Kunik is a mold-ripened goats' milk cheese spiked with fresh Jersey cow cream. Kunik is made in small batches at Nettle Meadow Farm in the Adirondack Mountains. When young, Kunik has the texture of cold butter, and is light, tangy, and similar to crème-fraîche in flavor. As it ripens, it becomes more supple, loose, and gamey, as the goat cheese flavors becoming more assertive. Pairs well with an earthy stout or meaty cabernet franc. Lovely with figs, pears, chutney, or honey.
Warrensburg, NY
In 2005, owners Sheila Flanagan and Lorraine Lambiase made the trek from Oakland, California to Thurman, New York, with a motley crew in the back of their Honda Element. They knew that cold winters, lots (and lots!) of nettle bushes, and long nights laid ahead, but each knew it would be worth it to fulfill their animal sanctuary and cheesemaking dreams.
When we got to New York, our days blurred together as we got our life in order, still somehow managing to make cheese in a tiny kitchen the way we were doing it in Oakland. We tested recipes and flavors, eventually nailing our now award-winning chèvre recipe (we even won an award for our Honey Lavender Fromage Blanc that same year)!
We transformed the original farm house on the property to be cheese production facility, which grew and changed we did. We learned a lot, bumped into each other often, grew our team, bumped into each other even more, but loved being so close to our true mission: the animals.