So many ways to say cheese

Greenwood Lake’s Lakeside Farmers Market welcomed Jersey Girl Cheese to its growing farmers market vendors on Saturday, Aug. 12, at its weekly venue at Winstanley Park on Windermere Avenue.

The Branchville Dairy Farm in Sussex County, N.J., home to the Jersey Girl brand, has been specializing in gourmet cheese production for the last several years under the watchful eye of founder James Cuneo.

Jersey Girl Cheese, named after the variety of “Jersey” cows that populate the farm, makes a wide menu of cheeses. During a recent visit to the Lakeside Farmers Market, Jersey Girl rep Colleen Hobaugh described many of the fresh and aged cheeses that can be found there.

“About five years ago James teamed up with a cheese maker and started doing southern Italian cheeses,” Hobaugh said. ”We even have our own cheese aging cave on site at the farm where we age all the cheeses and then we also have a cheese room where we do the fresh cheeses.

“The cheese cave, located in the side of a hill on the farm, naturally maintains a steady cool temperature and humidity year round,” continued Colleen, “which makes it great for visiting in hot summer months.”

Both fresh cheese and aged cheese on the menu

Fresh Mozzarella: Offered in two different 12 oz. sizes; it’s the same amount of cheese but they just like to give people an option;

Ricotta: Made with fresh goat cheese; plus they also do aged goat cheese which is really lovely;

Burrata: Created with a mozzarella casing and then inside of it is cheese curds and cream that they import from Italy, so when you open it kind of oozes with really nice rich cheese;

Scamorza: an aged dry, mild Mozzarella that’s aged for one week;

Caciovallo: Made with a mild sharpness and aged for three months;

Roma: A very light fresh tasting cow’s milk that melts really nicely but doesn’t burn and stays white and is also sliceable; similar to provolone;

Asiago Fresco: A smooth, nutty cheese that’s been aged for three months;

Farmhouse Toma: A buttery, earthy cheese that’s been aged for five months; and

Feta: Made from cow’s milk and aged for one week.

Many of their cheeses have a different seasonings added for a more unique flavor, like black pepper, garlic, peppers or seasonal herbs. One customer stopped by to learn about what types of fresh mozzarella were available, then hurried over to nearby produce vendor, J&A Farms, to grab some tomatoes and fresh basil.

The Lakeside Farmers Market is available every Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and features many vendors of fresh produce, prepared foods, bakeries, crafty breweries, orchards, and distilleries. Professional massage therapists and providers of children’s clothing and crafts are available as well.

For more information, visit Villageofgreenwoodlake.org/lakeside-farmers-market.