Kenny's Farmhouse Cheese

Tucked away in the rolling karst topography of southern Kentucky, Kenny Mattingly has quite the operation. When Beth and I caught up with him he was packing curds into molds that will age to become the Kentucky Rose cheese. They were on a tight schedule so we chatted over the cheese table, Kenny barely needing to look at what his hands were doing as years of practice led them along. 

Kenny's Cheese has been at the Bardstown Road Farmers Market since 1999, and the farm has been in the family for 38 years. Kenny spent a brief time away after college, exploring other career options before realizing that what he wanted to do was farm. His family had raised dairy cattle but Kenny wanted to explore a value-added product after seeing the financial struggles that came with selling milk. So he decided to try his hand at cheese making. Turns out - he found his niche. 

The delicious cheese that comes Kenny's is a product of good milk, and well-loved cows. Currently, they are milking 130 cows, and they are some happy ladies! We met these stars of the show as they were having a late lunch of fermented alfalfa hay and non-GMO corn silage which are grown on the farm. The cows are free to roam pastures most of the time but are brought in to the barn when weather conditions are extreme. 

There is a consistent lineup at the market of American and European style cheeses from Kenny's but there also seems to always be something new in the pipeline as well! The recent Pauline is named after Kenny's grandmother and this week at the market they will have fresh mozzarella and cream cheese, both only available for a limited time! If you have the chance, I absolutely encourage everyone to go visit. It is a beautiful farm and it was fascinating to see how cheese making works!