New to cheese, new to the forum

[aranil]

Hi there,
Currently based in Hobart, Tasmania (but originally from New York State)... love eating cheese - particularly stinky soft French cheeses and mozzarella di bufala - and really want to learn more about the cheese making process from cow to counter. Very much looking forward to getting lost in this forum!
Cheers

[River Bottom Farm]

Welcome aranil

[TravisNTexas]

Welcome to the forum from another new guy just learning.  You will indeed get lost in the tons of information available in this forum.

As for learing about cheese processes, I noticed that the book Mastering Artisan Cheesmaking by Gianaclis Caldwell is recommended over and over across this site, so I ordered it and it arrived yesterday.  It is absolutely an amazing book on cheese processes for all types of cheeses, it has pH points in the recipes, and I highly recommend it just from a cursory bit of reading last night.  It's exactly what I wanted in order to understand more about making cheese.  YMMV

[Andrew Marshallsay]

Welcome on board, Aranil and good luck with your cheesemaking ventures.
You may well find that this forum is your most important tool.

[5ittingduck]

Welcome!
There are a few Tasmanians lurking about here

[panamamike]

Welcome to the Forum. Good luck with your cheese making.

[GortKlaatu]

Bienvenidos from Costa Rica!

[GortKlaatu]

Welcome to the forum from another new guy just learning.  You will indeed get lost in the tons of information available in this forum.

As for learing about cheese processes, I noticed that the book Mastering Artisan Cheesmaking by Gianaclis Caldwell is recommended over and over across this site, so I ordered it and it arrived yesterday.  It is absolutely an amazing book on cheese processes for all types of cheeses, it has pH points in the recipes, and I highly recommend it just from a cursory bit of reading last night.  It's exactly what I wanted in order to understand more about making cheese.  YMMV

Hey Travis!
So glad you got the book.  So glad you like it.  You'll find that you'll learn a ton right off the bat.  But as you progress on your cheesemaking adventures, more and more of the deeper details of the book will suddenly make more and more sense.  Soon you'll be surprised at how you can adjust a make on the fly when things start going a bit off base. 

[TravisNTexas]

Hey Travis!
So glad you got the book.  So glad you like it.  You'll find that you'll learn a ton right off the bat.  But as you progress on your cheesemaking adventures, more and more of the deeper details of the book will suddenly make more and more sense.  Soon you'll be surprised at how you can adjust a make on the fly when things start going a bit off base.

I'm extremely happy I went ahead and bought it!  I'm about 3 chapters into the book so far (with several forays into the recipes for certain cheeses) and it is just an amazing book.  And yes, she makes a big deal about how understanding what is really going on in the processes allows you to adapt processes/recipes to adapt to variations in ingredients, etc.  I can tell this book is going to be a wonderful resource for years!

[Shawhee]

Welcome, I am a newbie here as well. I have both of her books as well as several others.

[aranil]

Welcome to the forum from another new guy just learning.  You will indeed get lost in the tons of information available in this forum.

As for learing about cheese processes, I noticed that the book Mastering Artisan Cheesmaking by Gianaclis Caldwell is recommended over and over across this site, so I ordered it and it arrived yesterday.  It is absolutely an amazing book on cheese processes for all types of cheeses, it has pH points in the recipes, and I highly recommend it just from a cursory bit of reading last night.  It's exactly what I wanted in order to understand more about making cheese.  YMMV

Hey Travis,
Thanks for the recommendation - the team I'm working with at the moment highly recommended that book as well - I actually just made the purchase before logging into the forum and am very happy that there are several others in this thread (let alone the whole forum!) who recommend that book without reserve. I've already learned so much after being in the cheese room and am excited to start venturing on my own, slowly, as well.
Cheers

[TravisNTexas]

Hey Travis,
Thanks for the recommendation - the team I'm working with at the moment highly recommended that book as well - I actually just made the purchase before logging into the forum and am very happy that there are several others in this thread (let alone the whole forum!) who recommend that book without reserve. I've already learned so much after being in the cheese room and am excited to start venturing on my own, slowly, as well.
Cheers

Aranil,

You are certainly welcome.  I think it's an awesome resource!

[aranil]

Aranil,

You are certainly welcome.  I think it's an awesome resource!

A friend recently loaned me a copy of The Art of Natural Cheesemaking by David Asher (https://www.bookdepository.com/The-Art-of-Natural-Cheesemaking-David-Asher/9781603585781). I'm sure you already know it's focus is on raw milk, without adding freeze-dried and factory produced cultures and rennets. While making cheese following this philosophy is difficult in some parts of the world, I found that the chapters on milk, molds, yeasts, etc. to be more well-written and articulate than in Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking. If only I could combine Asher's writing with Caldwell's tables and graphic summaries....