Balfour Farm , a farmstead cheese producer and Real Maine member in Pittsfield, was awarded third-place honors in its category recently at this year’s American Cheese Society competition.
Balfour Farm’s Bevre, a spreadable cow’s milk cheese, took the white ribbon for “Farmstead Category- Aged Less Than 60 days, all Milks.” Competition winners were announced at the ACS annual conference. Judges assessed a record 1,596 products from 228 entrants.
“We are humbled that the judges recognized our creamery’s soft cheese with this award,” said Balfour Farm co-founder Heather Donahue. “All of our cheeses start with high-quality milk produced by our Normande cows. The care and attention of our farm staff in milking is continued in the cheese room by our cheesemaker, Olivia Field. This cheese is young and vibrant, carrying the terroir of the farm and the forages the cows are eating.”
Balfour Farm is one of two organic farmstead cow’s milk cheese producers in Maine. The farm milks between 12 and 20 Normande cows, a unique French breed that is prized for their rich milk and beef production. Donahue and her husband, Doug, who manages the cattle and forage program, debuted their first cheeses in 2011. In addition to Bevre, Balfour Farm also makes cave-aged raw milk cheeses, feta, and ripened and washed rind cheeses.
With its light texture, Heather Donahue suggests using Bevre as a substitute for cream cheese or as a dip for veggies or crackers. Made fresh weekly, it is packed in 8-ounce tubs when less than three days old.
