If one is attempting to start a small cheese business , and I mean quite small , a one or two person operation and about 50 gallons a week to start , wouldn't a good quality store bought P/H milk give the most consistent results?
I can get fresh raw milk and pasteurize it , or go with raw makes , or I can buy a good quality P/H at wholesale store prices.
My theory is this : the local dairies here graze their cows on fresh pasture , but during winter they are fed hay and silage , so the milk would vary greatly from season to season , the processed milk is shipped from these same dairies year round to large processors at the coast , where cows are grazed outside most of the winter as well fed hay and silage.
So the milk would come from a mixture of pasture grazed and hay fed cows.
Now , I'm not saying it would be a better cheese , but could one expect a more consistent outcome with every batch ?
Our current local artisan cheesemaker , only makes cheese in the spring/early summer , when they consider their milk is at its peak , they sell out fast as well , I was hoping to make cheese year round.
It would also save the step of pasteurizing it myself , which would make it a plus when dealing with inspectors/regulators and , ( I wouldn't need a milk buyers license from the BC Milk Marketing Board) , one less hoop to jump through , do any small makers do this ?
Any thoughts , anyone ?
Cheers , Jim.