UMAPINE — Not much is fancy about how Umapine Creamery does things, nor is today’s operation very different than when it began.

That’s fine with founders Brent and Yvonne Carroll — cheesemaking is an art demanding time and patience, two things unchanged by technology, they said.

The business, aptly named for its setting in the unincorporated village just outside Milton-Freewater, has been making and selling cheese since 2014.

But the interest and work in the dairy industry began long before.

Married 47 years now, the Carrolls were introduced to all things dairy in childhood.

For Yvonne, it was growing up on her grandparents’ Ayrshire dairy. Brent was young when he was schooled by experienced dairy farmers; his passion for it led to a secondary career as an agriculture science teacher and FFA advisor for 25 years.

Yvonne went into nursing. Her love of children shaped her career as a school nurse, the last 10 years spent in Enterprise.

The Carrolls joined their hearts for dairy work even before they wed in 1976. Then a desire to make money from the flood of milk that came from their herd meant learning commercial cheese making at Oregon State University, Yvonne said.

She remembers when that first vat of milk arrived at the creamery’s “make” room, and wondering what she’d bitten off, she said.

In the past, milk from the Carrolls’ cows was piped directly from the milking operation to the make room. These days milk arrives via a tank, to fill up the 147-gallon vat used most regularly.

From that, 1,300 pounds of cheese is produced.

Business stays in the family

Now in their “retirement,” the Carrolls continue to use the milk from the herd they’ve since sold to their son and his wife, owners of Creamline Farms just across the road.

Creamline remains the only dairy in Umatilla County, and there is big demand for the products that come out of both operations, Yvonne said.

“No one else was doing this when we started,” she said. “Now people really want our milk. And they love the butter.”

On their side of Umapine Road, the cheesemakers are doing their best to fill that desire. This June day they were preparing products for sale, whether it be a regional farmers market — they sell at four each week of the season — bakeries or stores.

The creamery is fully licensed, allowing for as many commercial sales as they can handle, given their “modern cottage industry” pace.

“As you can see, we’re real modern in our cutting,” Yvonne joked as Brent used an ordinary knife to cube a mesquite-laced cheese, which she then bagged, sealed and labeled one at a time.

The lack of technology in this process is just one sign of artisan cheese-making.

Much of the cheese made at the creamery is a neutral gouda-style made with whole jersey cow milk.

The company also produces havarti, queso fresco, raclette and farmstead cheeses

The best magic comes in the added ingredients, the couple agreed.

The resulting types list like a menu of indulgences: black garlic; horseradish; pickled onion; tomato garlic; tempranillo, riesling and port wines.

There’s “Holy Cow,” with tomato, basil and ghost peppers. Black truffle mushroom, applewood-smoked, even mojito-lime gouda, next in line for Brent’s knifework.

Perhaps most popular is the Kalamata olive-and-tomato “Olivia,” a staple in their lineup, Yvonne said.

Maybe that’s because anyone named Olivia can claim a piece.

“I think what works is we try some weird things. Not that it always works out,” she said.

Some clearly do, though, evidenced by the visitors coming from near and far to buy cheese, butter and Creamline’s milk, she said.

Those interactions allow Yvonne and Brent to teach people about the family-founded dairy industry, animal care and the importance of community connection.

Every bite of cheese is a delicious ambassador for the region, Yvonne said.

“I use my neighbor’s garlic and peppers,” she said. “We use Crockett Road Lavender Farm for our lavender havarti. When I need a new label, I call Outwest Printing down the road and it’s ready that afternoon.”

In turn, Umapine Creamery is able to support the community by giving to youth agriculture education, the local food bank and others.

“We want to be as local as possible,” Yvonne said. “We always have.”

50901 Umapine Road, Milton-Freewater

541-861-2111

www.umapinecreamery.com

“We want to be as local as possible. We always have.”

— Yvonne Carroll, Umapine Creamery