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Following his sheep herd in from the field with a week-old lamb under one arm, Kevin Henslee definitely looks like a farmer in jeans and muddy boots. But when he talks, it’s easy to picture him at his day job teaching sixth-grade science at Claggett Middle School in Medina.
“Sheep milk cheeses are more easily digestible for people, as the protein chains are shorter and the fat globules are smaller,” says Kevin, co-owner of Yellow House Cheese, a small-production sheep farm and creamery.
Kevin and his wife, Kristyn Henslee, both grew up around agriculture in Medina County. In 2002, they bought 4 1/2 acres of former orchard land in Seville in the hope of launching their own agricultural business. They discovered an opening in the market for sheep dairies, with less than 100 in the U.S.
Kristyn took a sheep dairy seminar at Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute, and they converted the property to support a herd of 30-some sheep and an on-site creamery where they made blue cheese from raw sheep’s milk. Kristyn says there was a lot of trial and error in the complicated cheesemaking process, which takes about four hours after the animals are milked, not counting months of aging.
“Different cheeses are made by changing temperatures, cultures, curd size, size of the wheel of cheese and how the cheese is aged,” she says.
They’ve added 22 more acres about 5 miles from their home to support about 200 animals and expand their offerings to lamb, pork, and poultry that are all raised to exacting standards Kevin learned from his grandfather, who bred hogs and cattle. They now produce about 12 varieties of both sheep- and cow-based cheeses. One of the most popular is also Kevin’s fave: Guilford.
“I like those funky, really strong, flavorful cheeses,” he says of the cheeses that can be found at Medina Farmers Market and local restaurants.
The scientist in Kevin is always curious about what’s new in cheesemaking, which led him to begin experimenting with Aspergillus oryzae — aka koji, the mold used to make sake and miso in Japan.
“It’s just being adapted and applied to foods in the U.S.,” he says. “It accelerates aging, breaking things down faster and changing flavors. There’s not a lot of dairy products in Asian cultures, so koji applied to cheese is a relatively new practice.”
Innovating a new process appeals to both the farmer and teacher in Kevin.
“I like things that are authentic, knowing somebody did this thing start to finish,” he says. “The whole thing is one big science project.”
9733 Wooster Pike, Seville, 330-769-9733, Yellowhousecheese.com
3 More Farm-Made Products
Stutzman Farms: Millersburg Whole-grain flours, puffed cereals, granola, sprouted grains, sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables, honey, coconut oil and vinegar
Pickle Patch Acres: Sold at Countryside Farmers’ Market at Howe Meadow in PeninsulaFruit butters, and berry-based jams and spreads
Hartzler Farm Wooster: Nonhomogenized whole and 2 percent milk, butter, ice cream, whole-milk eggnog, seasonal strawberry milk and non-GMO string cheese
5 Farmers Markets
Central Market: Green Central Park, July 12- Sept. 27, Tuesdays, 3:30-7 p.m.
Hudson Farmers Market: Village Green, June 1-Oct. 5, Saturdays, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Haymaker Farmers’ Market: Kent Franklin Avenue between Main and Summit streets, May-October, Saturdays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Stow Community Farmers Market: Stow Community United Church of Christ parking lot, June 8-Oct. 5, Saturdays, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Tallmadge Farmers Market: Tallmadge Recreation Center parking lot, June 13-Oct. 17, Thursdays, 4-7 p.m.
