Lively Run Goat Dairy
Maria Cassano
Lively Run Goat Dairy A Cheese Haven in Upstate New York
The following are words typically associated with New York: Concrete, lights, pizza, skyscrapers, fughettaboutit, subway, fashion, hotdogs... Family-run goat cheese farm—not so much. We headed past the city and up toward the Finger Lakes last weekend for some fresh air and good food. Our ultimate destination was the quaint college town of Ithaca, New York, home to both Ithaca College and Cornell University. But a mere 30 minutes away, we found a hospitable little homestead that was more than happy to show us around. Lively Run Goat Dairy is owned and operated by the Messmer family, and every step of their cheese-making process is done right there on the property. The Messmers took over the farm in 1995, but it’s been up and running since it opened in 1982. Susanne Messmer was kind enough to give us a tour of the factory, where the goat cheese is made by hand and in small batches. She was extremely nice and beyond knowledgeable while she led us through each room of the factory, explaining everything from pasteurization to aging. A quick (and, in comparison, very inferior) overview of the cheese-making process from a non-expert such as myself: first the milk is collected from the goats, and then it’s pasteurized at low temperatures in vats to preserve the natural vitamins and enzymes. Then the cheese is inoculated with cultures and is left to coagulate for a bit before it’s drained, cut, and/or placed into molds. Lastly, if producing a harder cheese that requires aging, it’s transported to a cold, dry room where it can be left undisturbed for a long period of time. Above, that’s Rosalie in the aging room where the cheese matures on wooden boards before it’s packaged up and sent out to stores and restaurants in the surrounding area. After the tour, Susanne took us to meet (and pet, and photograph, and pet, and remove the edges of our clothing from the mouths of, and pet) the baby goats. This was inarguably the best part, and—fun fact—we learned that goats are herd animals, so if you move from one end of the pen to the other, they’ll stick to you like one huge, grounded, cartoon-raincloud of fluff. We also learned that goats have rectangular pupils because, when out in the wild, they’re hunted as prey. The rectangular shape allows for a wider panorama of vision. Yeah, science! Once we had managed to remove ourselves from the goat pen without any of our new pintsized apostles tagging along, we met up with Susanne’s son and the farm’s head cheese-maker, Pete
Messmer. We set up a few chairs in the last bit of dying sunlight by the barn, and Rosalie took a couple minutes to assemble her film equipment. Caroline then conducted a great interview with Pete (which is currently in the editing process, and will be up on our page as soon as we’re finished with it). Pete’s passion for his work saturated every last comment he made about the farm and the product his family creates. He told us about how he’s been working in the cheese room since the age of twelve, ever since his parents bought the farm. All throughout middle and high school, Pete spent his nights and weekends learning the craft, and eventually he went away to college—but his love for food and the artisanal process pulled him right back after graduation. He’s been the head cheesemaker since 2011, and is now looking for an assistant with whom he can share the skills of his trade. “It’s really important to us that the goats are raised in a humane way, so that they’re happy animals,” Pete told us. “There’s the animal welfare component, but also from a cheese-making standpoint, it makes a huge difference in the taste and the individuality of flavors. We’re really enthusiastic about people coming to our farm so we can show them around and let them pet the goats; it showcases how passionate we are, not only about the cheese, but about caring for our animals.” When the interview ended and we were all sufficiently shivery, we headed inside the storefront for the last (and most eagerly awaited) part of our tour: the cheese tasting. Susanne let us try several different selections of Lively Run’s homemade goat cheese, making sure to explain the techniques, ingredients, and qualities that are unique to each one. My own personal favorite was the Fine Herbs Chèvre, of which I bought several ounces and put on everything from eggs to crackers over the next week. So if you’re anywhere near the Finger Lakes of New York, definitely stop in to this welcoming little farm to meet Susanne, Steve, and Pete Messmer— because, while they’re admittedly the only goat farmers we know, that shouldn’t discredit their title as the friendliest. We sincerely loved the tour and our goat-petting session, and the Messmers offer both of these opportunities to all of their visitors, almost every weekend. This farm is one of the several businesses in upstate New York that helps to promote local food sourcing and a strong sense of community, and because of that (in accordance with the fact that their cheese is some pretty delicious stuff) Lively Run Goat Dairy deserves the support of locals and guests alike.
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Lively Run Goat Dairy A Cheese Haven in Upstate New York
The following are words typically associated with New York: Concrete, lights, pizza, skyscrapers, fughettaboutit, subway, fashion, hotdogs... Family-run goat cheese farm—not so much. We headed past the city and up toward the Finger Lakes last weekend for some fresh air and good food. Our ultimate destination was the quaint college town of Ithaca, New York, home to both Ithaca College and Cornell University. But a mere 30 minutes away, we found a hospitable little homestead that was more than happy to show us around. Lively Run Goat Dairy is owned and operated by the Messmer family, and every step of their cheese-making process is done right there on the property. The Messmers took over the farm in 1995, but it’s been up and running since it opened in 1982. Susanne Messmer was kind enough to give us a tour of the factory, where the goat cheese is made by hand and in small batches. She was extremely nice and beyond knowledgeable while she led us through each room of the factory, explaining everything from pasteurization to aging. A quick (and, in comparison, very inferior) overview of the cheese-making process from a non-expert such as myself: first the milk is collected from the goats, and then it’s pasteurized at low temperatures in vats to preserve the natural vitamins and enzymes. Then the cheese is inoculated with cultures and is left to coagulate for a bit before it’s drained, cut, and/or placed into molds. Lastly, if producing a harder cheese that requires aging, it’s transported to a cold, dry room where it can be left undisturbed for a long period of time. Above, that’s Rosalie in the aging room where the cheese matures on wooden boards before it’s packaged up and sent out to stores and restaurants in the surrounding area. After the tour, Susanne took us to meet (and pet, and photograph, and pet, and remove the edges of our clothing from the mouths of, and pet) the baby goats. This was inarguably the best part, and—fun fact—we learned that goats are herd animals, so if you move from one end of the pen to the other, they’ll stick to you like one huge, grounded, cartoon-raincloud of fluff. We also learned that goats have rectangular pupils because, when out in the wild, they’re hunted as prey. The rectangular shape allows for a wider panorama of vision. Yeah, science! Once we had managed to remove ourselves from the goat pen without any of our new pintsized apostles tagging along, we met up with Susanne’s son and the farm’s head cheese-maker, Pete
Messmer. We set up a few chairs in the last bit of dying sunlight by the barn, and Rosalie took a couple minutes to assemble her film equipment. Caroline then conducted a great interview with Pete (which is currently in the editing process, and will be up on our page as soon as we’re finished with it). Pete’s passion for his work saturated every last comment he made about the farm and the product his family creates. He told us about how he’s been working in the cheese room since the age of twelve, ever since his parents bought the farm. All throughout middle and high school, Pete spent his nights and weekends learning the craft, and eventually he went away to college—but his love for food and the artisanal process pulled him right back after graduation. He’s been the head cheesemaker since 2011, and is now looking for an assistant with whom he can share the skills of his trade. “It’s really important to us that the goats are raised in a humane way, so that they’re happy animals,” Pete told us. “There’s the animal welfare component, but also from a cheese-making standpoint, it makes a huge difference in the taste and the individuality of flavors. We’re really enthusiastic about people coming to our farm so we can show them around and let them pet the goats; it showcases how passionate we are, not only about the cheese, but about caring for our animals.” When the interview ended and we were all sufficiently shivery, we headed inside the storefront for the last (and most eagerly awaited) part of our tour: the cheese tasting. Susanne let us try several different selections of Lively Run’s homemade goat cheese, making sure to explain the techniques, ingredients, and qualities that are unique to each one. My own personal favorite was the Fine Herbs Chèvre, of which I bought several ounces and put on everything from eggs to crackers over the next week. So if you’re anywhere near the Finger Lakes of New York, definitely stop in to this welcoming little farm to meet Susanne, Steve, and Pete Messmer— because, while they’re admittedly the only goat farmers we know, that shouldn’t discredit their title as the friendliest. We sincerely loved the tour and our goat-petting session, and the Messmers offer both of these opportunities to all of their visitors, almost every weekend. This farm is one of the several businesses in upstate New York that helps to promote local food sourcing and a strong sense of community, and because of that (in accordance with the fact that their cheese is some pretty delicious stuff) Lively Run Goat Dairy deserves the support of locals and guests alike.
2
