Charles’s Story
I am a retired physician after 25 years in medicine. Prior to that, I was a chemical engineer. Making cheese brings me back to my chemistry roots! It’s a true joy to be in the kitchen making cheese!
My wife, Debbie and I have been retired now 8 years. She does not cook, so I generally shop for groceries and cook our meals. And make our cheese! Debbie is a master quilter, and we enjoy traveling.
We live in a rural log home in a development in Fancy Gap, Virginia, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Southwest Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains. We’re about 30 miles from the grocery store in any direction.
One of our herb planters on the back deck. They have mint, thyme, oregano, sage, chives and rosemary. There is a limited growing season as we live at 2950 feet elevation.
I started making cheese in September with great help from the New England Cheese Making Supply Company where I got recipes, ingredients, equipment and encouragement.
I decided to try making cheese after seeing some artisan cheese for sale at a farmer’s market. If they could make cheese, maybe I could, too!
I am a cheese lover by history, and I have been astounded to pay $15-30 for small portions of artisan cheeses, both in markets as well as grocery stores.
I decided to make cheese, searched for recipes and found NESC. I found the website invaluable.
My first cheese
I first tried to make mozzarella with ultra pasteurized store bought milk, but curds would not form. I spoke to customer service and learned about using dried milk for making the mozzarella and adding cream to approach whole milk.
Having learned about the problem with ultra pasteurized milk to make cheese, my choice was raw milk, which is not legal for sale in Virginia or North Carolina.
Using your Good Milk List, I discovered Mabry Dairy in South Carolina, albeit 180 miles away. I have come to love my relationship with the farmer and her family, and I just love to hear her calling, “Come on, girls!” And then getting fresh, warm milk 10 minutes later!
I ice it down to transport, and then make cheese the next two days!
Since September, 2020, I’ve made Gouda twice, cheddar, alpine tomme, Gruyere, Swiss, Havarti and Jarlsberg.
We opened the Gouda with family this past weekend and ate the whole delicious cheese in one sitting!
I’ve also got a Swiss cheese in development, currently in the 65F range.
Planned next (in two weeks) are Tomme de Savoie and Toscano Pepato. I have planned another cheddar and my first soft cheese, Camembert, in February. I generally make two cheeses a month.
My Sous Vide
I’ve made use of my sous vide equipment to achieve water bath temperature controls in my sink. I gently heat sometimes on the stove, then maintain temperature in the sink bath. Temperature increases are achieved utilizing the sous vide bath.
My Cave
I’ve got my Cheddar, Alpine Tomme, Gruyere, and Havarti all aging in my basement, currently 58F and 80% RH. It’s just a tad warmer in the summer.
Recently, I purchased a much needed temperature controlled wine cooler to serve as my cheese cave. I will place my new cheeses in it to mature (hopefully) more mold-free than in my basement.
And my cave is now in my bedroom, so I get to sleep with my cheeses. I can achieve constant temperatures with this cave, and humidity is achieved with setting a bowl of water in the cooler.
My Press
My press was purchased from NESC after I committed to cheese making. I use this press with weights 5-70 lbs. it works like a charm, and it’s easy to set up and clean. Weights are spring loaded with a gauge that is easy to read. Using this press eliminates precariously placed free weights and water jugs.
All molds and cultures were purchased from NESC as I needed them. I have a good collection now as my family gave me gift certificates for my birthday, and I filled out my supply.
Waxing
I waxed my Havarti successfully, my first experience with waxing. I added 2 tablespoons of vegetable shortening to 2 pounds of the beeswax to make it more pliant.
I waxed Gouda #2 but the waxing failed because I had moisture under the wax. I have since removed the wax on the Gouda and will age it with a natural rind.
Goals
My goals for my cheese making are several:
First, I want to be comfortable making different cheeses. This takes experience, and I am growing in confidence, understanding I may come upon a failure someday.
Secondly, I want to understand the variables of stirring and pressing to control moisture in my cheeses.
Thirdly, I want to understand the chemically different cultures used and their effectiveness in controlling the flavors and textures of the final cheeses.
I hope someday to attend a cheese making class, perhaps the 201 class at NESC. I understand availability is quite limited, especially with the Covid restrictions. Thus far, I am self taught following recipes.
I’ve read Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll and Artisan Cheese Making at Home by Mary Karlin. I have found these references invaluable in my self education as well.
Victoria says
Mouse cages! What an excellent idea. I’ve been considering turning a mechanics pit in my garage into a cheese cave but was worried about little critters (as well as dirt).
Charles Delcambre says
Victoria, I love the repurposing of old spaces! Turning a mechanic’s pit into a cheese cave would be an excellent idea if your garage is of suitable temperatures!
Hey Charles! I’m down the road in Lowgap, NC. I raise goats to make raw milk cheeses for daily eating – mostly chevre, mozzarella, haloumi, feta, and semi-soft-ripened cheese, though sometimes I make blue cheese and cheddar too. I loved your story so much I had to share it on Facebook for other locals to discover! I can tell you are quite the foodie from your kitchen photo – and I suspect French influenced based on your ceramic counter top rooster tail feathers and your cheese choices. Perhaps some day, our paths with cross since we’re not so far from each other.
Tasha Greer (Simplestead.com/Grow Your Own Spices)
Hi Tasha,
I just looked at your website – your new book looks fabulous!
Congrats on such a wonderful achievement.
I signed up for your newsletter. 🙂
Tasha, Lowgap!! We are not far from each other. And God bless your goats as you reap the harvest of goat milk to make your cheeses! I do have a French heritage, but I wouldn’t say it comes out very much in my cooking. I do love to cook!
We live in a log home up on the ridge above Lambsburg. I can see the Lowgap hills from the back deck. Blessings!
My name is Roberta (Bobbie). For 40 years I’ve lived on one acre is Gilbert Arizona, where I’ve kept beef and Jersey cows, hogs, sheep, milk goats and poultry. Both my dad and husband were pediatricians, so interest in science ran high. Now, at age 80, I have just the dairy goats.
Waxing my cheeses didn’t work as well as a method I tried and really liked. I brought a parmesan cheese to cheesemaking 201 (in 2915) where Jim Wallace open it and gave positive comments. I take a cheese that is ready to wax, but use cheesecloth and lard I rendered from my pig. The cheese is wrapped in cheesecloth. Then I apply a coating of melted lard. Again, another layer of cheesecloth goes on, followed by lard. I typically put 3-4 layers of lard on. The lard becomes solid with the 55 degree temp but it never cracks or gets air leaks. This spring I will wrap a cheese in sheep tallow to see how that works.
Like your wife, I am a quilter and homesteader.
Keep on moving forward and don’t hesitate to experiment. Our wildest ideas often have stunning results!
Bobbie
Bobbie, you inspire me. I will push on and consider wrapping more cheeses!
Hi Charles,
Your story is an inspiring one for a new cheesemaker like me!
One thing that stood out and that I appreciate is the way you wrote down the cheese-making steps by hand, for the reasons you listed.
When we first bought our farm in 2016 it had several rundown buildings, including a greenhouse with lots of broken windows and full of mostly junk. As we began clearing out the greenhouse we found descending stairs and realized it was an entrance to a 12 x 12 cellar under the building. It was lined with rotting wooden shelves that were sagging under the weight of hundreds of old clay pots. The first thing I said was “CHEESE CAVE!” even though I have never been in a cheese cave and had never made cheese. (We later had to build stairs down into the cellar to clean it out = the old wooden stairs had succumbed to humidity and age, and had fallen apart.)
I have been thinking about using that cellar in some way for 4 years. I have a temp / humidity gauge down there and it seems perfect for cheese. When I just saw your mouse cages I realized that’s exactly what I need to install – now it seems like an obvious solution. I had thought about using bird cages but they have components I don’t need. Like you, we have not seen evidence of mice nor rats but I prefer to use an abundance of caution.
I love that you now have your cheese in your bedroom!
I really love everything about your journey.
Has your wife made a “Cheeses Of The World” quilt yet? 🙂
Great photos too; your cheeses look fabulous.
BRAVO!!!
Brook, what a wonderful use of an old cellar, a cheese cave! Repurposed spaces is a very good way to use the old cellar! My wife has made many quilts, but not one about the cheeses yet.
Brook, I love the repurposing of the cellar. What an obvious idea to build a cheese cave there! And no, my wife has not made a quilt about my cheeses yet!
Welcome to the world of cheesemaking. I love to hear how we all come into this world.
Another excellent reference book is Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking by Gianaclis Caldwell.
Cindy, thank you! I have that reference in my Amazon cart!