Ira came to cheesemaking later in life after a series of different careers and it sure seems like he has found his passion. After a move from Long Island to Massachusetts about five years ago, Ira was at a crossroads in terms of what to do with himself career wise. By a stroke of luck, he apprenticed under the founder of Berkshire Blue and former publisher of the Berkshire Eagle newspaper, Michael Miller. Working on increasing the distribution of the unique, quintessentially American and utterly fabulous blue for approximately a year, Ira learned that Michael was considering closing up shop for good as he was getting older. This gave Ira an opportunity of a lifetime -- he bought the business from Michael. To this day though Michael is still involved -- transporting the Jersey Cow's milk to the cheesemaking facilities yet the business is now distinctly Ira's.
Ira was asked by a member of our group if he had any experience in cheesemaking previously and what he said which I thought was so poignant is that "He loved how it tasted.." And that's why and how he gave the cheese business a shot. Talking to Ira, you can feel his passion for this blue and his cheese business and it is just incredibly inspiring. Look at what one man can do!
Three rooms of cheesemaking facilities are the space that Berkshire Blue currently calls home. Room One has three vats that house anywhere from sixty to eighty gallons of milk. As the milk is cooked there are three starter molds and two different blues added to the process. This is the room where the cheeses are made. Room Two is the drainage room and the third room is the brining and aging room. In these three rooms, Ira makes anywhere from 175 to 300 pounds of cheese weekly with the help of just one assistant.
The cheese is crafted with unpasteurized Jersey cow's milk and aged for exactly sixty days. In the third aging room one could see the different batches of cheeses and how far along in their aging process they were.
Everything at Berkshire Blue is done by Ira and the taste and flavor of the cheese reflects the love and care that goes into each and every round created. Truly handmade, this cheese does Massachusetts proud. If you have not had the opportunity to sample Berkshire Blue, I highly recommend going to Saxelby Cheese or Murray's or even some of the Whole Foods around town to get a morsel.
The cheese itself is creamy and luscious with a nice blue spicy bite -- the perfect marriage of milky creaminess, blue-ness, and saltiness. Great served alone with a glass of Riesling or a port or in salads, melted on top of eggs -- this is one versatile cheese!
What a great visit!
Thank you Ira for taking the time on a Sunday morning to show us all around.
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