Master Cheesemaker Scott Fletcher

Archaeological evidence puts the beginning of cheesemaking around 8000 BC, about the time animals were first domesticated. The first cheese may have been an accidental discovery when a nomad carrying milk in a pouch made of a sheep's stomach found that it had coagulated (from the rennet in the stomach) by the end of his journey.

However it started, cheesemaking today is no accident. The cheesemaker performs the truly magical feat of transforming plain milk into aged cheddar, putting his personal signature on every stage, from the milk in the vats to the finished wheel of cheese. The alchemist in charge of the shop at Grafton is Scott Fletcher, who has been teaching milk how to be cheese for over 40 years. He and his fellow cheesemakers at Grafton Cheese make approximately 8,000 pounds of cheese a day, using about 10 pounds of Jersey cow milk for every pound of cheddar.

The first stages of cheesemaking require only about eight hours, then it's into the aging vault, depending on the cheese. We currently age from six months (flavored cheeses) to four years (Four Star Cheddar). Fletcher tests the milk mixture at each step of the process, either by taste, feel or chemical analysis. "The keys to good flavor are time, temperature and acidity," says Fletcher. He regulates the temperature at which the milk is heated, uses a culture that develops slowly during the initial stages (controlling the acidity), and gives the cheese a nice, long ageing period. After aging and before the cheese goes to market, each lot is tested and tasted by the cheesemakers. At Grafton, quality control is a paramount virtue.