Anyone make their own cheese?

[daveswoodhauler]

Ok, so my wife has gone completely green on me, and she now wants to make her own cheese.
So, for Mothers day I got her a basic cheese kit....romantic, I know
Anyone out there make their own cheese, and have any tips for beginners?
Thanks,
David

 

[fossil]

I'd ask somebody from Wisconsin. They're so serious about making cheese that it's the only state in the Union with an Official State Microbe:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/us/16microbe.html

 

[kenny chaos]

My cheese story, or two:
1- There's a book about dealing with change. It's called Who Moved My Cheese. I thought that was clever.
2- We went to a very large "small farm" convention where they were promoting all the latest BS about small scale farming.
We had a sit down dinner in this giant conference room and some proud cheese maker was passing cheese bites around before din din. We were forewarned that the goat cheese was strong. I was eager to try some because my daughter was milking goats at the time and the girls were interested in making cheese but we knew how finicky the milk could be with less than perfect hygiene methods. Strong? It tasted like buck piss.
I gagged and spit it half way across the room. I got mad because everyone was saying how good it was, puppets eager to buy into anything. Once I rudely expressed my discontentment with the situation, others quickly agreed. The cheese maker actually said she wasn't sure if it was good or not.
Moral of the story; others won't be honest with you if you're not.

The kit sounds like a great whey to start. :lol:

 

[daveswoodhauler]

That is pretty funny Kenny!
I think my wife sees my enjoyment out of brewing beer from time to time, and wanted a little hobby of her own.
I just got her a basic kit, and if she really enjoys it, we can take it further. (We'd be using purchased milk...no goats on our lot, yet

 

[oldspark]

I am starting to look forward to your posts kenny :lol:

 

[daveswoodhauler]

I am starting to look forward to your posts kenny :lol:

Yeah, he's an ok guy as long as he is in a good mood

 

[kenny chaos]

I am starting to look forward to your posts kenny :lol:

Yeah, he's an ok guy as long as he is in a good mood

It was my therapist who coined my nickname- Kenny Chaos. :blank:

 

[benjamin]

Don't let Kenny scare you. It won't smell like that if the billy is kept away from the rest of the goats except when he's needed. My parents made the same flavor of billy goat cheese in the early 70's. I remember feeding jars of it to chickens. Something about smell memory, I can still picture lots of those jars and that smell.

I met a girl one time who would have been Organic Valley's poster milkmaid if they were promoting purity instead of a hippie-wholesome image. She made quite a range of cheeses, they were all great, even the butter was excellent. It can be done, and it's not that hard.

 

[begreen]

Glad to say that I haven't the slightest idea what buck piss tastes like. Don't want to know either.

My wife took some cheese making classes. It is a fairly straight forward process and the results can be good. It takes patience and good hygiene to get top results, but with a bit of practice and skill you can make some awesome cheeses. Locally there are several cow and goat cheeses that I really like.

 

[oldspark]

How am I supposed to enjoy kenny's posts if they keep locking threads and removing his posts. ;-)

 

[kenny chaos]

Hey David, I might've found you your first lifetime customer.
See the guy in the DIY forum who wants to trap mice in his wood pile.
And if the cheese thing really takes off, I got a feeling this would be a
perfect place to find someone to cut the cheese.
Let us know how it goes?

 

[daveswoodhauler]

Hey David, I might've found you your first lifetime customer.
See the guy in the DIY forum who wants to trap mice in his wood pile.
And if the cheese thing really takes off, I got a feeling this would be a
perfect place to find someone to cut the cheese.
Let us know how it goes?

Back on ignore.

 

[kenny chaos]

Hey David, I might've found you your first lifetime customer.
See the guy in the DIY forum who wants to trap mice in his wood pile.
And if the cheese thing really takes off, I got a feeling this would be a
perfect place to find someone to cut the cheese.
Let us know how it goes?

Back on ignore.

well excuse me
have a nice summer

 

[mainemac]

Off topic but great book related to his question. I am sure his wife would love this book.

"Blessed are the Cheesemakers" by Sarah Kate Lynch

is a wicked funny novel that does introduce a lot of the art and science of cheesemaking.

Coolarney Blue Cheese in lovely Ireland is the specific cheese in question.


Tom

 

[JustWood]

Kenny, one thing you need to remember is that people who wanna be or do something different usually will agree with anything until they find out the 100% truth about it.
Ben, I NEVER wanna taste Billy goat cheese EVER.
Dave , please ignore me also!
Thanx, me thinx!

 

[daveswoodhauler]

Thanks Mainemac. I'll have to check that one out as my wife reads about 2-3 books a week it seems.