Hello! I began making cheese a couple of months ago, when my daughter gave me a mozzarella kit for my birthday. I’ve made nine cheeses so far, starting with the soft cheeses and working my way up to hard. I just finished making farmhouse cheddar from Ricki Carroll’s Home Cheesemaking book and the manchego recipe from this site. I’ve been blogging about my cheesemaking journey, but it’s mainly to inform family and friends about what I’ve been doing. (cheesemaking and anything I term “cheesy” is fair game). Most of my cheesemaking information comes from Ricki’s book, and most of my recipes have been from the Leener’s site.
My goal is to consistently make really good semi-hard and hard cheeses -- mainly because I like them the best. So far, I’m like a new cook -- just following the recipes. My efforts seem to turn out looking and tasting like cheese, but I feel I need to educate my palate and learn more about the process/chemistry, so I can figure out how to tinker with recipes without ruining the cheese (not to mention the expensive raw milk). I’m amazed at the amount of information and assistance on this forum. I think it’s just what I need to obtain a deeper understanding of the art of cheesemaking. Thanks in advance for your advice and assistance!