Cheesemaking 101

My two-day class for Beginner Cheesemakers was illuminating, at times overwhelming, entertaining and overall a very worthwhile endeavor for me. The scenery in both Vermont and Eastern New York was beautiful as well; making the three hours of driving each way easier to take. I was driving through portions of the Green Mountains of Vermont and Washington County , New York where rural living still has a strong foot-hold and I felt a certain serenity as I drove along trout streams and between low, rambling mountains. In a word: Beautiful!

The spring runoff had made the Batten Kill un-fishable for me on Monday, but by Wednesday afternoon the waters had lowered enough for me to make an honest attempt at catching some fish. I was only able to catch one brown trout in one of the smaller, feeder-steams, but sometimes just going through the motions of fishing a stream is good enough for me. I fished near the historic, Rexleigh covered bridge which I'm sure you can find images of on the Web.

At cheese class, our group of 10 made a 15-gallon batch of Tomme from fresh, Jersey-cow milk. Tomme cheeses are semi-soft with a rind that is usually washed with brine for several weeks before letting the cave molds grow until it's deemed ready to sell; usually at 3 months of age. We got to watch the Bardwell Farm cheese makers working each day; everything from cutting and cooking the curds, hooping the cheese, setting the press to the work done in the cold-storage (cheese cave) where all the ripening wheels of cheese are turned, washed, brushed and sampled.

We talked at length about milk composition and quality where I heard that most artisan cheese makers prefer their animals to be grass-fed or dry hay fed, but no silage. We discussed the various starter cultures that cheese makers have to work with now-days. One of the things I learned about my stove-top creamery is that I have been using too much of both the cultures and the rennet, resulting in tart, acidic, pasty cheese. I will also need to begin using a pH-meter to track the acidity of the curds and whey during the 'make' since the levels of acidity effect the cheese moisture content, texture and set the stage for the 2 to 4 month ripening process that is so important for producing fine-quality, aged cheese. My 'cheese cave' is something I will need to work on also; cool, moist conditions with good air circulation are the prerequisites. Modifying an old refrigerator will probably work, but I can no longer just wing-it in my cellar.

I got to sample almost all the different cheeses made at the Bardwell Farm and wash 'em down with a great Vermont beer from the Magic Hat brewery.

While the Web is a great resource to begin my education into artisan cheese making, there is no better way to learn a craft than through a hands-on workshop like the one I attended. If you are curious about it, search for "Peter Dixon, cheese maker" and you'll see what I mean.

Peace,
Cheesey-boy