The first thing I first heard about Cedar Hill Farm was that they were developing Maryland’s first cheese cave.

Then I saw the list of Baltimore-area specialty food and wine stores and restaurants that carry their cheeses: Woodberry Kitchen and The Wine Source in Hampden, The Fork and Wrench on Boston Street, Green Onion in Hamilton and The Nut Farm in Greenspring Station. Plus they have a table at the Fells Point Farmers Market.

And then, I had some of their cheese and really enjoyed it. I decided to make the trip to Darlington and visit the farm.

That’s how I found myself in Harford County one bright summer morning joining cheese-maker Abby Connell to see the way she starts her day – milking her herd of 20 cows.

“My family has owned this land for over 20 years,” she said. “I love it.”

The Challenge of Cheese

I always wonder what motivates people, so I asked Abby – a talented musician, with little time for her baby grand piano these days – what sparked her enthusiasm for this arduous and risky business.

Connell responded by saying that making cheese takes some of the same strengths as making music. “In addition to inspiration, education and hard work are necessary.”

She and her twin sister Cora were initially intrigued, she recalled, by the seemingly endless varieties of tasty cheese that could be made by “plain old milk.”

They began by apprenticing at Bobolink Dairy under the well-known Jonathan White, who for many years has been producing artisanal cheese for the New York-New Jersey area. Bobolink has always been a favorite at New York’s Union Square Market, and Abby and Cora got to hear a lot of feedback from the folks they sold to there.

More importantly Abby decided cheese was a career move. When her apprenticeship finished, Abby came home to become the cheese wizard of Cedar Hill Farm.

Raw milk is currently not legal in Maryland, though if it is made into cheese, it can come into the state after it has aged 60 days or more.

Cedar Hill recently benefited from a Maryland State pilot program that allows select farmers to produce raw milk cheese on site. Towards this end, the Connells sold 70 of their cows to raise the money to give the cheese business their full attention.

They are in the process of finishing a cave in which the cheese can be made and aged. Implementing this goal has turned into a more costly and time-consuming project than anticipated. At the moment Abby makes the cheese in Pennsylvania and ages some of them there and some on the farm.

Edible Rind, Cocoa Nibs

Meadow, Cedar Hill’s popular Tomme style cheese, is made in the classic French manner. The milk is heated to a relatively low temperature and the curds are pressed into molds by hand to assure a creamy texture.

The other classic Tomme feature is that it has entirely edible rind. Meadow is a classic cave-aged cheese that benefits from the healthy microflora. I like it best on its own, perhaps on a sliced baguette, with fruit. It is a really good melting cheese for omelets or cheesy mashed potatoes.

Cedar Hill’s Cheddar has a fine gritty firm texture and the sharpness varies with the length of the aging. It also has an edible rind that is not only tasty but gives you a very attractive presentation on a cheese plate.

I confess that my favorite is the sweet Cocoa Cayenne, which is produced only a few times a year. It is a stand-alone cheddar. The cheese has flecks of dried red pepper and the rind is made of honey with cocoa nibs and powder, a bit of cayenne pepper and cinnamon. Some crisp crackers and a glass of wine or the beverage of your choice are all it needs.

Abby told me their next cheese is going to be Deer Creek Swiss, “named after the creek that runs through our farm.”

(Coffee Thyme, another variety listed on their website, is not currently available but sounds delicious. It is a full-bodied cheddar with a rind that incorporates honey, ground espresso and thyme.)

Industrious Family

Cedar Hill Farm owners Mike and Barbara Connell, Abby’s parents, have regarded the stewardship of the land their prime occupation, though Mike is a small business owner and arborist as well.

Barbara Connell has been a caterer and now, with her daughter, operates the creamery. Another daughter, Sarah Connell owns and operates Dough Run, which makes Granola and baked goods, sold at some of the same outlets as the cheese.

Along with everything else they do, they’re happy to talk about the philosophy behind their product. (In addition to being cave-aged, it’s organic and the milk comes from cows that are grass-fed.) And they share basic advice about it as well.

I spoke with Barbara Connell again at the Fells Point Farmers Market one Saturday morning, when cheese fans were lining up.

I asked about storing her product at home.

“Keep it tightly wrapped in cheese paper, like the paper we sell it in,” she said. “A half pound should keep its quality for a week in one of the drawers in your refrigerator.”