Greenmarket Profile with Dancing Ewe Farm

Ricotta’s light and fluffy texture makes it the perfect complement to summer salads or locally grown tomatoes — quickly becoming available in greenmarkets and grocery stories alike.  Some of the best ricotta around can be found at Union Square Greenmarket. Dancing Ewe Creamery, situated near the Southwest corner of the market, offers a  number of tasty local versions of Italian cheeses, including both cow and sheep’s milk ricotta.

Back in 2000, Jody Somers bought a dairy farm and had what he dubs, “an epiphany.”  He would travel to Tuscany and learn the art of  cheese making.  When Jody returned to this side of the Atlantic, he quickly made fan out of prominent chefs, the likes of Mario Batali.  So the story goes that a Italian friend of a friend came to stay with him in New York, and became both his wife and partner, Luisa.  You can find them both at the Greenmarket every Friday.

Had you ever been to Italy before 2000 when you purchased the farm? 
I took my first trip to Italy was in 2002.

How long did you think you would spend in Italy when you left home?
I was suppose to stay for 6 months, but got an hernia operation and left after three months.

Who taught you the art of cheese making in Tuscany?  Did you stay in one place for the three years?
I learned how to make cheese at a farm called “La Parrina” in south western Tuscany (maremma).  My friend at Cornell had a friend at the University of Pisa (Ubaldo) who was consulting for La Parrina.

Was it difficult to build a customer base of restaurants?
Yes, it was very difficult to have customers, because we didn’t realize we needed to go to NYC, we thought local restaurant were going to buy it all!!!  Thank goodness we met a lady (Alexandra Leaf) that helped us to get connected to restaurants in the city.

I know you used to hand deliver the cheeses to restaurants yourself, are you still?
Yes, we still go into the city every Friday to deliver our cheese and plant ourselves at the Union Square Farmers Market.

Luisa, were you familiar with cheese making at home in Italy, before moving to the U.S.?
Yes, I ran tests for cheeses and worked with the University of Perugia, department of Microbiology for a while.

What is the biggest difference between the cheeses you are making and their counterparts in Italy?
Your cheeses are quite pricey, so much so that they are often more than the imported originals, why should customers buy from you?
They are different because our cheeses are artisanaly made, in the real meaning.  Our sheep are milked by Jody, the cheese is made by Jody.  We are taking care of the aging, we are packaging the cheeses, we are the one who hand deliver them. That’s the difference: it’s much more personal.

What are your favorite ways to eat your cheeses?
You can find our favorite recipes on line: www.dancingewe.com.

Any new cheeses on the horizon?
Yes, the next one will be Pecorino Stagionato and by Christmas we are thinking of Pecorino alle Vinacce.

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl
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