PEARL VALLEY CHEESE
Swiss tradition brings Old World artisan cheese to Ohio
The story of Pearl Valley Cheese (PVC) in Coshocton County commenced 95 years ago when Swiss immigrant Ernest Stalder settled in the scenic hills of eastern Ohio. Four years later, Stalder and his wife, Gertrude, founded the Pearl Valley Cheese Company, still family-owned and -operated today.
The tradition of PVC in my family begins before my lifetime. When my Grandpa Ken returned home from serving in World War II, he operated a dairy farm that supplied milk to Pearl Valley. My first memories of Pearl Valley began with the cheese plates served at family holiday events, and the tasty Colby and Swiss snacks I enjoyed during much-anticipated visits to my grandparents’ farm. I remember walking from the farm to the cheese factory with my family, and being warmly greeted with samples of the various cheeses made at Pearl Valley.
Recently, I had the opportunity to take an individual tour with third-generation owner Sally (Stalder) Ellis, and learn the history and some interesting facts about the family cheese-making operation.
“We make more cheese in a day than we made in a whole year when we first started,” Ellis says at the beginning of our Saturday afternoon tour together. That equates to approximately 35,000 pounds of cheese per day, five days a week.
Our visit offers a wealth of remarkable facts: A pound of cheese is made from 10 pounds of milk; air, and not temperature, causes cheese to mold; the longer a cheese is aged, the sharper it tastes. I learn that immediately after production, Swiss cheese does not have the characteristic holes (or “eyes”)—those develop over five to six weeks as the lactose is converted to carbon dioxide bubbles. The vegetable coloring called annatto creates the distinct orange color of Colby cheese. All varieties of Pearl Valley cheese are lactose-free and gluten-free.
And then I learn what I had known since first tasting my favorite cheese at Thanksgiving and Christmas family gatherings as a kid: Pearl Valley cheese is the best in the world. Pearl Valley has received international acclaim several times for their artisan cheeses, including a gold medal at the 2014 World Cheese Contest. National-level recognition includes a second-place award at the 2018 American Cheese Society Competition for their Colby cheese; at the state level, Pearl Valley won 2018 Ohio State Fair Grand Champion awards for their Swiss and Gouda cheeses.
Ellis and her family have seen consistent change throughout the history of their business. While cheesemakers once laboriously stirred milk in relatively small copper vats, cheese is now produced in digitally controlled 4,000-gallon stainless steel containers. Dairy farmers now deliver milk via semi-truck-transported tanks rather than individual milk cans. Methane gas generated by upcycling a byproduct of cheese production now provides a percentage of the electricity used to power the cheese factory. The strong values held by the Stalder family and the qualities of the cheese they produce, however, have remained timeless.
Pearl Valley cheese is available to order online at pearlvalleycheese.com. Guided tours of the Pearl Valley Cheese factory are available weekly throughout the summer, Wednesdays at 9:30am. Private tours are available by calling 740.545.6002 or via the contact link at pearlvalleycheese.com.
COSHOCTON COUNTY DAY TRIP
Head east and spend a summer day with the family on the road. On the way to Pearl Valley Cheese you can stop in Granville for lunch, visit the farmers market in Newark and adventure through Flint Ridge. Visit PVC to stock up on local, handcrafted cheese for summer picnics and patio dinners and then on the way home stop in the quaint, historic Roscoe Village for a taste of old Ohio living.
