Kathleen (at left) and her husband, Andrzej with Colette (a fan of their cheese). |
Their home when it was almost completed in 2007. |
Separating milk – cream on the left, skimmed milk on right. |
2 quarts of cream from 10 gallons of milk. |
We wanted to do the sustainable life, sort of a back-to-nature deal. We’re raising pigs, goats, sheep, geese, guinea fowl, Muscovy and Rouen ducks, rabbits, and chickens, a little of everything. We have a small six-acre farm (Darwin Farm) in a rural area, near ancient Maya ruins .
This picture was taken 7/7/2007. |
Photo by Maya Papovic / Conch Creative |
Leeloo, Puck and Zaggy |
Alia with her twin kids- Tekka Maki and Kappa Maki |
Ann with her newborn lambs-Clarice and Starling |
The 3 Xs barn, under construction in 2006. |
First chevre made from goat milk. Holes are drilled in plastic cups for drainage of whey. |
The hand-cranked ferry they take when they make the trip to Spanish Lookout for supplies. |
Gales Point post office |
Bermudian Landing post office |
Then came the Great Cheese Embargo in Belize in 2009. The embargo was a temporary government measure to allow the local dairy to sell off its surplus cheese, which took a while partly because people were smuggling cheese in across the border from Chetumal, Mexico, and Melchor, Guatemala.
Happily, we found a nearby cattle rancher who would deliver raw cow’s milk weekly, and after that, things began looking up. The embargo is over now, but we’re pleased with our own cheese.
Anton holding payment of $50 Bz. ($25 US), for 10 gallons of milk. |
The original recipe calls for 2 gallons of milk but I use 4 US gallons because then I get just enough curd to fit in my mold with a heap which gets pressed – so as a result I get a nice round almost as high as the mold itself. But any amount is okay – you just have to calculate the right amount of rennet for hard cheese and salt.
I’m using Guatemalan rennet tablets which contain Mucur Pusillus y/o Mucur Miehei, Pepsina, Cloruro de Sodio, Celulosa Microcristalina y exipientes c.s.p. (whatever that might mean in Spanish…) The label on the phial says 1 tablet for 50 liters, but I found that half a tablet works just as well for 4 gallons = 15 liters and it’s easier to divide the tablet in 2 than into three.
The Thermo pkg (MA-ll) is 125 dcu and the Meso (TZ-60) is 250. They come from Danisco in Canada. We keep them in the freezer, and have a UPS battery back-up, as well as a generator, to protect our stuff from the frequent power failures.
The liquid rennet cost to us is $1.50 an ounce, US, and the meso/thermo packs are around $40 US, enough for many happy months of cheese-making.
First Wensleydale goat cheese |
Jerry-rigged press with leather belt and spatula. |
Andrzej adapted the design from a standard Dutch lever press. He used 1×6 for the back spine (with grooves routed into it), and 1×4 hardwood for the rest. Ten dollars worth of wood, five dollars worth of screws, nuts, and bolts, plus glue… (3/8″ bolts to attach the base to the backbone) to add rigidity. He added two more 1×4 boards for stability.
Under construction from Rosewood and Cabbagebark hardwoods. |
Their new press in action. |
715 hand drilled holes. |
Turbo Air single-door glass-front merchandising cooler |
Our cheese set-up was greatly enhanced by the recent acquisition of an old-style glass-front soda fridge. My husband was able to fiddle with the temperature controls, so we finally have a safe place to age our hard cheese in this hot and humid climate.
We sure hope Ashley is able to get one like it, as that was the key to having our cheese come out well.
Gouda in brine. |
Gouda drying. |
Dipping in wax. |
2 coats of wax and ready to age. |
(I think she should be a writer)
Sunrise looking out from their home. |
Bringing in the Rotoplas for rainwater collection, 2006 |
Their village of San Jose Succotz, near the Guatemalan border. The painting is of Xunantunich, the ancient Mayan ruins behind the village. |
Xanantunich (More info at: http://www.belizereport.com/sites/xunan.html) |
The Discovery Channel came to film the ruins. The soldier is there to guard their valuable camera equipment. |
Their village is 6 streets wide. In the background is the school and the neighbor’s houses. |
Sometimes in the rainy season, the village floods (as it did here in October, 2008). |
Succotz underwater. |
Their backyard after Hurricane Richard (October 2010). Their Muscovy ducks were loving the water. |
Funny sign. |
A Wishwillie (aka: black iguana) |
Dalyn says
Wow! What an adventure!! Amazing post. Thanks so much! I’m going to be mentally processing this one for awhile. Such determination and grit.
Bob Albers says
Good luck with selling your cheeses in Belize. I have many of the same problems as you here in the Mandeville area; high temperatures in summer, high humidity, high bug count. I added a small fan to my drying box to facilitate the drying process but discovered that, even with such a small fan, It could only run for 1 hour per day else the cheese would dry unevenly and crack as the outside dried too quickly. I love seeing people make their own equipment. It adds to the pleasure of the process.
Jeri Case says
Patrick,
Good news – we do ship to Thailand. So, you can order wax. Regarding some of your other issues, please send any questions you have to Jim Wallace – Jim@cheesemaking.com. He is our technical advisor and he will be happy to help you.
Happy Cheesemaking!
Patrick says
Great post! Thanks for all the tips. I am in Sri Lanka, tropical climate with very little cheese selection. I brought a cheese making kit from the US, but have been having problems. The humidity even in the fridge is 100% Everything has condensation on it. **I was wondering where they were able to dry out the cheese?** It takes a long time here (90deg 95%humidity). So mold and bugs become a problem. I have also thought about getting a beverage cooler fridge for the cheese cave. Though I'm guessing a lot of my problems are from not waxing the cheese. Didn't bring that and didn't find any in Thailand. Can you use any food wax? Thanks so much for any help I can get!
I'm thrilled to find my friends featured here on your blog. Their cheeses have been a labor of love, as have the many animals they raise, and the fruits & vegetables they grow. Living in the Continental U.S., I haven't had the opportunity to actually TASTE any of their cheeses, but knowing the love and care they put into making it, I can almost guarantee they're yummy! (And you're observation about Kathleen being a writer is right on! Most of what she writes is not only informative, but humorous and interesting!)