Hello from Canberra, Australia

[harmo]

Hi everyone,

Long time forum browser, first time registering/chatting. 

I've been a hobbyist cheese maker for some years now. I've largely "flown solo" because many of my friends are lactose intolerant, and Canberra folks are by and large, home bodies who don't go out much.

Admittedly, I did some introductory courses (through Cheesemaking.com.au) and then again through homesteading/Permaculture courses, but after that, I've just been a curd tinkerer, muttering incomprehensibly to myself while culturing my curds with heat and a gentle hand... then turning the screws while pressing curds into submission.

At the simpler end, I've done cultured butters and yoghurts, lactic acid cheeses, fresh cheeses, Paneer, up to Halloumi, Brie and Camembert styles when the occasion strikes me... I mostly focus on harder cheeses (Cheddar, Parmesan, Romano, and Manchego to name a few) because the wide aging window allows me to eat it at my leisure... but I seem to struggle a little with the semi-hard, Swiss, Jarlsberg, Tomme, Gouda, etc range... mostly because I don't eat that much cheese, and it's often ready before I've finished my previous batches. That said, I've had my fair share of successes and failures. (See attached image for one of my more amusing failures)

Because I am (for the most part) self taught, I've read quite a few books on cheese making. I wrote a rather in-depth review on some of the more popular home cheese making books. I also collect electronic copies of antique cheese making books. I'm always looking for more.

You can find the reviews from my web site:

https://waywardham.net/index.php/foodie-forays/cheese-making-book-reviews

Antique books can be downloaded from:

https://waywardham.net/index.php/foodie-forays/antique-cheese-making-books

If you have other old books, or books you'd like added to the list, I'm sure I can probably be persuaded.

Anyway, I hope to learn and share what I've learned with you all.

Kind Regards,
Hamish (a.k.a: Harmo)

[paulabob]

What a neat collection, thanks for sharing!

[Deb the Gardener]

Hamish, I will keep an eye out for old cheesemaking books for you when I go to the local antique markets here in northern Italy. I doubt they will have any in English, but you never know!

[harmo]

Hi Deb,

Always nice to meet a fellow gardener... I hope northern Italy is treating you well, I imagine it's quite cool there at the moment. Is there much gardening to do?

I'd love to get a look at any antique cheese books, regardless of language. I studied Italian back in my university days... although that was more years ago than I'd care to admit... and I'm more than a touch rusty... perhaps even corroded.    Back to the translation concern...

These days, it's possible to use smart phones for real-time translation of signs... I presume the same would be true of book pages. I'm sure I can type in recipes into any translation app/site as well and get the gist of things.

Anyway, I truly appreciate the offer, and I'll be interested to see what you might find. However, please don't feel pressured ok?

Thanks for reaching out, and I hope to see you around on the forum.

Hamish.

[cheese@Guelph]

Hello Guys
Surprised you have not included this free and awesome Cheese Technology ebook:
https://books.lib.uoguelph.ca/cheesemakingtechnologyebook/
there are a few recipes but most importantly there are the basic knowledge about cheese technology!

Please review!