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GENERAL BOARDS => Introductions => Topic started by: Ananke on September 11, 2013, 10:21:59 AM

Title: Hello from Scotland
Post by: Ananke on September 11, 2013, 10:21:59 AM
Hi all :)

I've been making soft cheese for a few years now and decided it was time to buy a press and venture into hard cheeses.  Parmesan is at the top of the list of cheeses that I want to make.

Until now I've only ever used a buttermilk starter so I've a bit of reading to do and a recipe to find before my press arrives later in the week :)
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: hoeklijn on September 11, 2013, 10:37:29 AM
Welcome from the other side of the North Sea, the neighborhood of the world famous city of Gouda in The Netherlands. Do you have access to raw milk or are you using store bought milk?
There are some suppliers of cheese making stuff in the UK if you are looking for cultures.
Have a look at http://www.brouwland.com/en/ (http://www.brouwland.com/en/) and look for Distributors...
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: Homecheesejack on September 11, 2013, 10:45:36 AM
Hi Ananke,

Great to have you on board - you'll love it here if you've already got cheese under your belt, everyone is very friendly.

Parmesan is a great idea, one that I've yet to try. Let me know when you've found a good recipe.

Jack.
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: Boofer on September 11, 2013, 04:05:13 PM
Parmesan is a great idea, one that I've yet to try. Let me know when you've found a good recipe.
Try this one...Debi, AFAIK, is Italian. :)

-Boofer-
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: Ananke on September 11, 2013, 05:01:45 PM
Hello hoeklijn and thanks for the welcome from such a beautiful part of the world, I hope to see it some day.  Unfortunately it is ilegal to buy/sell raw milk in Scotland for now and having it shipped from England is just too expensive for me.  Thanks for the link, I have just ordered lipase and about to order cultures now.

Gouda is definately on my list, do you pronounce it Goo da or Gow da

Hi Jack, thanks for the warm welcome, I don't know whether it's a good one or not but I was going to go with this one, what do you think?
(maybe I should have checked the T&C's as to whether I'm allowed to post links, sorry if I'm not)
http://www.culturesforhealth.com/how-to-make-parmesan-cheese-recipe (http://www.culturesforhealth.com/how-to-make-parmesan-cheese-recipe)
I also watched an Austrailian guy make it on youtube and the proceedures look similar.

The recipe that Boofer just posted is a wee bit too technical looking for me at this early stage so I'll stick to the basics for now.

I've just spent my first day off in ages reading cheese recipes, feeling very lazy and excited at the same time.



Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: Spellogue on September 11, 2013, 05:40:59 PM
Unfortunately it is ilegal to buy/sell raw milk in Scotland for now and having it shipped from England is just too expensive


That's too bad.  I understand though, because in the US milk regulations are governed by the individual states.  In Ohio our milk laws are rather restrictive in relation to raw milk.  But in neighboring Pennsylvania the laws are quite liberal toward the sale of raw milk. 

If you don't have good access to raw milk you might still seek out a commercial pasteurized milk that is NOT homogenized.  It is sometimes labeled as 'creamline' milk.  You'll normally get a much nicer curd set if the milk hasn't been homogenized.  Furthermore, many creamline milks are low-temp pasteurized and that is more gentle to the milk too.  By all means, avoid using any milk that is ultra-pasteurized.

You might be able to procure some raw milk through the 'gray market' in the countryside somewhere.  The results are worth the effort if you are able to find any sources.

Welcome to the cheeseforum.
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: hoeklijn on September 11, 2013, 06:25:30 PM
Gouda is definately on my list, do you pronounce it Goo da or Gow da
You can just call it Gowda, but when you say Gooda in a shop here, they'll know what you want :)
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: Ananke on September 11, 2013, 09:19:55 PM
Hi Spellogue, after reading this forum, I decided to look into the "grey market".  I've also joined a group who have come up with with a solution by buying Shares in the herd, I've yet to read more about it but it sounds like something I'd definately be interested in.

Meanwhile, I will look for creamline milk.  I really need to get a shopping list together as I want to get started as soon as my press arrives.

I don't have cheesecloths as such but do have muslin squares that I use for soft cheese, would these be ok for a press do you think?

hoeklijn, I have always called it Gowda then I watched several videos where they said Gooda and I thought I had been saying it wrong for all these years :D
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: Tiss on September 12, 2013, 01:55:35 AM
Welcome from a fellow newbie. Just put a couple goats out back.  ;D
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: Spellogue on September 12, 2013, 03:17:42 AM
The state legislature passed a law allowing herd-share here in Ohio a few years ago.  It is the only way to purchase raw milk legally here too.  Most producers that incorporate it now charge a small annual fee to represent buy-in to the herd and then charge for the milk.  Some take a more literal interpretation and offer partial ownership for a larger fee and give the milk as a dividend.  I'm glad they passed it as a step in the right direction.  Perhaps we will get farm gate sales approved soon.  Glad to know you have options toward the milk sources you want to pursue.

I always thought it was supposed to be pronounced 'who-dah' with the accent on the second syllable.  Most everybody in the Midwest pronounces it 'GOO-duh' so I usually do too.  When in Rome,eh?
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: Ananke on September 12, 2013, 08:20:42 PM
Spellogue, farm gate sales sound fantastic.

LOL Tiss, that would be a great solution if I didn't live in a flat in the city. 

I was very excited that my press arrived today, however I was a bit disappointed in the finish of it, it's a bit shabby for the price but I suppose so long as it does the job I can put up with that. 

This is a fruit and cheese press and as I grow my own fruit, it seemed like the ideal purchase but what I didn't notice is that there is no way of telling psi so I'm just gonna have to wing it.

I rushed out and bought 5 gallons of milk to make a basic hard cheese  with yogurt starter while I get my head around which cultures to buy.  There are a lot to choose from out there and I'm not sure what to buy yet.  I will be adding the rennet in about an hour and I can't wait to try the press out :)  I should really have timed things better as I think it will be midnight or later when I finally get to that stage.
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: Geodyne on September 12, 2013, 08:44:47 PM
Hi Ananke,

What kind of cheese do you like to eat? I'd suggest buying a starter for a basic cheese that you enjoy and work from there. If you would like to make a basic hard cheese, I'd suggest starting with one of the general mesophilic starters such as the M100 or M4000 series, which contain cultures with which you could make Caerphilly (which matures in a short time so you can test your technique), cheddar types and so on.
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: hoeklijn on September 13, 2013, 05:43:54 AM
Yoghurt can be used as a thermophilic starter. Thermo cultures are used for cheeses that are "cooked" on higher temperatures, like Alp cheeses. When you are looking for Gouda type cheeses, use mesophilic cultures or buttermilk. You can find a lot of information about cultures on the forum and of course a lot of recipes.
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: Homecheesejack on September 14, 2013, 09:32:14 AM
Boofer - thanks for the recipe, will try it with my new acid-measuring techniques.

BTW- how do you copy a previous post so that you can reply specifically to that, like you have done to my request for a Parmesan recipe?

Thanks again for your help,

Jack
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: SpargePervert on September 14, 2013, 10:10:47 AM
Hi Ananke, welcome to the board. 

Where are you getting your cheese making supplies from?  I've had good experience with Goat Nutrition. (http://gnltd.co.uk/goat-nutrition/cheese-making-products.html)
If you're after a 'creamline' milk most supermarkets sell the Jersey Gold Top which is pasteurised, but non-homogonised.  I'm relatively new to cheesemaking, but have not had any problems getting good curds from this milk.


Jack - when you are typing your Reply, scroll down & you can see the previous comments from the thread, then hit "Insert Quote" next to the comment you want & it brings it into your Reply as a Quote.
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: jwalker on September 14, 2013, 01:50:54 PM


Jack - when you are typing your Reply, scroll down & you can see the previous comments from the thread, then hit "Insert Quote" next to the comment you want & it brings it into your Reply as a Quote.

Or , just put your cursor on "quote" at the top left of desired post , and go from there.
And you can erase any parts you don;t need as well , as I just did. ;D

Ananke , welcome to the forum , I'm of Scottish heritage myself , I really hope to see your country one day.
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: SpargePervert on September 14, 2013, 02:00:55 PM

Or , just put your cursor on "quote" at the top left of desired post , and go from there.
And you can erase any parts you don;t need as well , as I just did. ;D


Oh yeah, and that!!
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: Ananke on September 20, 2013, 12:25:38 PM
Hi Swiftpint, I use Goat Nutrition too.  They are very reliable in my experience, just had a delivery from them yesterday.

I was looking at Jersey Gold Top in the supermarket the other day and as soon as I am a bit more confident, I am going to try it (using cheap stuff right now), I love the colour of it, it looks really rich and creamy, just like milk used to look.

Hi jwalker, thanks for the welcome. Do you know which part of Scotland your ancestors are from?
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: jwalker on September 20, 2013, 01:30:47 PM
Not entirely sure exactly where my ancestors were from , I've done some  research and found that they came to America from Glasgow , but further back they seem to have come from around Elgin.

It's a tedious process searching for your heritage , but a lot of fun at the same time , especially when you come across something that looks plausible.

I hope to get over there one day and spend a month or so and travel around a bit , but life keeps getting in the way , you know how it is. ::)
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: Homecheesejack on September 20, 2013, 10:20:16 PM
Swift pint


Jack - when you are typing your Reply, scroll down & you can see the previous comments from the thread, then hit "Insert Quote" next to the comment you want & it brings it into your Reply as a Quote.


Like this?

Thank you!
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: Homecheesejack on September 20, 2013, 10:23:00 PM
Or , just put your cursor on "quote" at the top left of desired post , and go from there.
And you can erase any parts you don;t need as well , as I just did.
Or this, thanks Jwalker (and apologies for trampling original post)
Title: Re: Hello from Scotland
Post by: Ananke on September 21, 2013, 10:24:47 PM
I've been researching my ancestry for several years now, even got back to Royalty lol.  It's facinating stuff, most of my ancestors were Irish and although I'm over there visiting family a few times per year, I have never managed to find the time to travel around the places where they lived.  One day I'll make the time.

Elgin is a lovely part of the country, you should definately visit there if you manage to come over.

Jack, no appology needed :)

Well, I have now had all the ingredients delivered to make a start on my parmesan and cheddar :0  wee bit apprehensive but looking forward to it