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| - Prairie Fruits Farmstead and Creamery is located just North of Urbana. It is a little hard to get to because of the similarly named roads (Lincoln, N. Lincoln, etc.), but well worth the trip. The farm itself is open only on Wednesdays from 3-6pm for "farm sales" but you also can visit by appointment. You also may purchase their products at several local groceries and farmer's markets.
The farm specializes in goat milk cheeses and milk products. Visit the farm and you will immediately see it is a working farm. Several hundred goats at last count (including seven males for breeding), pigs, chickens, and of course, the dog. You are free to roam the shelter and pet the goats. They also have numerous options for pick your own fruits, with some of the finest berries and apples available in the area. On their Wednesday Farm Sales they also invite other local farmers and have a very small farmer's market where you can buy breads, eggs, meats, herbs, vegetables, and even get your knives expertly sharpened.
But the real reason to go is the cheese. They have numerous soft and hard goat cheeses, all locally made, and all delicious. Everything on the farm is organically and sustainably grown. The pigs, for example, eat a diet primarily of remnants of the cheese-making and fruit growing enterprise (plus left-over products from a local brew-pub). The soft cheeses are superior to anything I've had in the US, easily as good as the farm cheeses I had while living in France. Super fresh chevre is absolutely superb, and is perhaps my favorite, although the goat milk ricotta is amazing as well. To me, the various blue cheeses do not have enough of a unique flavor to induce me to pay the extra price; very good, but not unique enough for me. (I'd choose Ludwig Creamery near Oakland for this, mostly because it is cheaper and just as tasty.)
While there, be sure to try the goat-milk gelato. The creamy goat milk makes extra tasty gelato, and Prairie Fruits Farm makes many unusual varieties such as lemon balm and thyme gelato, or honey and ricotta gelato, just to name two. But even their vanilla is special, thanks to the goats. Wes Jarrell and Leslie Cooperband, the owners, are very friendly, usually there, and happy to answer any questions.
Their cheeses, by the way, have won a number of awards for best cheese at state fairs, cheese competitions, and even won some national awards even though their competition was much more experienced Wisconsin cheese makers. These two are true artists, and I recommend them highly.
One final note, if you are so inclined and can get a reservation, you should try their occasional dinners on the farm. The finest all local ingredients prepared by invited expert chefs create unparalleled meals, made all the more special eaten out-doors in their gazebo setting overlooking the farm with what always seems to be a friendly and talkative group of patrons. We've met and made friends there.
All in all this is one of the treasures of Champaign-Urbana.
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