Local Sheep's Milk Cheese

I've recently returned from the farmer's market in town where the crowd was jubilant, children carried balloons, cups of Ontario fruit were handed out, I had 2 strong mugs of Creemore bird friendly coffee and I chatted with all the vendors in that free flowing Saturday morning way that makes me sound like I've lived in the hills for all my life. I came away with a large perfectly formed cauliflower sheathed in a green leafy embrace, a quart of wild blueberries, a harvest loaf of bread, 6 Ontario peaches and cream corn, a pint of grape tomatoes, a quart of sugar snap peas, a bundle of fresh garlic and a jar of garlic dill pickles. I also bought 200 g of sheep's milk feta from a delightful fellow named Philip Collman.

Philip and his wife Stephanie Diamant run a farm called Milky Way Farm located in Shelburne Ontario and they are cheese makers who only use sheep milk. Sheep milking is an ancient practice and more sheep are milked than cows worldwide. Sheep's milk is packed with more nutrients than both cow and goat milk due to it's density and is also higher in protein, minerals and vitamins. I've tried several of Philip's cheeses because my mother is also a fan and these are several of my favourite: fresh cheese (akin to a Balkan style yogurt, wonderful with a stirring of fresh preserves or local maple syrup), white mould cheese layered with ash (quite mild like a new camembert), feta (as pictured above, a crumbly creamy texture like the finest greek sheep's feta), and a stunning raw milk hard cheese (aged 60 days and comparable to a Spanish manchego cheese, excellent with a chutney and a nutty cracker).

Anyone interested in learning more about sheep milk products in Ontario can look here.