Hendricks Farm Cheeses Franconia

[Hendricks Farms]

Breaking News!

Starting next week (maybe this weekend) a selection of our cheeses will be available a Di Bruno Bros on Chestnut St. Also next Friday 6/24 the cheesemaker will be at Di Bruno's over the lunch hour to talk cheese and hand out samples with reckless abandon. Thanks to all the kind words on this thread and a little publicity, we have an opportunity to introduce our cheese to Philadelphians. For those of you unable to visit the farm, this may be your next best option. If there are any questions or thoughts that we could weigh in on, please feel free to share.

Also exciting, we just broke ground today on our new cheesemaking facility one mile from our current farm. If there is any interest in regular reports or dialogue regarding this undertaking we would be open to sharing.

Thanks for all the support thus far, HF&D

[Kim WB]

never mind. carry on.

Edited June 17, 2005 by Kim WB (log)

[shacke]

Since, as it appears, all the cool kids are road trippin' out to Hendricks Farm, we decided to make the trip this afternoon as well.  While we're no cooler than we were before, we did managed to score some terrific cheeses.

First (pre-cheese) stop was at the Head House Square farmers market, for the berries and bread you see arranged so artfully around our pic-a-nic spread.  The cheeses, though, were the star of the show.  From left to right, we have:

Soudertoma: a firm goat cheese, a little salty, a little sweet, a little bit country, a little bit rock-n-roll.  B's favorite.

Aged Gouda: We'd tried the regular gouda, and it was okay- mild and kind of boring, i.e., par for the gouda ourse.  This has been aged for a year, I think, and there's definitely an improvement.  It's starting to dry out and develop a nice nuttiness around the rind.  It'd be interesting to see what these cheeses would be like if aged for three, four or more years.

Goadacious: This rocked my little world.  Pungent, oozing, awesome.  You know how a good goat cheese will have multiple textures: sort of chalky in the middle, but liquid on the outside?  I freaking love that, and this cheese has it in spades.  You can't really tell from the picture, unfortunately, but you can see how the rind is sort of collapsing into a cheesy spill of liquid deliciousness.  Aw yeah.

It is indeed very rustic, and as others have said, les artistes de fromage are super-nice and filled us up with lots of samples: they've got a great variety.  Prices, I thought, were very reasonable: we bought a lot of cheese for not much money at all.

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I go away for onnnne week and you road trip without us Fenton - you're a loner Dotty, a rebel.

Evan

[MarketStEl]

A belated report: Went over to DiBruno's Rittenhouse Square location a couple of weeks back to score some Hendricks Farms cheeses.

The Telford Reserve is a wonderful, slightly sweet Cheddar-style cheese with a lot of character. I'd still put the Noble a notch above it, but it is outstanding in its own right.

Is the Goadacious supposed to be runny? The cheese I bought at DiBruno's seemed a little firm, and not like the cheese described uptopic, though it had a great tangy flavor.

Hope to have a chance to try those blue varieties someday soon.

[glepore]

Is the Goadacious supposed to be runny?  The cheese I bought at DiBruno's seemed a little firm, and not like the cheese described uptopic, though it had a great tangy flavor.

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The Goadacious offered at the farm is usually at varying degrees of the aging process-it begins mostly firm, and gradually ages to a gooey, runny ultrapungent stinky cheese. Refrigeration tends to slow/stop the process.

[philadining]

We were happy to see that Majolica in Phoenixville is offering Hendricks Farm cheeses as their cheese course. My apologies, I lost track of which they were offering, and the three were a little too similar for an ideal cheeseplate, but the cheeses themselves were very good, and nicely presented.

[philadining]

Nice article about Hendricks Farms and the greater topic of artisinal cheesemaking In the Inky.

[MarketStEl]

Nice article about Hendricks Farms and the greater topic of artisinal cheesemaking In the Inky.

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Really nice! And it's also nice to see that their efforts are getting noticed by cheese connoisseurs beyond the region.

[cdh]

I stopped by the farm this Saturday to introduce an old friend who was visiting from New York to the pleasures of my local cheesemaker's efforts, and we wandered off with quite a haul that kept us cooking all weekend. Not only did we pick up some great cheeses, we also hauled home some goat shanks to braise. We'd initially thought to do lamb shanks, which the farm also had on offer, but when we found out that goat shanks were available, we changed course midstream and didn't look back. After a long braise in wine and stock and mirepoix, the goat came out meltingly tender. The braising liquid gelled solid around the leftovers, giving an idea of just how unctious the stuff came out. Have a look here for good goat photo.

Further news from Trent Hendricks is that the long planned move to another farm a few miles away is about to occur within the next couple of weeks. The new place is being built with more of an eye to both improving production methods and creating a more comprehensive retail space. Word has it that the new place is going to be heated significantly by system built around a woodburning oven, which means that breads will be added to the lineup, as well as smoked stuff. Charcuiterie is hopefully on the way as well.

Exciting plans are in the works, and I hope they all come together.

Edited October 4, 2005 by cdh (log)

[Hendricks Farms]

We cordially invite you all to visit our new farm and cheesemaking facility. Our hours are Monday thru Friday 10 am to 6 pm and Saturdays 9 am to 4 pm. Tours and samples always available. Special group tastings and tours upon request

[MarketStEl]

We cordially invite you all to visit our new farm and cheesemaking facility.  Our hours are Monday thru Friday 10 am to 6 pm and Saturdays 9 am to 4 pm.  Tours and samples always available.  Special group tastings and tours upon request

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A suggestion:

Make the URL in your .sig a live link, like the one to my blog in mine.

[Pensage]

Good afternoon.

I have it on good authority that Hendricks Farms and Dairy will be on a segment of Berks based Channel 69's "One Tank Trips" tonight at 5:30 & 10:30 pm, WFMZ Reading, PA or, for those that don't get it (Comcast Basic Cable channel 15) log onto www.wfmz.com for the next 24 hours to view the segment (after 7PM tonight).

For those that haven't been able to get out to Telford, a potentially good way for a quick little looksee at a local, artisinal craftsman.

Link To Segment http://wfmz.com/view/?id=52891

Edited January 25, 2007 by Pensage (log)

[cdh]

Just got Hendricks' latest email update, which indicates that their charcuterie project is moving along and they'll have cured meats available soon. That is exciting news if they demonstrate the same level of skills as they do at cheesemaking.

They're also planning a pre-Halloween Octoberfest event, which looks like it might be good fun and a chance to taste your way through what they make.

[HeatherRP]

Thanks to all of you, we've visited Hendricks twice in the last three weeks -- my four year old loves to watch the robot milker!

So far, we've sampled the Telford Tomme, the Pub Cheddar, hot Italian sausage, sausage with white wine and herbs, their amazing bacon, and some delicious maple syrup ice cream. I'm planning to pick up some raw milk the next time we head out there, and to work my way through the rest of the cheeses.

Everyone there has been so friendly and nice, and I'm thrilled to be able to patronize such a terrific local business.

[Laura Semmens]

The farm was very pleased to host Bob Del Grosso for visit yesterday; you can read all about his experience, including some fabulous photos at his blog:

http://ahungerartist.bobdelgrosso.com/2007...ilk-heaven.html

[cdh]

I stopped by yesterday and picked up some of their fresh sausage, which I made into lunch today. Two thumbs up for their brocolli rabe pork sausage! They were, however, low on their cheese supply, without any goat cheeses and also out of the cow pies.

[mrbigjas]

hendricks farms is now at the headhouse square farmer's market, for you philadelphians who can't make the trek to telford.

[rlibkind]

hendricks farms is now at the headhouse square farmer's market, for you philadelphians who can't make the trek to telford.

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Great news, James! I'll be there next Sunday now, for sure.

[TarteTatin]

Yes, certainly great news.

We bought two cheeses there today, and the bacon and raw milk.

Can't wait to indulge!

[LindaJ]

The Farm is having an Octoberfest on Oct 27. Info on the webpage at http://www.hendricksfarmsanddairy.com/9.html.

I only live about 10 min from Telford so I might check it out.

[Bobby 2 Shakes]

I was in Telford for a visit last week and one thing that impressed me about this place is how immaculately clean everything is. Also impressive is how the robot milker has a pathogen detector that stops the milk flow as soon as it detects any microbial troublemakers.

Trent Hendricks definitely has the fire in the belly and without question enjoys his work. It bodes well for us all that he's expanding his meat selection while still going strong with the dairy expansion. He's using wood in his stove that would normally end up in a landfill and would make Rube Goldberg jealous of his ingenuity at squeezing the utility out of every available thing.

Anyone starting a farm with sustainability in mind would do well to tap Trent for ideas he is only too happy to share.

Also, I made whipped cream when I got home, and I can't remember when I've ever tasted whipped cream like that before.

[mrbigjas]

i bought a quart of their raw milk last week. it tastes really... milky. i mean, it's noticeably strongly flavored. like milk, i mean.

if i liked to drink milk, i would be slugging this stuff back, even though it's kind of pricey at about $3/qt.

(edited to add: but i'm still buying it from now on. the boy seems to like it a lot.)

Edited October 5, 2007 by mrbigjas (log)

[KatieLoeb]

Bought a piece of Cheddar Blue at the Sunday Head House Market today. It's going to make an awesome grilled cheese and fig jam sandwich for lunch in a few minutes. Oh yeah.

[cdh]

The Farm is having an Octoberfest on Oct 27. Info on the webpage at http://www.hendricksfarmsanddairy.com/9.html.

I only live about 10 min from Telford so I might check it out.

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Did anybody go? I'd meant to, but realized I had other obligations in Manhattan that same evening. I'd bet it was good fun.

[LindaJ]

I would have gone, but for more pedestrian reasons.

The weather sucked. It was raining much of the day.

I still need to bring my niece there so she finally finds out that cheese comes from milk which comes from cows.