Dirt Lover, Soft-Ripened Sheep's Milk Cheese, Green Dirt Farm, MI (5.5oz)

Dirt Lover, GREEN DIRT FARM, (Weston, Missouri) Ash-Coated, Bloomy Rind Sheep's Milk Cheese with Buttery, Lemony, Mushroom Notes Green Dirt Farm was founded by Sarah Hoffmann, who wanted to raise her family on a working farm and share that experience through artisan sheep's milk cheese. Dirt Lover was one of the first recipes Sarah developed at Green Dirt, inspired by classic French ash-coated farmhouse goat cheeses like Valençay and Selles-sur-Cher, but reimagined entirely in sheep's milk. The name comes from a farmers' market customer's t-shirt slogan, "I'm proud to be a Birkenstock-wearing, tree-hugging, dirt lover," a fitting nod to the farm's soil-first philosophy. Dirt Lover is one of only a small handful of soft-ripened, bloomy rind sheep's milk cheeses made anywhere in the world. Each wheel is hand-ladled into forms, drained overnight, salted, and dusted with vegetable ash, an old-world technique that neutralizes the rind's pH and encourages the bloomy rind to develop evenly. Serving: Bring to room temperature about an hour before serving. Young, the paste is firm like feta; as it ripens toward 6–8 weeks, a soft, buttery layer forms beneath the rind and eventually overtakes the whole piece. Rind is edible. • Milk: Sheep, pasteurized • Rennet: Traditional • Aging: 7–10 days in the aging room to develop the bloomy rind; ships at peak ripeness around 6–8 weeks • Rind: Bloomy, vegetable ash-coated • Ingredients: Sheep's milk, salt, cultures, rennet, vegetable ash • Wine pairings: Chilled rosé, crisp white wine • Beer pairings: Wheat beer • Certifications: Farmstead, original recipe • Scores/Awards: American Cheese Society, 2nd Place, Original Recipe/Open Category (Sheep's Milk), 2026; American Cheese Society, 1st Place, American Originals, 2025; Good Food Awards winner, 2025 (Best of 15 Years) and 2026; recognized at ACS competitions in 2010, 2013, 2016–2019, and 2022–2025; named to Culture Magazine's Best Cheeses of 2022