Member of the Week 9/5/2022 -- BoBell Cheese Company
Considered a farmstead creamery, BoBell Cheese Company uses milk from their own cows and their beef cattle are born and raised on the farm. They specialize in the production of artisanal cheese and beef products. With a focus on quality, their cheese is made in small batches by hand using traditional old world methods. Their mission is to produce high-quality farmstead cheese and beef in an ethical, sustainable manner while providing supreme freshness and flavor to their customers.
THE FARM
The family farm has been in operation since 1942. The Boss Farm covers about 600 acres with corn, soybean and hay fields. Their herd consists of about 100 BoBell Registered Holsteins for dairy production and 30 beef cattle.
In 2013, the farm converted to a robotic milking system where the cows determine how often they need to be milked.
“Some cows come up six times a day. Sometimes, if they aren’t giving much milk they come up once or twice,” Brandon Mowrer, Herdsman said.
As opposed to a parlor setting, everything is automatic and no one is pushing the cows. With a parlor, they were producing about 70 pounds of milk and since the switch to the robotic system, they are averaging 80-90 pounds.
MAKING THE CHEESE
The process of making the cheese starts in the wee-hours of the morning. Their handcrafted cheeses are made using an old-world style.
To make raw milk cheese, Mowrer begins by gathering the milk for the morning and can make 200 pounds of raw milk cheese or 30 pounds of pasteurized cheese in the creamery. Typically, when he begins the cheese-making process the milk is less than a couple of hours old and by the time the cheese is finished, it’s about 6 hours old. Given the tight production timeline, the milk is never cooled and remains warm straight from the cow until the cheese is complete.
Cheese is made once or twice a week and the excess licensed Grade A milk is shipped to Dairymen’s Bottling plant in Cleveland, which means you could be drinking milk from their farm! All of the cheese is packaged onsite in the packing room. Other than the fresh cheese, all of the cheese is aged in the cave for at least 60 days.
Automation does not exist in the cheese-making process for BoBell. Every wheel is handmade. The cave must remain a certain temperature and humidity controlled. Every wheel of cheese is hand-washed every day during the aging process.
At BoBell Cheese Company, every wheel of cheese is handmade using milk from cows raised on their farm.
Chipotle Jack
Cloverbelle
Killbuck Jack
PRODUCTS
Standard Holiday Bundle
BoBell Cheese Company sells its products direct from the farm in Burbank and wholesale to local restaurants and co-ops in Ohio. Locally, the Oaks Lakeside is one of the restaurants serving BoBell Cheese products at their establishment. They offer a variety of cheeses including Chipotle Jack - a semi-hard raw cow’s milk cheese, with deep, rich and smoky flavor, Cloverbelle - is mild and semi-firm with a seet butter flavor, Gearhart - is a gouda style cheese, and Killbuck Jack - is a Monterey Jack style. Their Fromage Blanc is a freshly made spreadable option that likens itself to cream cheese and is available in a Garlic & Herb option as well. The cheese curds are available in original cheddar and chipotle cheddar.
Their Holiday Boxes make great gifts for friends and family or for businesses looking to gift local products to employees. A Holiday Box includes: A wedge of cheese, a package of BoBell beef sticks, a container of cheese curds, a container of Fromage Blanc and a BoBell cheese knife.
Beef can be purchased as individual cuts or in bulk beef boxes. This can range from a monthly subscription box to ordering whole, halves and quarters of beef. All of their beef is born and raised on The Boss Farm.
TO PLACE AN ORDER
Place your order by visiting www.bobellcheesecompany.com/products. They will deliver within a 25 mile radius from their farm at 13655 Gearhart Road Burbank, OH 44214. Their products can also be found at the Farmers Market of Medina County from April through September and at Local Roots in Wooster. BoBell Cheese supplies products as a part of The Modern Milkman with their cheeses and cheese curds available through a subscription.
Fromage Blanc
Beef Bundle