Michigan!

[Lv9_Engineer]

Hi everyone, glad to be here. I live in Metro Detroit, and have been in this area for more than 20 years.

I've been researching cheese and other fermented milk products for a while, as I tend to do with various food items from time to time, but this one stuck in my mind for being deceptively deep. I'm excited to make cheese making a hobby of mine. I know I'll get a lot of valuable help and insight from the forum, which is why I've joined.

Some unrelated things: I have a degree in electrical engineering, I have 2 cats and a dog, I have a wife but no kids, and I play violin.

[awakephd]

Welcome, Lv9! This is a great forum, filled with interesting characters enthusiastic cheesemakers, including some other engineers. Enjoy!

[Lv9_Engineer]

Thanks for the welcome! Much appreciated. 

I plan on starting with some faster stuff like cream cheese... I'm excited to become comfortable with more involved cheeses, but don't want to rush into it. Any recommendations for beginner cheeses are appreciated as well.

[OzzieCheese]

Hi Lv9 and welcome to the forum.  this place is full of passionate and absolutely interesting people.  I can see Violin playing and cheese making being complementary. There are lots of waiting periods that you can fill with wonderful notes of your own.  For beginner cheeses I like Fetta and Caerphilly.  these are what they term hard cheeses - not because they are difficult but because of the cooking involved. These two cover quite a bit of the basics and touch on techniques used in other cheeses. They also only take a small amount of ageing typically 3-4 weeks instead of months (like a Cheddar) before you can taste your efforts. The soft cheeses are a little more involved in their care.
here is how I make Caerphilly

http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,13984.0.html

Welcome and don't forget we'er all here help

-- Mal

[Lv9_Engineer]

Thanks for the encouragement, I'll be sure to try your suggestions... Also that thread you linked has a lot of good info, thanks for that. I find the troubleshooting perspective helpful as well.

[Kern]

Welcome to the Forum.  I think that it is shocking that you have a degree in electrical engineering.     I have one in chemical engineering.

[Lv9_Engineer]

That's interesting! My younger brother intends to pursue a chemical engineering degree soon. I actually just graduated from my program earlier this year, myself.

[awakephd]

Welcome to the Forum.  I think that it is shocking that you have a degree in electrical engineering.     I have one in chemical engineering.

Uggh, what an awful pun. Of course, I was just getting ready to say, in response to Mal's comment, that at least when it comes the speed and ferocity with which we consume it, we often do violins to our cheese.