The town of Heath (population 706) is way off “the beaten path,” even in rural western Massachusetts.
Meredith lives only an hour’s drive from our shop but the last 5 miles or so are gravel road.
Meredith and her husband, Andrew Kurowski own a well known wild blueberry farm, The Benson Place, named after the family who settled there in the early 1800’s. The Benson family had 17 children!
The land, 38 acres, is protected from development for any use other than agriculture or conservation by a land trust. The trust also allows access for the general public to the trails on the property.
The area is called Burnt Hill (possibly because the Indians burned the fields every year to promote blueberry growth).
There is always a 2 week period in July when the road to their farm is busy with people coming to pick their own blueberries and to buy the ones already picked.
Their Home
The house where Meredith and her husband live with their children, Juniper and Satya is hidden by their magnificent pollinator garden in the summer.
When I arrived, Meredith’s daughter, Juniper was eager to show me the chevre she had made that morning.
There were other flavors on the table for me to sample. They were all outrageously delicious.
Meredith taught herself to make cheese, mainly with Mary Karlin’s Artisan Cheese Making at Home and Paul Kinstedt’s American Farmstead Cheese.
She got her goats 7 or 8 years ago. Her herd of 6 milkers (mostly Alpine) provide her with 4 gallons of milk per day.
She makes her chevre with 4 – 8 gallons of milk at a time. She cultures it for 24 hours and heats the milk to only 72F (which makes it lighter and creamier than when she heats it to 86F as some recipes suggest).
The morning of the interview, she was making Jack cheese (from the recipe on our website). She has adjusted her recipes for the goat milk by using less rennet and by cutting the curds a little larger, to make for a moister cheese.
In the summer, she uses the stove on the porch. In the winter, she uses the wood stove. Her dream is to someday have a room dedicated to cheese making.
Her favorite cheese to make is Cabecou (recipe from Artisan Cheese Making at Home). It lasts for months in the fridge and it makes a great gift. She had just made it when I arrived.
When she makes her Cabecou, she starts at 72F (instead of 76F), as she does with her chevre. She cultures it for 24 hours and drains it 8-12 hours. This makes for a lighter, creamier texture.
When making hard cheeses, she usually uses 10 gallons at a time. She finds she can save her milk for 2 days and make cheese on the third.
In the 8 years or so that she has been making cheese, she has made Alpine tomme, jack, cheddar, Romano, Asiago with black pepper, farmstead cheese, Gouda and Gruyere (once). She likes the washed-curd cheeses.
Her cave is a walk-in cooler in summer and a root cellar in fall, winter and spring.
She prefers to wax her cheese because she doesn’t have a dedicated aging space. Temperatures fluctuate in the root cellar, so she doesn’t dare to let the cheeses age with a natural rind.
Meredith dedicates one day a week to indoor activities – making cheese and doing her books. This provides a welcome break from the intensity of the farm.
Their Goats
While the culture was ripening the milk on the stove, we took a walk to the woods where the goats were spending the day, near the chicken coop. (A hawk had been attacking the chickens and the goats would help to keep it away.)
As we walked, the gardens seemed endless. The entire farm is a pollinator paradise.
When we got to the bottom of the hill, the chickens (over 400 of them) were hiding from the hawk in their coop.
The goats were busy, chomping on the foliage.
The bucks are kept in a separate area, until their services are required.
Back to the Pots
We hurried back to the house to add the rennet to the milk on the stove. (A cheese maker’s work is never done!)
As I was leaving, Meredith gave me a bottle of her famous Wild Blueberry Syrup. I had heard about it but never had the opportunity to try it. It was fabulous in my yogurt!
Meredith explained that their berries can be bought frozen at local co-ops and farm stands. They sell their organic free-range chickens and cut-up birds for pick-up at the farm (next batch in October). There is an order form at their website – click here.
The Benson Place
Meredith Wecker and Andrew Kurowski
182 Flagg Hill Road
PO Box 36, Heath, MA 01346
(413) 337-5340
info@bensonplace.org
Blake & Karyn Aasgaard says
Thank you Jeri & Meredith, for the delightful and inspirational tour.
Amanda Lockwood says
What a fabulous farm, you do very well to do so much! I love the sound of your blueberry syrup and your cheese looks amazing.
All the best from Australia, cheers Amanda
Carol R. Dee says
Meredith’s story echoes that of many of our local Homer, Alaska farmers, who have been striving to create sustainable food production for our small end-of-the-road community for a number of years. She would fit right in here! Cheers to her and to you for keeping it real!
Carol R. Dee
OMG the Chevre samples look absolutely to die for!! What a wonderful home you have. Thanks for sharing!
Meredith, thank you so much for sharing a piece of your journey with our readers. What you have taken on is huge and must be very rewarding. The land, your vision, the love you put into everything you do is highly commendable. You are offering visitors a peek at a grounded life style most people only dream of. You are teaching your children well, thank you for all you do in the world, and your dedication to a very integrated lifestyle.
In Peace, Love and Cheese,
Ricki
Meredith, your homestead is quite inspiring! I also live down a dirt road, in a log home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of SW Virginia.
Your cheese experience over 8 years dwarfs my own of only 1 year. But you have ready at your hand the goats delivering 4 gallons on milk a day. Fabulous!!! I VA drive 360 miles round trip to get 8 gallons of raw cow’s milk 10 minutes from the cow, warm and fresh and about 20% cream! I make cheese then the next two days, and I do this once a month.
Your pollenaters are quite prolific! Well done for the bee’s in season!
And the stove on the porch! Cool, to cook and make cheese out in the natural beauty of your land.
Well done, sister! Peace and cheese on!