No Reason to be Shy about Shy Brothers Farm

As some of you may know, I am a featured blogger for the Boston Local Food Festival, which is taking place on October 2, 2010.  This blog post is also published on the festival blog page.

Way back in February, I attended a really lovely dining event at L’Espalier.  One Tuesday a month, L’Espalier hosts a four course meal incorporating cheese to each plate along with a different wine pairing for each dish.  On the night I attended, L’Espalier focused on local New England cheeses with a few of the cheeses coming from Shy Brothers Farm.  After that evening, I was immediately a convert and became addicted to their lovely Hannahbell cheeses.  In fact, I loved them so much that my fiancé included them in our picnic when he proposed to me! 

As you can tell, I’m a huge fan of Shy Brothers Farm and I was happy to hear that they would be participating in the upcoming Boston Local Food Festival.  I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to chat with one of the partners, Barbara Hanley, about this local gem and she was so happy to share a lot of great information.

First of all, could you please tell me about the history of Shy Brothers Farm.  When did the farm start operating and who are the "shy brothers"?

The farm itself is owned by Santos brothers Karl and Kevin, Norman and Arthur, two sets of twins, who are [third] generation dairymen.  They milk 120 Holstein and Ayrshire cows, and have a great reputation with other farmers.  They are, however, extremely shy, so they are more mythical than well-known among Westporters in general.  We created the cheese company, Shy Brothers Farm, in 2006 as a way for the dairy farm to become sustainable and thrive, rather than just barely eke out a living commodity milk prices. 

Can you tell me more about the delightful Hannahbells® that Shy Brothers Farm produces?  

Hannahbells® are individually molded thimbles of cheese that Karl makes by hand.  We found the recipe [and] techniques in the Burgundy region of France.  They’re made extremely slowly, which is why at [ten] days they have the complex flavor profile of an aged cheese.  Most cheeses convert from milk in a couple of hours; ours take five days.  

What are some of the Hannahbells® flavors? 

The classic French with no herbs, Shallot, Rosemary, and Lavender.  We make Chipotle, Mint & Basil, Carrot & Ginger, and others to order.

Any suggestions on how to serve them? 

Well, they can literally be eaten like popcorn, but they melt beautifully. They combine well with sweet and savory.  For example, a Hawaiian pizza with Hannahbells® becomes a gourmet dish.  They can be rolled in chipped peppermint candy, nuts, or chocolate.  My husband makes a scallop dish with squid pasta, Shallot Hannahbells® and lemon zest that is crazy good.

I've been lucky enough to taste the cloumage cheese.  It really is one of a kind.  What makes it so special? 

I’m hooked on Cloumage™.   It’s different because it also is made extremely slowly, taking four days rather than an hour or so.  When that happens, the quality and character of the milk really comes through.  The Shy Brothers’ cows are pasture fed, and the grass is affected by the sea air and salt.  You know, “terroir.”  Machines don’t make cheese; the environment makes cheese.

In addition to producing local cheese, I understand that Shy Brothers Farm has a strong commitment to bringing awareness to local farming and local food.  Can you tell me a little more about this? 

Well, [my husband] Leo and I, as well as the Shy Brothers, believe very strongly that the history and culture of Southern New England are at stake.  If a farm is protected from development but is only being used to cut hay, the farmer can barely pay his taxes.  So why not turn each farm into its own economic engine?  Attract young people back to the land? This real protection is happening in Westport, slowly but surely.  Our cheese company is small and we’ve already created a couple of new jobs.  The farms of our region are an incredible unused resource and just need re-envisioning. In fact, Shy Brothers Farm will be breaking ground in about six months to add a cheesehouse facility on the farm that will have a zero net carbon footprint.  The existing barn will be retrofitted and combined with a new barn and new cheesehouse that will all completely rely on sun, wind, and groundwater energy.  This is the first of its kind in the country.

This is great to hear!  Finally, where can our hungry readers find Shy Brothers Farm cheeses in the greater Boston area?  

The Hannahbells® are in several Whole Foods, coming to Fresh Market in Hingham, and are in specialty stores like Dave’s Fresh Pasta in Somerville and Verrill Farm in Concord.  If you don’t see them, please ask for them.  It would be a huge help if people would try Hannahbells® and Cloumage™.  We are currently only using the milk of about [eight] cows, and have to grow 15-fold to stabilize the farm.  Cloumage™ is just being introduced in retail packaging, so if it’s asked for, stores will bring it in.

You can also find our cheese at different area restaurants like Henrietta’s Table (Cambridge), Back Eddy (Westport),  Beacon Hill Hotel and Bistro (Boston), Sofra Bakery (Cambridge) and Armsby Abbey (Worcester).  For a complete list of where you can find our cheeses, please check here.

And we’ll be at the Boston Local Food Festival on October 2, introducing Fiore di Nonna’s new mozzarella made with our milk.  A lot of folks don’t realize that the whiteness of mozzarella comes from zinc oxide, the pigment of white paint.  It’s inert and harmless, but why do we need that?  We’re really looking forward to this day, and think the folks working on the Boston Local Market are heroes!

To find out more information about Shy Brothers Farm, check out their website here.

 All photo credits to Barbara Hanley.