We started the Camembert and then went upstairs for lunch. Robin had prepared a beautiful meal. After lunch we sampled Jim’s own Taleggio, Havarti, Cheddar, Vacha Toscano and a Wine Infused Tomme au Marc. Need we say, “Yum!”?
Jim pointed out that the first step to making great cheese is to taste great cheese. You need to know the final goal before you can strive to surpass it. (I’m sorry I didn’t get a picture of the samples, but by the time I got to the table, they had been almost completely devoured and then I was too busy grabbing the last delicious bites. If anyone came to the workshop not knowing that Jim can make cheese, all doubts were alleviated at this point!)
Before we returned to the make room, Carolyn from Gardner, MA posed with Lindsey. Carolyn took Ricki’s workshop last summer. She then had a “Homemade Artisan Cheese Tasting” at her home. She and three of her friends brought their own cheeses which they and other friends sampled and analyzed. She promised to invite us to her next one.
DAY 2
Sarah and Mike showed up bright and early Sunday morning. Mike is a veterinarian currently living in Freehold, NJ. Soon, however, he is buying land in Hamburg, PA where he hopes to eventually raise his own sheep. Like Jill, he also brought his own Cheddar to the workshop.
Jill brought two bandaged Cheddars she had made. The red sections are where she had removed slices of the cheese and then waxed over the exposed surfaces. The mold on the bandages was just a little more than Jim would have preferred to see. He advised her to put some good cheeses in her wine cooler for awhile to get the good mold going.
She made one of her Cheddars with store-bought milk. The other was made with organic raw Jersey milk. You’ll never guess which one we preferred . . .
giovana coelho says
hi my name is giovana i living in connecticut 19 years,but i have a farm in brazi!,i want to learn make cheese!i wonder when is the next class,how much is for workshop? thanks a lot!i hope u undestand my ingles!
Jeri Case says
That’s great! Our workshops are listed on our website – click here
Thanks so much. I am going to try this. We have a grass fed jersey cow and you can mound up the cream in her milk. SO, I think we should be able to do this.
The answer to the butter question is below
Marci Asks:??
"I would like to hear more about making butter from the butterfat left in the cheddar whey. Is that on the website somewhere?"
The milk I use is a high fat Jersey milk (Yum!), but as hard as I try I can not help some of the butterfat running off with the whey. I collect the high fat whey in a sanitized container and allow it to sit at room temp (68-75F) for the butter to rise. Do not forget to cover this.
If I allow this clean whey to sit covered overnight, the culture added to the milk will increase the acidity and in the morning I will find a nicely acidified cream on top that is easy to skim off (It has become very thick).
This "cultured cream" is then chilled (42-50F) then poured into my sanitized "Kitchen Aid" blender. I then hit the stir button and watch it go for about 10 minutes until it begins to "chug" (a jar for shaking or other butter making device will also work). I then make sure the butter has formed well before pouring the contents into a sanitized bowl.
I then pour off the whey that has accumulated and fill the bowl with Cold water. Then using the back of a sanitized wooden spoon I fold the butter back on itself in the water causing any residual whey to be released. I repeat the draining and cold water additions until the water runs clear (residual whey in the butter may cause it to go sour/rancid).
Drain off the final water, add a bit of salt to taste as you like and chill for use.
Voila! Butter from Whey ..
Jim, the Cheese Maker
Marci,
It isn't on our website, so our technical advisor, Jim Wallace, said he would write more about it. It may take a few days, so hang on and thanks for your comment.
Jeri
I would like to hear more about making butter from the butterfat left in the cheddar whey. Is that on the website somewhere?