Hello. My name is Caylee Imes and I’m a Juniata County dairy maid. Dairy products are the main source of calcium in most people’s diet, and cheese is a great one that you can add to just about any meal or snack. According to the USDA website, the United States produces 29% of the world’s cheese and within the U.S., Pennsylvania ranks in the top 10 in the nation in cheese production.

Natural cheese is made from four basic ingredients: milk, salt, a good bacteria and rennet. Cheesemakers then add other ingredients and use different aging processes to make all the different kinds of cheeses that we love. Cheese comes in eight basic kinds: blue, hard, pasta filata, processed, semi-hard, semi-soft, soft and fresh, and soft-ripened.

Cheese Culture Magazine lists Pennsylvania as having more raw milk cheese makers than any other state. The Pennsylvania Cheese Guild even has a Pennsylvania Cheese Trail for cheese lovers, with several stops not too far away from Juniata County. You can check out their map at https://pacheeseguild.org/

pa-cheese-trail-map/ and visit one (or more) of the places on the list to enjoy some cheese fresh from the farm.