Who doesn't melt at the thought of home made cheese? But making good cheese isn't as easy as you think. I can't count the number of wheels I fed to the dogs because they were a disaster. I make consistently delicious cheese now because I've learned from so many mistakes! You can save yourself a lot of wasted time and milk by letting me teach you what to do, and what not to do, in cheese making.
 
In this class you will make alpine cheese. Almost all of the principles you will learn from making alpine can apply to other cheeses, like cheddar or Swiss.
 
This class is for serious home cheese makers. It takes 4 hours. During the time that we aren't actively cheesing, we will discuss factors that affect cheese making such as milk type, rennet, starter, acidity, salt, cheese presses, and aging.
 
You may bring gently pasteurized nonhomogenized milk, or you may purchase raw milk from me for $10/gallon. If you have a cheese press, you are encouraged to bring it. If you use my cheese press, you will need to come back the next day to pick up your wheel of cheese after it has pressed overnight.
 
You will take your cheese home to age it. If you have a basement that is cooler than the rest of the house, it's not hard to create an aging place for your cheese. Another option that many people use is a second refrigerator that is kept warmer than a typical fridge. If you don't have a way to age it around 45 to 55F, then you can eat it fresh, like queso blanco.
 
There are no pre-set dates for this class. If you are interested in learning to make aged cheese, please contact me so that we can find a time that works for both of us, then you can purchase this class.