The demand for Valley Shepherd Creamery’s cheese is so strong it can barely be met. Its inventory of more than 25 cheeses is produced following old-style European methods – followed to such an extent that when the cheesemakers wanted to construct a cave that would replicate the traditional cheese-aging atmosphere of a cavern or abbey dungeon, they blasted into the side of a hill on their farm.
From the beginning husband-and-wife Eran and Debra Wajswol wanted to create a truly sustainable farm. Today all of the ingredients for their cheeses come from their 120-acre farm in Morris County, NJ, most notably the sheep’s milk that’s produced by hundreds of the farm’s ewes.
Not bad for two people with degrees in engineering and no farming background. The Wajswol’s first foray into farming took place with the raising of beef cattle on a small parcel of land in Hunterdon County. They raised cows and then sheep before deciding to learn the art of cheese-making in the styles they had experienced while traveling throughout Europe. After about eight years of experimenting and visiting European cheesemakers, Eran and Debra finally released for sale their "Oldwick Shepherd,” a Pyrenees-style, cave-ripened cheese made from raw sheep’s milk.
The farmers also sell yogurt, fresh sheep’s milk and lamb in their on-site Sheep Shoppe, as well as in dozens of farmers’ markets throughout New Jersey and New York. In 2010 they also opened the Valley Shepherd Creamery store in SoHo.
50 Fairmount Road
Long Valley, NJ 07853
(908) 876-3200
www.valleyshepherd.com
