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Hello everyone, I just wanted to introduce myself.  My name is Cody and I've recently become interested in making cheese.  I cook a lot, smoke my own meats, make my own sausage, do a little beekeeping, and I garden and can my own food.  Making cheese will soon be added to the list.  I would like to thank all those who have contributed to this forum and made it such a great resource for beginners such as myself.  I'm looking forward to making a few posts myself as soon as I have something to add.

I'd like to incorporate some of my garden produce into my first few cheeses.  I have a bunch of hot peppers so I'm thinking a Pepper Jack might be in order.  Are there other cheeses that go well with hot peppers?  I also have some Rosemary that I want to use - maybe encrust an Asiago?  Or infuse some Gouda or Butterkäse?  Any recommendations would be much appreciated.

Welcome to the forum.  You have come to the right place! 

I don't have specifics, but I have seen sage and rosemary used quit a bit.  I have seen peppers used in cheddars as well, and Gort on this forum made a very pretty Bel Paese to which he added a habanero sauce with flakes of the peppers in it.  He added the recipe to the end of the thread for me at

https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,17132.msg131525.html#msg131525.

Bel Paese is supposed to be a pretty forgiving beginner cheese.  His recipe is more traditional, but Gavin Weber has a youtube video of a Bel Paese that does not require a press and can be aged at refrigerator temperatures.  I plan on trying both of those recipes.

Thanks Travis!  That Habanero Paese looks fantastic.  I don't have any Geo or Mycodore yet so I might have to wait on that one.   I saw some jalapeño Gouda at the store today and it got me thinking.  I do have Flora Danica, MM100, and Thermo C to start out with.  I figured with a basic aromatic, meso, and thermo I could get going on some simpler recipes.  And I made a spring-type cheese press that's good for 50 lbs.

The press looks great!  I'm planning on building a dutch style, but they do take up a lot of space.  I'm curious where you sourced the springs and those awesome knobs.

Well my first cheese will be an Asiago with olive oil and rosemary rub.  Its currently in the brine.  Once it gets a bit further along I'll start a post to document how it turned out. 

I watched Gavin's video on Bel Paese and he doesn't use a washed rind.  So maybe I will try that one out next.  If not it'll be a Gouda or Butterkäse, but its gonna have hot peppers no matter what.

I'm glad my press passed inspection    I sourced the springs from Home Depot (other vendors have them too.  7/8 x 4" compression spring with .080" wire, 24.8 lbs max load): 
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-11-16-in-x-1-1-4-in-and-7-8-in-x-4-in-Zinc-Plated-Compression-Spring-4-Pack-16084/202045472
I am going to order some stiffer springs that will get me to 100 pounds sometime soon.  The Century Spring C-792 on Amazon will get me there but they're only 3" long.  Might have to use 2 on each side.  The knobs I sketched up on Autodesk and 3D printed, along with the plastic bushings that keep my springs centered.

I almost built a Dutch press since they're less hassle to use and pressing heavy is no problem, but I decided that space was a bigger concern for me.  Hence the spring press.  If this addiction continues I might have to build a Dutch press anyway!

Cool.  Thank you for the info!  I thinking a spring press would be really nice to have even when I do build the dutch.  And the 3D printed knobs are just awesome!

Welcome and good luck.
Keep us posted.

Welcome to the Forum Cody.

You will have a lot of fun making cheese.

Welcome, I LOVE that press! I am a newbie here too.