By Gianaclis Caldwell
Gianaclis Caldwell, her husband and teen aged daughter own the small, 23 acre Pholia Farm in Oregon where they make cheese from the milk of their Nigerian Dwarf goats. (www.pholiafarm.com)
In this book, Gianaclis has managed to delineate all the steps involved in setting up a farmstead creamery. There is no philosophy here-just practical details about how to solve the problems and, more importantly, to avoid the problems in the first place.
The history of farmstead cheesemaking in the US, reasons for making and selling cheese, 10 Questions to Test Your Suitability (if you still want to do it after taking this test-you’re ready!) and the specifics about the many permits you will need to obtain.
Appendix A lists resources, Appendix B has 3 floor plans for small creameries and one for the small, non-licensed home dairy, Appendix C lists tests and how to use the data, and Appendix D is a sample Milk Purchase Agreement.
Many of you will probably change your minds about selling cheese, after you read about the complexities involved in conforming to regulations. But, that’s a good thing. Better to find out now by reading this book than by learning the hard way.