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After the failures of the two Bleus, (and believe me, that was really disappointing after how easy and perfect the first one was!) I am somewhat at a loss as to which cheese to attempt next.

I've done a reasonably decent Bel Paese, a reasonably decent Butterkase (and a failed one so I'm only batting .500 there) and a total failure of the Havarti I tried, the two Bleus that failed, and the one good one, so I'm running about 73% success rate with my cheeses.

My dilemma is this: If I don't start another one within the next couple of weeks, I probably won't ever try another one. Sad, I know.

I have a fairly long list of cheeses I really would like to try, but I have absolutely no idea which one to attempt.

So, without poisoning the well by telling everyone what my "want to do list" is, what cheeses would someone recommend for me to attempt next?

I'm fully open to suggestions!

I've been looking for good Asiago recipes lately, and not too many of those seem to get made on this board, so selfishly I am going to suggest you make one of those.

Do whatever you want though!

As your recent problems have come with ageing, why not try a fresh cheese?  Nothing like having a high probability of success to get you back on track :-)  Maybe a queso fresco?  Or possibly something like a nice feta?  Or, if you want to go more exotic, perhaps a halloumi (grilled haloumi is to die for!)

I would agree with Mikekchar. Fresh chevre was what got me hooked on making cheese, especially with goat's milk. Another good one is mascarpone that uses acid coagulation. It's delicious and decadent.


Susan

Assuming that you want a quick turn-around, rather than something that you have to wait months for, Caerphilly is always worth considering.
A tomme is another possibility which is fairly simple and reliable.

All decent suggestions, thanks!

I was thinking about some kind of washed-curd or cooked-curd cheese, that only had about 3-4 weeks of aging time. I'm afraid I'm far too ignorant of all the various varieties to be able to know what to look for.

Monterey Jack would also be a good choice for quicker turnaround.

Susan