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Post by templeton on Jun 17, 2014 3:26:10 GMT -5
By which I mean recommendation for a book about making cheese at home, rather than a book constructed of cheese made a at your house that won an award...
Looking for a birthday present for a lactophile friend. He seems to prefer soft cheeses.
T
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Post by steev on Jul 1, 2014 0:14:31 GMT -5
Went up to Point Reyes Station Friday; we had (again) a grilled cheese sandwich, in a restaurant there, made with local-baked bread and local artisan cheese. My god, what a wonderful thing, so not Velveeta on balloon-bread (not that that's a bad thing)!
Apparently the FDA, here in the States, is being the bitch of Big Dairy, so they're telling all the small/artisan cheese producers that they can no longer age their cheese on wooden shelves, as some have done for a century, because it may not be sanitary (according to previously uninforced standards). These are the same dicks that have banned the importation of Mimolette, an aged, French cheese that I find excellent shredded onto a salad (because it has too many "cheese mites", without which it simply doesn't become "Mimolette").
Folks: we simply don't live in an environment in which other critters (our cousins!) don't also live! Many of them contribute to our enjoyment of life, not to mention those that keep our guts running reasonably comfortably. We've been harboring these critters for, literally, millions of years. Can we get along without them? Welcome to the world of constipation and diarrhea. It is claimed that there are more bacteria in any of us than cells in our bodies. I don't know, but it doesn't disturb me, if so.
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Post by copse on Jul 1, 2014 0:53:43 GMT -5
I think that the FDA quickly retracted that Steev. Whomever you get your news from, is about 20 days behind the curve ;-) |
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Post by philagardener on Jul 1, 2014 5:43:20 GMT -5
Most American cheese seems barely touched by dairy, let alone the rich world of fungi!
Long live Old World Culture(s)!
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Post by philagardener on Jul 1, 2014 6:06:09 GMT -5
Wanted to share the amazing story of Sister Noellea Marcellino, a.k.a. the Cheese Nun, of the Benedictine Abbey of Regina Laudis in CT. After telling her Abbess "you can't make cheese from a book" (of course, you have to use milk!) her passion led her to France and a Ph.D. in microbiology. WGBH/PBS in Boston even made a film about her. Don't know if she branded her product "Nun Better" . . . |
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Post by steev on Jul 1, 2014 10:32:48 GMT -5
Great story.
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Post by 12540dumont on Jul 1, 2014 18:14:30 GMT -5
Hi Templeton:
If your friend has not made cheese before, go with Ricki Carroll's book "Home Cheese Making".
If they've made cheese before, go with
"Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking: The Ultimate Guide for Home-Scale and Market Producers"
by Gianaclis Caldwell
Now, where's my cow?
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Post by templeton on Jul 15, 2014 0:12:22 GMT -5
Thanks Holly.
Been out bush, thus my late reply.
T
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Post by 12540dumont on Aug 15, 2014 11:48:10 GMT -5
Templeton, I've been fooling around with this book called "One Hour Cheese" by Claudia Lucero. Easy soft cheese.
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Post by templeton on Aug 15, 2014 18:48:33 GMT -5
Thanks Holly.
I was in a shop in Melbourne and found a cheese making kit - probably over-priced items I could get more cheaply off the shelf, but it came in a single package with instructions, so he got that. He borrowed my big preserving pot a couple of weeks ago to heat the milk, and reported last week that his camembert was just developing some nice white mould. I'm hoping I'll be invited to the tasting in a month or so.
Was very tempted to buy some raw milk from the local farmers market last week, but sensibly (for both my blood lipids, and domestic harmony) walked past the stall.
T
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Post by 12540dumont on Aug 17, 2014 11:54:50 GMT -5
At least you can buy raw milk. It's very hard to find here.
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Post by templeton on Aug 17, 2014 18:05:07 GMT -5
At least you can buy raw milk. It's very hard to find here. It's sold as 'Bath milk' - not allowed to sell it for human consumption. I think if I was to try cheese making from raw milk, I would need to visit the farm to check it out. My friend's first attempt at soft cheese is not going so well. His little Camemberts are developing blue mould as well as the white mould. He thinks it's a cleanliness issue. But he's not deterred. T |
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Post by steev on Aug 18, 2014 0:17:24 GMT -5
While he may not be deterred, is he depooed?
Perhaps he's making Roquefort.
When I used to make "cheese" for my toddler daughter by adding lemon juice to hot milk, I thought I was just being a chemist; turns out I was making ricotta the traditional way!
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