Our Cheese | Experience Artisan Cheese Today — Back Forty Artisan Cheese & Farmstead

Artisan Raw Milk Cheese

All of our cheeses are crafted on site in small batches using traditional methods and careful attention to detail. With the exception of a few fresh styles, such as Petite Antoine, we work exclusively with raw sheep milk, preserving the natural microflora that gives each batch its unique character.

Great cheese begins with pure milk, quality natural ingredients, and the right conditions for crafting and ageing. Our cheeses contain just milk, cultures, rennet, and salt — each selected for integrity, compatibility, and flavor.

The result is depth, complexity, and nuance that cannot be replicated: cheeses with distinct personalities shaped by place, care, and time.

Calabogie Blue — A Rare Raw Water Buffalo Cheese

Crafted in very limited batches, our Calabogie Blue showcases the depth and complexity of raw water buffalo milk. Available only a few times per year, it’s a rare treat for blue cheese lovers.

Why Sheep’s Milk Matters

Sheep’s milk is naturally rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats, giving each cheese remarkable flavor and complexity. Its smaller, more digestible fat globules and proteins make it easier for many people to enjoy compared with cow’s milk.

Because our raw milk cheeses are aged a minimum of 60 days, much of the lactose is converted into lactic acid, leaving the finished cheeses low in lactose and gentle on the digestive system.

This richness, digestibility, and nuanced flavor is why sheep’s milk has been at the heart of our craft from the very beginning. Every wheel tells the story of the flock, the care given, and the place from which the milk comes.

Milk — The Foundation

Milk is the most important ingredient in cheesemaking, and we focus on small-batch, hands-on production. We work primarily with raw sheep’s milk, allowing its natural complexity to develop through fermentation and ageing. The microbial life inherent in raw milk contributes depth, nuance, and individuality to every wheel.

We source our milk from small family farms that share our commitment to animal welfare, pasture-based feeding when possible, and responsible land stewardship. These relationships ensure milk of the highest quality and create cheeses that reflect both the care in their production and the character of the farms they come from.

Cultures

Cultures guide the transformation of milk into cheese, shaping texture, aroma, and flavour development.

While modern cheesemaking often relies on standardized commercial cultures for consistency, we use cultures thoughtfully and sparingly when required. With raw milk, the natural microflora already present in the milk plays a major role in fermentation, allowing flavour complexity to develop naturally.

This approach allows each batch to reflect its own season, flock, and environment.

Rennet

Rennet is the enzyme used to coagulate milk and form curds.

There are three traditional rennet types used in cheesemaking: animal-derived, microbial, and vegetable-based. We use certified organic, non-GMO, animal-derived rennet sourced from Canada.

This is the traditional enzyme chymosin, naturally found in the stomachs of young ruminants where it helps them digest and coagulate their mother’s milk.

We believe traditional rennet best supports the styles of cheese we produce and honours long-standing cheesemaking traditions.

Salt — Geography in Mineral Form

Salt is the final ingredient in our cheese and plays an important role in flavour, moisture control, and aging development.

We source high-grade, non-iodized salt from Goderich, Ontario. Formed from ancient seabeds, this salt carries the geological history of our region.

Like all of our ingredients, we choose salt for its quality, purity, and its connection to place.

Our Approach

We believe the best cheeses in the world come from handcraft traditions where knowledge, land, and culture work together.

Our goal is not to produce the most cheese — but to produce the best cheese we can, one small batch at a time, while respecting the land, the animals, and the traditions that make this craft possible.