Cheese Forum book?

[smolt1]

Sounds like fun AND a lot of time and effort. I would like to add my 2 cents on presses.

[qdog1955]

Danbo----You do realize how massive this book could get, right? So right off the bat, you might want to set some parameters-----for instance there are tons of books out there---how can I make my book more useful----maybe a series of smaller books----for the beginner, up to more advanced-----or limit what type of cheese-----the most compelling for me, would be a book of recipes that include all the PH markers needed. Just food for thought---in this case cheese for thought.
  Have you ever checked out Gavin's e-book on his Little Green cheese site.
Qdog

[Danbo]

Hi Qdog,

Good points!

I was thinking that I first of all would see if there was an interest for something like this.

When I have some inputs (like yours regarding PH-markers) I would try to go a little more into detail.

My initial thought was to make a small book that really explained some of the basics for beginners and intermediate... Alot of the books out there are either too basic or too advanced. For example: I get confused when a recipe just says "A mesophil culture" - there is a lot to choose from. I also get confused when a recipe says "Press until PH is 5,2" without indicating anything about how long that usually is.

I would like recipes to have the following:
- Which culture to use and alternatives
- Amount in DCU, approximate weight (g and US), ml/tsp and so on
- Temperatures in F/C
- PH markers
- Approximate times for each step
- Pressing weights i PSI and weights for different mould diameters

Maybe we should concentrate on making the "perfect recipe" - then we have a good place to start...

I bought Gavin's book. It was a really big help when I started. The book I'm thinking of would probably have less recipes but more info on other aspects needed to make a good cheese as a beginner. Something like "welcome to this class, equipment needed, make your first feta, build your own press (or buy one) and so on"...

:-) Danbo

[qdog1955]

 Sounds good Danbo----I don't think it will be hard to generate the interest.
  I started out with Gavin's videos and book, but out grew it pretty quick----but he certainly got my interest up.
Qdog

[mjr522]

I recall Boofer had some sort of collection of things from the forum that he found valuable (I think he started with a search for everything Pav ever said).  Perhaps he could provide a copy of that for starters.

[Frodage]

It sounds like a reference text, where the physics are explained together with the results you can expect from slight perturbations of the basic conditions. It could become a handy go-to book and very useful.