Caputo Brothers Creamery in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania

Today, we visited Caputo Brothers Creamery in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Caputo first explained how their process of cheese making is different compared to the way factories make their cheese. Mrs. Caputo said that their cheese processing, which takes multiple hours, is a lot longer compared to factories that can make cheese in minutes. We also learned that Caputo Brothers Creamery is the first to export fermented mozzarella. She shared with us the process of making the mozzarella cheese and we also took part in being able to make it ourselves with her assistance. She gave us defrosted curd, then we broke it up into the size of a silver dollar. We added salt, mixed it together, then we added hot water that was 192 degrees (F). We then let it defrost even more and pushed it all to one side to form one big piece of mozzarella. After that, we stretched the cheese to lengthen the proteins and get rid of excess bumps. We folded the mozzarella using the "sock folding" technique. Then we picked of chunks and put it into a bowl of cold water. After we finished making the mozzarella cheese, we got to taste our own creation. The taste was extremely different compared to cheese we eat everyday. The mozzarella cheese had more of a tangier taste compared to regular mozzarella cheese and it tasted fresher too. At lunch time, the chef prepared us to eat a delicious egg plant parmesan made with fresh egg plant and their own homemade cheese. I, myself, have never liked egg plant parmesan until I tried it today. On the side of the main course meal, we had a salad. It wasn't a typical salad, the salad had potatoes, cranberries and onions with a red wine and olive oil dressing. I, myself was surprised that I enjoyed the salad because I've never had a salad so different compared to Caesar salad that I usually eat. Then for dessert we were served ricotta cheese with apricot sauce, and dried fruit on the side. Overall we enjoyed this experience of being able to make delicious cheese, and having this opportunity. We suggest that next years JTerm should also have this unique experience.
-Molly and Ariana