The milk used for Milton Creamery cheese is produced on small, local, Amish farms where God, family and traditional ways are very important. Holstein and Jersey cows are grazed on pasture in season, and in the winter they are fed stored feeds. The cows in these herds are not treated with RBST. They are milked by hand, most often involving the whole family. The milk is then cooled in tanks and shipped via truck to Milton Creamery.

When the milk arrives at Milton Creamery, creamery employees pasteurize it at 145 degrees or more for at least 30 minutes. They then cool the milk to 90 degrees and filter it one last time as it goes into the 5000-pound cheese vat. The culture and vegetarian rennet is added, stirred in, and left to set. When the set is thick enough (like yogurt), we use cheese harps to cut it into quarter inch particles. This is called cutting the curd. The curd is then stirred and cooked.

Next, employees rake back the curd and drain the whey. The curds are left to mat together. The curds are cut into blocks and turned until the PH level is right. Slabs are put through the curd mill. The milled curds are put back in the vat to be salted and stirred. At this point if curds are being made, they are bagged and distributed. If cheese is being made, they are put in 40 lb. hoops and pressed at 40 psi for a minimum of 4 hours. Finally after 7 hours of labor, it is time to clean up. After removing the cheese from the hoops, it is vacuum packed and put in wooden boxes in the aging room.

Prairie Breeze is in the aging room for a minimum of nine months. Prairie Rose, which is uncovered so it can form it’s own natural rind, ages at least four months.