In my quest to make some cheese memories a little closer to home, I sought out nearby creameries that might let a couple of city kids take a look around. I found two such places in New Jersey that required no appointments or special arrangements and are conveniently located between Philly and New York. I’ll be sharing a bit about both of them, but today we’ll take a look at Bobolink Dairy and Bakehouse, a place with a fascinating and beautifully implemented philosophy about the lives of cows.
I love city life. Tall buildings, bustling streets, people-watching and access to the arts are things that fulfill me. That said, I don’t mind if I do have the occasional slice of big, blue sky, and our trip to Jersey was full of bucolic wonder. If you aren’t from New Jersey, chances are you have a stereotype or two in your head. Perhaps a factory spewing toxic clouds, a certain mafia boss, or debauched and clueless behavior happening on or near the beach of the Atlantic coast? Well, I’m not from Jersey, but I did live there for a short while and work there for a long while and I can strongly attest to the stereotypes not holding much water. Certainly, all of those things exist, but so much of the state is farmland and forest and other interesting landscapes that it makes a great escape when awe at skyscrapers gives way to anger at crowds, stench and claustrophobia.
Bobolink is a family operation located in Milford, NJ. Mom bakes the bread and pop makes the cheese. We did a tasting of the cheeses and breads, bought a lot of both and then went on a tour, led by Tobias, son of the baker and cheesemaker duo and Ambria, an intern farmer who helps tend the herd. It was pretty amazing, and not just because that blue sky can make an urbanite dizzy.
We followed the path that the cows themselves take to get to their grazing grounds. Bobolink takes its mantra seriously, the cows never go inside. They have a gully to protect them in the winter, formed by water runoff from the less than stellar agricultural practices of the farm’s previous owners. There are multiple herds of cows, each set-up to let the cows live their most natural life. There are old cows (no insult intended) who teach the young ones everything, from which grasses are best to eat, to how to behave appropriately. These cows have horns! I’m embarrassed to say that it didn’t occur to me to wonder why cows don’t have horns when we see them in photos and stuff. Turns out they have them removed so that they don’t damage themselves,their neighbor cows or farm property when they’re kept in pens. Since these ladies live outside, it’s important that they keep their horns for self defense against predators.
All in all, the Bobolink philosophy is one that intends to let cows be cows. Human intervention is minimal. Cows are milked only once a day and when it’s time to give birth, they do it pretty independently. The staff mentioned that it’s not uncommon to come to the fields in the morning and find new baby calves. Once the babies are born, the elders teach them how to become adult cows. Kinda seems like the way it should be, doesn’t it?
If you live near Milford, I highly recommend checking it out: It’s five bucks! From Philly, it’s about an hour and 20 minute drive, no public transport available. If you don’t live in the area, I highly recommend seeking out and supporting businesses that are trying to restore balance to our agricultural system.
Bobolink offers these tours year round on Saturdays and Sundays. I was in no way compensated to recommend this. Bobolink doesn’t know I exist, to my knowledge! I truly respect their respect for the cow way of life.
Enjoy your lazy Sunday!
This post is part of a series on cheese. We’ll do some how-tos for stuff you can reasonably make at home and visit some local spots around Philly for great cheese. I’ll also share a few personal memories about cheese. Of all the ferments I love, cheese is definitely the one to which I’m most viscerally connected. I hope you enjoy my flights of sensory memory. Vegan and paleo readers: do not despair! I’ll be featuring a how-to you can love this week! And then we’re off cheese for a while, so most things’ll be for you too, as they always are.
Becky says
This definitely sounds like cheese I want to eat. And bread too. What a great place!