I am excited to say that I started a new adventure in cheese making yesterday. I have been making soft cheeses for about 5 or 6 years now. I make Feta, Chevre, Cream Cheese along with buttermilk, butter and sour cream. Yesterday I made my first hard cheese....a colby!
My first lesson....never start this late in the afternoon when you don't really know what you are doing...I won't even mention when I finally hit the pillow. I used Riki Carroll's book "Home Cheese Making". Everything seemed to go according to plan...but it will be 2 months before we really know.
Lesson 2....you can't add up all the times in the recipe and really think that you will be stopping at that point. It is not...I repeat NOT.....like baking a cake! I should have been done at 11:00 pm according to my calculations... a little late but do-able....let's just say it was quite a bit past that point and I was so tired I was ready to chuck it out to the chickens!
I had wonderful advice from the Kansas Milkmaid...check out her link on this page and check out her new website....awesome! There were some concerns about the cheese sticking to the cheesecloth. This could be for a variety of reasons...some good and some bad. I will just go on in faith, wax the cheese and see what happens.
I am, however, undaunted and will be trying again in the next few days. Wheels of Parmesan, Cheddar, Gouda along with Mozzarella, Montery Jack and Pepper Jack are dancing before my eyes. I am cleaning out the small dorm refrigerator that has been out in the garden shed and dedicating it to my still to be pressed wheels of cheese.
This would be something you could do even in a small apartment. So, I encourage those of you who long for the homesteading life....or those of you working towards it....get a copy of this book or check out the links on the Kansas Milkmaid's website and give it a try! I hope to hear lots of success stories....
.Good night folks...thanks for stopping in!
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One way to bring a little extra income for homesteaders is to teach cheesemaking classes on the farm. I haven't done it yet, but many people have asked for classes. It would be a good way to diversify and operation and have fun too.
ReplyDeleteWOW, congratulations. I have always wanted to make cheese. I'm totally sold on the cheese from raw milk that I went out and found after The Kansas Milkmaid made it sound so yummy. Boy, was she right!
ReplyDeleteY'all are such an inspiration!
Oh man.
ReplyDeleteMy husbands eyes have little cheese wheels dancing in them. I imagine soon we will be getting the book and begining our own cheesemaking adventure.
Thanks for the tips, I hope it turns out well. :)
You're getting me motivated!!! We have all the necessary ingredients, I think, to make some raw cheese! Mmmm!!! I LOVE cheese! If I really get around to doing it, I'll let you know how it goes!
ReplyDeleteMilkmaid, what a great idea...but figuring out the logistics of teaching it without having them there for 12 hours.....
ReplyDeleteMothersong, glad you found some locally!
Gwen, sounds like you will have a helper in the cheesemaking process :)
Leah,
You will love it. The soft cheeses are really easy and most are ready to eat immediately . I guess the hard cheeses will develop more patience in me! Please post and let us know how it goes...I really enjoy your blog and your boys are adorable!