Author Topic: Hello from Japan  (Read 1798 times)

Denise

  • Guest
Hello from Japan
« on: July 21, 2013, 08:24:44 AM »
Hi. I was born in the UK but have lived in Japan for most of my adult life. I love it here except that cheese is very expensive and the only UK cheese available is plastic-wrapped Cheddar and the very occasional bit of plastic-wrapped Red Leicester. After a trip home the the UK last year saw me smuggling a suitcase full of potentially illicit cheese back through customs, I decided I would have to Do Something About It, and started reading up on home cheesemaking.
I managed to find a bottle of veggie rennet on Amazon Japan, but cultures were nowhere to be found, and for my first attempts I used plain yogurt as my starter. The results were pretty encouraging, and prompted me to invest in a 20l pot, a wine cellar to use as a cave, and an order of cultures from Moreland Cheese in the UK.

My first proper 'cultured' cheese was a Caerphilly, followed by a Double Gloucester half of which was turned into a Cotswold with the addition of chives and onions from the garden. After aging for 3 weeks (couldn't wait any longer) I cut the Caerphilly into wedges and vacuum-packed the ones we weren't going to eat immediately. The wedge we did eat was wonderful, better than anything available in the shops. Half of the vacuum-packed wedges developed a mysterious blue mold so it's no longer really Caerphilly :o; I had a little taste and I'm still alive, so I'm thinking of using them to make a pasta sauce. (I think the love of my life would leave home if I put a visibly blue cheese on the table).
The Double Gloucester and Cotswold are still sitting in the cave, and I hope I will be able to resist cutting into them until mid-September. It will be hard. ::)

I am so pleased to have found a forum peopled by folk who like to make cheese; people here, including TLOML, think I'm a bit crazy.... ???

bobbymac29649

  • Guest
Re: Hello from Japan
« Reply #1 on: July 21, 2013, 03:34:48 PM »
Welcome Denise!  I'm new on here as well and have found the people warm, friendly and more than generous with sharing their knowledge.
You're in a gorgeous area of Japan.  A lot of people don't realize what a beautiful country Japan is.  I was in Japan a few years ago and fell in love with the rural areas of Shikoku.
Have fun making cheeses in your little piece of paradise !

Offline Boofer

  • Old Cheese
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  • Location: Lakewood, Washington
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Re: Hello from Japan
« Reply #2 on: July 21, 2013, 03:49:07 PM »
Welcome to the forum, Denise.

Congratulations on making inroads into a more enriching cheese life in Japan. :D

Congratulations too on surviving the cheese with the mysterious blue mold. ;)  I'm sure that, in time following your undoubtedly continued success with cheese, your "TLOML" will come to appreciate the finer nuances of visibly blue cheese. 8)

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

Denise

  • Guest
Re: Hello from Japan
« Reply #3 on: July 21, 2013, 04:06:08 PM »
Thank you for the warm welcome, bobbymac29649 and Boofer!
Yes I do believe I am in a pretty good bit of the country; people tend to think Japan = Tokyo, and of course it isn't. The one good thing about Tokyo, though, is that if you're lucky it is possible to find some pretty good imported cheese - if you're willing to take out a mortgage to buy it!

I washed the blue Caerphilly in vinegar and rubbed it with salt, and two of the wedges appear to have lost their blueness; but the third wedge had a few holes in it and seems to have developed blue bits all the way through. It will never be the same again. More like a science experiment than a cheese.... :-\

zvisaar

  • Guest
Re: Hello from Japan
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2013, 06:35:38 AM »
welcome to the forum and good luck teaching the Japan's to like good cheese and hello to you from Israel

huffdaddy

  • Guest
Re: Hello from Japan
« Reply #5 on: August 11, 2013, 02:30:10 PM »
That's a nice looking cheese. I'm next door, in Korea, and am working on a goat cheese business.  Unfortunately, my cheese never turns out so nice. 

tnbquilt

  • Guest
Re: Hello from Japan
« Reply #6 on: August 11, 2013, 03:20:13 PM »
Welcome, this is a great place to be if you want to make cheese. I would have give up a long time ago if all I had to refer to was books. Before I make any cheese I do a search here and see what everybody else says about it. Sometimes someone will say that they made the recipe out of a book that I have, and they will say if it came out well or not. Knowing those things help a lot. Some times I use a recipe that someone posted here.

You said that you vacuum sealed your cheese and then it grew mold. You need to look at it more often so you can wash the mold off before it takes over. Wash it with cheese cloth dipped in a water and salt solution, like a brine, and then let it dry before resealing it. It could have been saved! We all have mold issues, you just have to take care of it before it ruins the cheese.

Good luck, and I hope you enjoy your new hobby. I make cheese every weekend, and I love it.