heat pasteurizing process (in the US, cheese made from raw milk must be aged 60 days before being sold). Kolisch recycles the whey from the cheesemaking process by using it as feed for the Red Duroc pigs he also raises on his farm. Three Square Grill, a restaurant in Portland, serves Juniper Grove Farm pork as well as cheese. These are the kinds of things that make Juniper Grove cheeses among the best artisan cheeses you'll find in the Pacific Northwest.

Juniper Grove Farms cheeses are available throughout the Northwest – in Portland at Elephant’s Deli, Pastaworks, New Seasons and at the Portland and Beaverton Farmer's Markets. In Seattle you can find Juniper Grove cheeses at Whole Foods, PCC Natural Markets and Madison Market, among other places.

Juniper Grove Farm
2024 SW 58th St.
Redmond, OR  97756
Farm Hours 8:30 – 6:30 Mon-Sat
(541) 923-8353

Update 1/07:  See Juniper Grove's new website here.

Comments

[jackie ahmmond-williams]

starting a mnew farmers market in oregon city. would love to have you and your products. it will be sat. 9-2, running from may 14th to end of sept. we are getting huge support from community and are determined to grow it into one of the best in the area.
$25 a day, $20 iof 4 or more signed in advance.
thanks. jackie hammond-williams 503 650-1020