stepping up from Mozzarella

[mozsticks]

After three tries, I have successfully managed to make mozzarella cheese!!!! This was my second cheese type I made, the first was ricotta. Now im looking for my next cheese to make, and i'm totally clueless on what would be a good next step. somebody mentioned I should try a stilton, but unfortunately, I havnt developed the taste for Blue Cheeses yet  :-[  . So if anyone has some good suggestions (other than blue cheese) I would love the proffesional advice. I think something that doesnt take too long to age would be nice, since I havnt even tried affinage yet.

Thanks!!

[MrsKK]

If you like cheddar, try Lancashire, as it has good mild cheddar flavor in six weeks and is pleasantly sharp at three months.

[Scott Wallen]

I made a farmhouse cheddar after I felt I was ready to move from Mozzarella, it's still in the cave till June/July, then a I made a Gouda (Goudarey Jack) long story....

[beechercreature]

caerphilly!

[mjr522]

The advice frequently given is to choose something that doesn't have to age too long so that you can get a few cycles in (that is, so you don't have to wait 3+ months to figure out if you did a good job).  A lot depends on what you like.

Caerphilly, a cheddared, hard cheese, is good at 3 weeks. 

Those who like white-mold ripened cheeses would tell you to go for camembert which is (at least, can be...) good in about 3 weeks as well.

Washed curd cheeses are tolerant of mistakes.  Monterey jack is a washed curd (at least in some recipes...) that is good in about 4 weeks.

I'm sure there are other short aging cheeses that represent other styles of cheese, but those are the ones that come to mind.

Good luck!