I am located in Edwardsville, Illinois, which is a college town located about 15 miles from St. Louis, Missouri.
I became interested in making cheese on a farm-to-table themed visit to Vermont in 2015. Part of the program was a mozzarella making session at a kitchen store in Burlington, VT. I was instantly hooked.
When I came home I tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to make a decent mozzarella. I then cast about for somewhere to take a cheese making class and happened upon one in St. Louis given by Merryl Winstein.
After that class and after watching a lot videos and buying lots of books I launched myself into trying to make all sorts of different cheeses in rapid succession. I didn’t have to throw anything out, but the results were hard to assess except for the fact that my friends seemed to like them.
Merryl Winstein is the one who really opened the door for me to making decent, maybe even good, cheese. First, I attended her classes in St. Louis, but more importantly, her book, Successful Cheesemaking, published in 2017, is the go-to work for the home cheesemaker.
It is a step by step guide which explains the process but does not over-explain. Believe me I have every major cheese making book on the market, and hers is the best of the lot. I owe her a great debt for her help, as do most of her students.
In 2016, I went on a kind of foodie tour with my sister and brother-in-law to northern Italy where we visited all family owned, food-related businesses, including wineries, a balsamic vinegar making operation in Modena, tortellini making in another small town, and cheese making in Roncà. I think we were there about 8 days all together. I have some good photos of the cheesemaking because we were actually inside the make room:
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In 2017, I took both a beginning class and advanced class from Larry and Linda Faillace at Three Shepherds in Warren, VT.
Then, last fall and winter I took a stab at making cheeses which needed aging or could be aged. I made Tomme, and an Alpine style cheese and a cloth bound cheddar, each of which is are now about 10-11 months old.
I took along samples of the Alpine and the aged Tomme for Linda and Larry to assess when I visited them on October 9, 2019. I had contacted them about stopping by because I was traveling around New England with a British friend. They invited us to lunch. They had lived in England for a few years, so we had a nice chat and a cheese tasting lunch. Linda has an amazing palate, so I really appreciated her feedback on my cheeses.
Because I was traveling from October 8th to November 9th this year, I have not been making any cheeses. Sometimes you can get someone to water your houseplants once a week, but no one wants to turn your cheeses and air them out on a daily basis. Also, the milk I use dries up more or less during the winter months. If it is available, it is not as good when the cows are eating hay, which they do until late spring. Over the winter months, I like to play around with making sourdough breads.
Since I don’t have time to age any cheeses for the next six months, I will be making feta and Camembert and a simple yogurt cheese called Shanklish from David Asher’s book, The Art of Natural Cheesemaking. I generally use the Camembert for Christmas gifts and to take to parties.
The feta I store in brine and just use as needed. I love that it keeps just about forever.
Strangely, even though I set off to learn how to make mozzarella, I have never gone back to it.
My goals are modest. I want to get more proficient at cheese making and do some cheese-related travel.
As to advice for beginning cheesemakers, I would say that both watching videos such as those produced by Gavin Webber and Promiseland Farm, and taking a cheesemaking class are the best ways to introduce yourself to the process.
There are many, many books out there, but again I would recommend Merryl Winstein’s two-volume, Successful Cheesemaking, as the one to get, though it is pricey. However, I have spent a lot of money on books that, while interesting and somewhat helpful, didn’t really nail down the process and the why’s and wherefore’s behind the process.
Carol Shuler says
My first cheese class was with two professional cheese makers from northern New Mexico. The most important thing I learned was to be brave. Since then I have proceeded armed with several very good books. I took an advanced class at Three Shepherds where I met Stephanie. We have become good friends. I agree that Merryl Weinstein’s Book is the best. In my area, the Sonoran Desert, It is very hard to find others who want to make aged cheese. Also some of the challenges are different.
The information and products available through Cheesemaking Supplies is appreciated.
Stephanie Robbins says
Thx, Carol. I should have mentioned that I have learned a lot from you.
I, too, have taken Merryl Winsteins cheese making class on three occasions and have purchased her book. I have learned a lot from Merryl, Gavin Webber and New England Cheese Making. I have made 15 or so different cheeses and have found the only drawback has been sourcing raw milk and waiting for the aging of some cheeses.
Loved your article! Wishing you many great cheese down the road!
Loved the article and was excited to see she lived in Edwardsville Illinois. We live just outside of Edwardsville closer to Hamel Illinois. We also have Nigerian dwarf goat’s and make the best yogurt, and Chevre cheese. Purchased a cheese press last year and hope to be able to make some aged cheese next year when the girls are ready to milk.
Since you live so close to St. Louis you might consider Merryl Winstein’s cheesemaking class in St. Louis. She raised goats for over 20 years. I think they are her first love.
Check out her website: http://www.CheeseMakingClass.com
I loved reading this. I have loved my European cooking classes, but have never acted on them. I am so impressed and anxious to watch your journey. Will be blessed to own the results .
Love love love all the pictures. I wish more of them were captioned. I have started experimenting more with cheese making since buying a few more books – most notably “Successful Cheesemaking” 2 volume set by Merryl Winstein.
As a busy pediatrician who is also working on am MPH and most recently taking the lead in our local college’s theater production, I am afraid that my cheesemaking is not very accurate. I just bought another fridge to try to convert to a cheese cave, but am struggling with both the humidity and the temperature.
I was really heartened to see a picture of your naturally aged Tomme as I have a fridge full of that but have been afraid to cut into it. I am also experimenting with Brie and Camembert, but my son is complaining about the smell of the aging process. Fortunately, if I do have failures, I have lots of chickens to feed. I also have my own goats which is nice for the milk. I am down from milking 5 to 3 now, which is a much more manageable number.
Keep those articles coming! I always learn something new.
Don’t be afraid to cut off a small slice of a cheese to test it. Just coat the open section well with a heavy layer of butter, and I believe the cheese will continue to age.
Wonderfully written article
Thank you! And thank you for reading it.