I thought I would never get into posting recipes, but I had a lot of fun customizing this recipe for an upcoming class, so hey, why not share with you all? I got the inspiration for this recipe online, but it was pretty bland, so I took it up a notch. I also didn't have … Continue reading Fresh Ricotta Balls with Roasted Grapes
Cheesemaking General
Using 3M Quick Swabs to Build a Food Safety Program for the Farmstead Creamery
Environmental testing of food contact surfaces and other surfaces that workers might easily touch and then cross contaminate a product can help you quickly find gaps in your food safety program. If you read an earlier post I did on the subject, then you may remember that here at our tiny farmstead creamery, we do … Continue reading Using 3M Quick Swabs to Build a Food Safety Program for the Farmstead Creamery
Pressing Cheese without a Form
If you've ever seen a whole wheel of the iconic US cheese, Vella Dry Jack you might have noticed that the cheese is irregularly shaped and has an indentation on the top that the Vella family fondly dubbed "the belly button". This cheese, along with several other aged cheeses, are pressed while wrapped in cheese cloth- instead … Continue reading Pressing Cheese without a Form
Preliminary Assessment FlowChart for Future Farmstead Creameries
Here is another flow chart I created that will walk you through the many considerations you should face before deciding to build a farmstead or artisan cheesemaking business. The red boxes signify a step at which you should stop and assess several factors for suitability, costs, and possible income. If you follow this path, you … Continue reading Preliminary Assessment FlowChart for Future Farmstead Creameries
FlowChart- Steps to Licensing a Creamery
Here is a flow chart that may be helpful in seeing the many steps of licensing and permits involved with building a cheesemaking facility. I have focused this chart on California, as it is one of the more "permit heavy" states, but most of the steps will apply in other states as well.
All ‘Bout Bloomies- Secrets of Making White Mold Ripened Beauties
When you talk about French cheeses most of us immediately think of Brie and Camembert. These two surface ripened cheeses are easy to love and are, arguably, the most imitated cheeses in the world. They seem to represent sophistication of palate and are therefore the gateway cheese to a whole new world of taste. Camembert … Continue reading All ‘Bout Bloomies- Secrets of Making White Mold Ripened Beauties
Petrifilm plate count- Brine
Just a quick update on our little Nelson Jameson incubator and the aerobic plate count petrifilm plates: It dawned on me that that is a great way to test our cheese brine for its microbiological safety. Ran the first test on Friday and the brine, which is about 6 months old now, had zero growth. … Continue reading Petrifilm plate count- Brine
Doing Standard Plate Counts- On the Farm
Who would have thought having your own on-farm lab would be so easy- and affordable? I am kicking myself for not trying this sooner. Doing our own, in house, milk quality tests will help our small, licensed dairy to stay on top of cleaning regimens and milk quality. Even though our results will not be … Continue reading Doing Standard Plate Counts- On the Farm
Doing your own Plate Counts
I finally plugged in the little petri-film incubator we purchased from Nelson Jameson and I am, at the moment, cooking our first anaerobic plate counts. It took me a long time to get around to this, but I think it will go a long way toward making sure our milk is super clean, as well … Continue reading Doing your own Plate Counts
Cheese Mites- A Creepy Little Secret
Here is an article I wrote awhile back on the fun little problem that comes with aging naturally rinded cheeses: How the “Mitey” Have Fallen- Adventures with Cheese Mites By Gianaclis Caldwell May 2010 Cheese lovers beware, there is another very determined turophile (cheese devotee) on a mission to devour the same fine, long aged … Continue reading Cheese Mites- A Creepy Little Secret
Gianaclis Caldwell 