Artisanal Butter Adventures

Anna Landmark, with her cheesemaker license, takes the lead in production, while Anna Thomas Bates, a local food writer and renowned grilled cheese champion, handles marketing and administration. Anna Thomas Bates was the one who approached Anna Landmark with the idea of partnering up. Their paths converged at a Soil Sisters potluck, a gathering of women farmers, producers and food enthusiasts, where their friendship blossomed, and the seed for Landmark Creamery was sown.

But what's the connection to Seven Acre Dairy Co.? It turns out that Nic Mink, the founder of Seven Acre Dairy, used to frequent Landmark Creamery's shop before acquiring Seven Acre. Recognizing an opportunity, Mink proposed the idea of producing butter in the historic Seven Acre Dairy plant, which provided a perfect match.

"It just kinda made sense," says Thomas Bates. "It gave him production and gave us a small space to make butter. So it was a good partnership."

Inside Seven Acre Dairy Co., you'll find the Landmark Creamery micro dairy for butter production. Guests of Seven Acre can get an up-close look at production through a window that’s labeled with the Landmark name in bold white letters. The room exudes a sterile yet homey ambiance, equipped with essential tools for crafting their delectable butter, including a churn, pasteurizer and a table for the meticulous hand-pounding of butter by Landmark Creamery’s dedicated staff.

Landmark Creamery's new butter venture introduces three distinct varieties: sweet cream butter (sourced from whole milk separation), whey cream butter (a byproduct of their cheese-making process) and cultured butter (a slightly tangy and more complex butter). Thomas Bates describes whey cream butter as having "a different flavor, more flavor. It has an almost cheesy flavor." Among their butter offerings, you'll find sweet cream salted butter, whey cream salted butter, and innovative compound butters such as black garlic, herb butter featuring spice blends from The Deliciouser and a cacio e pepe butter featuring their award-winning pecorino cheese. They are exploring unsalted butter options for the future.

A special aspect of Landmark Creamery’s production is their commitment to a more hands-on approach to butter-making. Unlike larger plants that rely on machinery for every step, Landmark incorporates an old-school method in their process, aligning perfectly with the historical restoration that is Seven Acre Dairy. They pasteurize their cream, churn it, salt it and then comes the unique touch. "We do all the shaping by hand," explains Thomas Bates. This is done using special paddles, reminiscent of small artisanal operations. Each package of butter is carefully wrapped by hand in foil, adding a personal touch to their creations.

When considering why butter instead of cheese, Thomas Bates shares that the decision was a sensible one. While they considered moving their cheese production to their new space, the spacious requirements for cheese-making made it impractical to convert the historical Seven Acre room into a cheese-making facility. Butter, with its smaller production footprint for small-scale operations, became the natural choice.

What truly sets Landmark Creamery apart is their commitment to sourcing ingredients locally. Paoli's proximity to numerous small farms and local plants makes it an ideal location to acquire cream and other ingredients for their cheeses and butter. Thomas Bates says, "We want to support people in our local foodshed, so none of our farms or plants are more than 30 miles away." Their mission has always been to create a small business that not only thrives but also supports small family farms, allowing them to make a living and support their families without them needing to own an overwhelming number of cows.

Landmark Creamery's expansion into butter production within the Seven Acre Dairy Co. building represents a harmonious blend of tradition, innovation and a deep-rooted commitment to local agriculture. As they continue to churn out their delectable butter varieties, Landmark Creamery is poised to make a lasting mark in the world of artisanal dairy products, leaving a flavorful legacy for generations to come.