I live with my husband Bill in North Monmouth. Bill is a retired firefighter and I work as a frontline supervisor for L.L.Bean in Freeport at the Order Fulfillment Center.
The best part about where we live is that we are close to the coast as well as inland activities.
We have two grown daughters – Darcey and Moe and 11-year-old twin granddaughters – Zoey and Annica.
As our daughters grew older, Bill and I enjoyed riding motorcycles. I commuted to an L.L.Bean Customer Contact Center in Waterville for 10 years and would ride my motorcycle to work from spring to fall, saving plenty of gas!
After our grandchildren arrived, we spent less and less time riding motorcycles, so we replaced them in the garage with a John Deere tractor for Bill to clear the snow in the yard during the winter.
Zoey and Annica both love to help in the kitchen but only Zoey is interested in making cheese.
Annica will eat the homemade cheese but interestingly Zoey doesn’t like cheese; she only wants to make it!
How I learned:
I had wanted to make cheese for a long time but never really dared to try on my own. In 2008, I took a beginner class offered by a local cheesemaker but didn’t find it overly helpful, so I didn’t continue to try.
A few years ago, I somehow stumbled on the New England Cheesemaking Supply Co. site and after giving it some thought, I ordered a beginner kit. Even though my first few attempts weren’t great, I continued to make cheese.
Basically, I love the process of taking milk and transforming it into something wonderful!
In 2019, I traveled to Williamsburg, MA to attend the Cheese Making Workshop 101 with Sarah and Mark. It was very helpful and gave me the incentive to try pressed cheese.
The following year I had signed up for the Cheese Making Workshop 201 with Jim Wallace, however due to the pandemic, that was postponed. I was able to attend this workshop in September of 2021.
I found this workshop extremely helpful, Jim has so much knowledge that he freely shares in an easy-to-understand way. He is also a fantastic wine and cider maker!
Part of Jim’s workshop involved bringing some of my own cheese for him and the class to try and critique. This made me very nervous as I was the only participant to bring cheese.
I received some positive feedback and great tips, such as using a little less salt on my Gorgonzola and aging it a little longer. I tried this and made my best Gorgonzola yet!
Jim also suggested that aging my Colby longer will make it even better.
My milk source:
I first started buying my milk from a local health food store and had good success but now I buy raw organic Jersey milk from the Milkhouse Farm and Creamery, just a few miles from my home. I have clearly noticed a difference in not only the color of my cheese, but the flavor is much better.
The owners of the farm, Caitlin and Andy do a lot for the community and supply yogurt to our local schools. I love the fact that I can go directly to the farm to buy milk. They also have vegetables, beef, pork, and lamb. They have the best bacon!
I also buy raw cream from Bisson’s in Topsham, Maine to use when I make triple crème cheese. They also have a farm store and sell their own meats and sausages.
Challenges along the whey:
I would have to say my biggest challenge was knowing when the curds have released enough moisture. Although I find the instructions on cheesemaking.com to be clear and descriptive, finding the right texture of the curd was difficult for me.
I’m also not the most patient person and sometimes having to wait up to a couple of months to see if I was successful wasn’t easy for me. The cheese making process has taught me to have patience!
Aging continues to be a struggle for me.
I do well with waxed cheeses, but still find natural rind cheeses to be a challenge – controlling the humidity and keeping mold off the cheese.
My other hobbies:
I’ve had many other hobbies over the years, but one that has been consistent for almost 20 years is glass work. I started out working in stained glass and now that has transformed to warm glass work that involves fusing layers of glass in a kiln and then slumping it on ceramic molds into different shapes and dishes.
I also knit mittens and hats for the Preble Teen Center (a place for homeless teens in Portland) where Moe volunteers.
Pam Gully says
Coreen, you are so talented! Wow, both your cheese and glasswork are fantastic. Inspirational.
Thank you for sharing your family and your creative development.
Donna Galipeau says
It is great to read about someone from Maine making cheese! I am new in the discovery of making my own cheese, have only made mozzarella so far and it was amazing! We are in the process of moving from central Maine to Southern Maine and have been trying to find a dairy closer to there. The pictures of your cheeses are amazing! You have inspired me to keep on trying after we get settled into our new home! And to even create a cheese cave!
Jonathan Butlin says
Hi Coreen – fantastic photos, really great looking cheeses and glass work! Looks like you really have perfected the cheese-making art as well as the other artistic endeavours. I also struggle with ageing cheeses, I’ve got my first waxed cheese in the cellar, but I live in the chilly, damp UK, so natural rind cheeses get very damp indeed. Good luck with it all!
Glenn Griswold says
I can testify to the great tasting cheeses you have made over the years. This is a great article. We look forward to many more years of trying your latest cheese making endeavors.
Annette says
A wonderful story about learning, growing and patience! Your cheese is excellent according to Bill and he always shares it on FB and it looks yummy every time,
Thomas Tersmeden says
What a lovely story. You are a lady with many talents,Bill is a lucky man ❤
Marcel Morin says
What a wonderful article. Great talent needs to be shared and you did just that. We have enjoyed your cheeses and know how dedicated you are.
Ricki Carroll says
Coreen, you go girl! How fun is it that you’re sharing your cheese making with your granddaughters. It looks like you are having a lot of fun with the art of making many things. Your cheeses look delicious and I want yo thank you for sharing part of your story with our readers. I feel somewhat a kinship because I have also done fused glass and love it, knitting and a little felting and I have a friend named Annica. It looks like you live your life to the fullest and love what you do. What more can one ask.
In peace, love and cheese
Ricki
Coreen Beaulieu says
Thank you so much for your kind words, Ricki! I love your resources– especially the books that have helped me greatly on this journey. It’s nice to see that Sarah has taken over and Jim is an immense technical resource. Here’s to many more years of cheesemaking and glass fusing for the two of us!
Coreen! This is amazing! They couldn’t have picked a better cheesemaker to interview- Thank you for sharing all your delicious cheeses with me over the last couple years! They are truly delicious. Your glass making creations blew my mind- It is evident that you have multiple gifts!
Your cheese cave is wonderful! I love that your granddaughter likes to make cheese. Your glass art is stunning, you are very talented.
Thank you so much!
What a wonderful article!! And a wonderful woman Coreen is 🙂
Hi Coreen, I’m curious what it was about that first cheese class you took that wasn’t helpful to inspire you to keep making cheese. I’m thinking about offering cheese classes someday, and I want to know what works, or not. Thanks!
Hi Hilary!
My first class focused more on the legal aspect of making and selling cheese and less on what you can do as a home cheesemaker… which wasn’t very helpful. My advice would be to focus more on what a home cheesemaker can do and provide resources for those who want to maybe go on to sell their cheese. I think all resources provided should help inspire and encourage beginning cheesemakers to be successful. Best of luck!
Coreen, beautiful pictures and cheeses! I attended the 201 cheese making class with Jim Wallace in October 2022. It was a fabulous class!
I cannot purchase raw cows milk in my state of Virginia or North Carolina, so once a month I drive 180 miles to a trusted farm just freshly miked Jersey cows. My milk is10 minutes from the cow to my cooler. Love it as it is about 15% cream on top!
I live in Fancy Gap, Virginia. I’ve never been to the state of Maine. Maybe some day we’ll make it up there.
Peace, love and cheese on!
I’m glad you enjoyed the class with Jim as well. It was a great experience and helped me tremendously. If you ever find yourself in Maine, the coast is beautiful and well worth the trip. Maybe in the future your commute to get fresh milk will be shorter! I love the name of your town (Fancy Gap)! Best!