Make your own cheese...anyone interested ?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

OK, I bet I have a bunch of peoples attention.
I just got home from the Minnesota Garlic Festival.
http://www.sfa-mn.org/garlicfest/
It was a blast: Food vendors of all types, Music, seminars on Growing Garlic, merchandise vendors mostly selling Garlic but others too, a local wine tasting (Linn Deardorff was there with 4 other local wineries), games for kids and Kite flying. They had a restaurant setup, I went in for lunch and coincidently got to sit next to the "Boy Mayor" R.T. Rybak.
Or should I say...He got to meet Kramer

Anyway, Back to the point of this post,
I found a source for Raw Milk, Grant Schoenberg, Owner of Stony Creek Dairy near Melrose.
He says it's no problem, legalwise, for us to go to his farm with our own containers and buy raw milk.

I also talked to the son of the cheese maker (and maybe owner, I forgot to ask)
of Sheperd's Way Farms near Nerstrad,MN (about 10 miles east of Faribault)...Jodi Ohlsen Read.
The son says his Mom is usually willing to answer questions about making cheese at home, She has taught classes for this, maybe one coming up soon? that would be my first question to her.

I also got a phone number for Dairy Connection of Madison Wi, a possible source
for Culture and Rennant...But I lost it, I hope they have a web page.
edited...awesome they have a nice hobbist website
http://www.dairyconnection.com/hobbyiest.html

I haven't started contacting any of these connections yet. I thought I'd start a discussion here first to see
how many people want to try this, and see if any of us know anything ? road blocks and such ?
then maybe contact Jodi first about a potential class...Anyone have a book on this?
I going to start to look for one.
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Ch ... course.htm

Kramer

[Drtanglebones]

Sounds like a fun time. I would be willing to learn cheesemaking. So count me in.

[reidLinden]

This is also something that I've often considered doing. I'm very interested!

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I need to wake up this post....

I just got this e-mail today,

Shepherd's Way Farms -- Cheesemaking classes

Want to make cheese at home? Curious about artisan cheese? Or, looking for a special outing for your group of friends? Choose from our one-day afternoon class, custom group classes at the farm, or classes tailored for your group and location.



Inside Artisan Cheesemaking – January 17 OR February 7
Spend an afternoon at Shepherd's Way Farms award-winning sheep dairy covering cheesemaking basics and techniques, learning some steps hands-on, and sampling and discussing cheese. We will cover information about several cheeses and walk through steps of a typical cheesemake. Includes a demonstration make of ricotta cheese and the final steps of fresh cheese. By the end of the day, you will have a good foundation for building your home cheesemaking skills -- for beginners or for those just wanting to know more. And you will get to take cheese home! (Portions of the class will take place in the cheesemaking facility and require some extended standing. Adults only, please!)

$65 Registration & prepayment required Limit 15 people

1 Day Afternoon Class January 17, Sunday 1pm-4 pm (one day class)

1 Day Afternoon Class February 7, Sunday 1pm-4pm (one day class)



(Preregister by email farmfriends@earthlink.net, we'll email you details so you can complete registration online or by mail.)


Shepherd's Way Farms, 8626 160th Street East, Nerstrand, MN 55053

(just outside Northfield, 1 hour south of Minneapolis/St.Paul)

Questions? Email us at farmfriends@earthlink.net or call 507-663-9040.

[Drtanglebones]

I might be up for this if anyone is interested. I just read the article in BYO and was thinking of ordering some rennet online... It would be neat to see the process first-hand.

[reidLinden]

I would definitely be interested

[Malt Licker]

I want to try tasting it, but I'm not ready to try making it...