Rock House Creamery is Now Open with Fresh, Local Milk and Cheese
Farmview Market Welcomes Rock House Creamery
Now, you can find fresh, local milk and cheese at Farmview Market because Rock House Creamery has officially opened its doors for business.
Rock House Creamery (RHC) is a division of Rock House Farm in Leesburg, Georgia and is owned by Keith Kelly. The creamery is housed on a dairy farm that dates back to the 1940’s. The original farm was the Johnston Family Farm, started by J.H. Johnston. Under the Johnston family, the farm milked 80-100 cows each day and offered tours and events for the public. Kelly hopes to continue this tradition building on the rich heritage established by the Johnston’s.
A New/Old Way to Find Local and Organic Milk
“We will continue to build on the legacy established by the Johnston family while incorporating innovative, new technologies for exciting product offerings for today’s dairy consumer,” said Kelly.
Where does it start? With the cows, of course. RHC cows are a Jersey Holstein cross, raised on forage year-round. RHC implements traditional methods with minimal processing. Its whole milk is a creamline milk. Creamline milk is a very natural form of milk. It is pasteurized, but not homogenized, and for this reason has a rich creamline on top, where the cream separates from the milk.
"We feel this leads to the best flavor profile and offers the most nutritional value. But you’ll need to give it a shake before drinking,” said Kelly.
RHC milk is always fresh, going from bottle to store in 48 hours. Always.
Milk isn’t the only product in Rock House Creamery’s repertoire. Leading production at RHC is creamery manager, Tyler Davis, former head cheesemaker and affineur at Caromont Farm in Virginia. With Davis at the helm, the creamery not only produces creamline whole milk, but is also producing several cheeses from its curds (dubbed Clack’s Curds and named for owner Kelly’s late Grandfather Clack Broach), to a fresh spreadable fromage.
Next up, the creamery will introduce its cheddar and Tommes, which are currently aging. And did we mention the gourmet chocolate milk?
“Our chocolate milk isn’t just for kids,” says Kelly. “It gets its unique, rich flavor from superior ingredients, such as West African cocoa beans. One of our chocolate milks uses spices from a recipe that dates back hundreds of years.”
RHC is also working with UGA's Food Product Innovation Center (FoodPIC) and its Director Dr. Kirk Kealey to deliver a few other novel dairy products. Soon, there will be a Rock House Creamery Kefir on shelves!
Right now, you can only find these delicious Rock House Creamery milk and cheese at Farmview Market! Hurry in, because once the word is out, these products will fly off the shelves. If you’d like to know more about the operations of a creamery, RHC will be offering tours this summer, where visitors can watch the processing of RHC dairy products, meet the herd, and tour the 11-acre, certified naturally grown farm next door.