Hi From Utah!

[SimplyE]

Just found this forum and I am SOOO intrigued and thrilled I found you all!  I have a small herd of Nigerian Dwarf goats here in Eden, Utah and make goat-milk soap and lotion.  My first love is cheese and I am just starting to mess around more with cheese this summer than before.  I have made the basic beginners cheese chevre mostly.  I have dabbled in cheddar, but not much and so excited to try more of everything!  Looking forward to learning from you all!

Cheers!
Athena

[bbracken677]

Welcome to the forum!  Vast amounts of information here...look at the main forum sections!!  Also..you might try various searches for specifics...I have spent hours just (for instance) searching the words Cheddar recipe and reading what pops up under the search...you will pop from one thread to another and learn a ton about cheesemaking just doing that! There are also several wikis available regarding different aspects/recipes involving cheese as well.
If you have specific questions do not hesitate to ask...the only dumb question is one that isn't asked   

[smolt1]

Welcome to a great forum, lots of helpful folks here!

[bbrown131211]

Welcome. I am a newbie here also. Already I have received some VERY helpful advice. Hope you enjoy.

[Gürkan Yeniçeri]

Welcome to the forum Athena.

[Spellogue]

Hi Athena,

I'm new to the site too.  Great to hear say you raise Nigerians too.  Aren't they wonderful?  They don't produce the quantity of a full size goat, but I find the quality of the milk supreme.   Good yield too.  And we just love their personalities.   Pholia Farms bases their production on Nigerian milk.  I've been wanting to try some of their cheeses to compare and benchmark against my own but haven't gotten my hands on any yet.  Have you tried their cheese?

Good things come in small packages.

I'm looking forward to hearing more about your endeavors.  Happy cheese making.

[mtncheesemaker]

Hi and welcome from western Colorado. This is the best source of info on anything cheese. Enjoy!

[SimplyE]

WOW!  Thanks for such a great welcome!  I come from a food-service background, but after reading all this, I feel I know so little!  ha ha ha! 

Yes...Spellogue!  I love my little Nigerians!  I have never tried any homesteaded cheese and only have a few cheddars in the fridge, though I think I might need to throw them out after reading more here.  I keep making a basic cheddar with two gallons of milk, but I end up with SOOO many extra curds that don't fit into the mold that I think I might try a gallon and a half for the recipe I have from Ricki's Home Cheese Making book.  So yes, the yield seems really huge! 

Looking forward to making tons...Lord knows I eat enough cheese throughout the year to kill a cow or something else!  Thanks all!

[bbracken677]

"psst!"

Hint hint

Check out some of the cheddar recipes in the forum...

*I slip quietly away*

[SimplyE]

LOL!  gotcha!

[SimplyE]

"psst!"

Hint hint

Check out some of the cheddar recipes in the forum...

*I slip quietly away*

K...so call me stupid...this forum is so huge!  Is there a specific spot for recipes?  Or just search under the cheddar forum?

[bbracken677]

You can do a search under the cheddar forum for "cheddar recipe" or just cheddar (lots of learnings particularly in this last year) or you can do a forum wide search, but you will pick up a bit more clutter that way.  I spent a few days reading some of the more interesting threads and learned quite a bit about cheddar and the process. Now I just have to take the knowledge and apply it with a bit of skill, which I have yet to gain, but working on it   

[Boofer]

K...so call me stupid...this forum is so huge!  Is there a specific spot for recipes?  Or just search under the cheddar forum?

Welcome to the forum, Athena.

You can search for specific recipes or guidelines on the forum or try the wiki recipes.

You'll find that there are some inaccuracies and inconsistencies to Ricki Carroll's book. You can find better cheese making books. One that you'll see mentioned here that I like a lot is the one shown.

-Boofer-

[Spellogue]

I checked 200 easy cheese recipes from the library and liked it so much I bought my own copy by the time I returned it to the library, so as not to be without a copy for any stretch.

[bbracken677]

I bought one also!