Hi all! After lurking around here for the last year or so I decided it was time to introduce myself. I started making cheese last year after wanting to try it for about 10 years. It was really much easier than I thought. Thanks to watching some videos mostly from Promised Land Farm, and Gavin Weber I made a batch of Feta as it seemed like an easy start and is a cheese I like. It turned out wonderful and the last of it is now over a year old and has become very nice (although there is only a few ounces of that original cheese left). It has been my staple for the last year of cheese making until last Sunday when I made my first camembert. Well this mornings turning showed the sides fully covered and the top and bottom begining to bloom. Woo Hoo! It was the cheese I really wanted to make when I started and now it is on it's way. Although it contained only base culture and P. candidum. None the less I am very excited with the results so far and will be making more I'm sure. In addition I have been making huge quantities of strained greek style yogurt since my aon and I both love it (to the tune of 3-4 gallons of milk turned into yogurt a week).
I have a few cheeses I want to try in the near future. A Neufchatel with candidum. A blue cheese with culture from a store bought danish blue. Some sort of tomme, haven't decided on particulars yet. Provalone and mozzarela. Clothbound chedder. And some other bloomy rind cheeses. I have a feeling my wine fridge-cheese cave will soon be supplemented with a freezer conversion cave to allow some of these projects.
I have a 30 year history of beer and wine making although these are on old at the moment due to apartment life, which I dislike greatly. Hopefully I can get my farmstead started in the next couple of years and get my vineyard started and raise my own grassfed meats and some sheep for milk and meat. Well that's me. I have learned a great deal from this board already and am looking forward to furhter adventures.
John
