I’ll start off with some pictures. Mmmmmmm! Blue cheese.
I really want to move past the mozzarella stage of cheese making, maybe this winter I’ll be able to make some goat cheeses and the other cheeses we love so much.
Wow thats great. This is something I want to do too.
So many things to make, so little time.
I need to find a good wood to smoke the cheese. What kind of carboard too!
I’m not going to smoke the blue cheese, that bacteria is pricey
Goat milk is cool but you can make great cheese with store bought milk. It is a great way to practice. The ulta pasturized milk won’t work but regular pasturized milk works.
Very cool!
The only cheesemaking I’ve ever attempted is the simplest of simple Indian (southeast Asian Indian, that is) style Paneer cheese: heat, acidify, drain the curds, and press. That one is very much (to me anyway) like the Queso de Frier cheese in the hispanic supermarkets around here…which actually makes a good substitute for the Paneer when I’m too lazy to make it.
The idea of doing a nicely aged blue-veined cheese is intriguing…other than some of the creamy raw milk cheeses like Morbier or Raclette and very ripe cheeses like Limburger, all of which I love, I think that the Bleu, Stilton, Gorgonzola, and others of that type are my favorites (especially with a snifter of strong Porter or a truly old Old Ale).
I forget where the quote comes from, but I’ve heard cheese referred to as “milk’s great leap toward immortality”.
I guess it will have to be my next science project…
I made a cheddar a couple of years ago, it turned out nice except that I couldn’t get it pressed enough so there was a lot of nooks and crannies on the surface so it as impossible to wax and age. We ate it young. I need to try again, that was fun.
You should have acess to all kinds of cardboard boxes. Any will do.
BTW, nice pressure cooker. You are just using it as a double boiler there right?
Yep, It holds my 4 gallon pot so I can make 3 gallon batches of cheese.
Are you using fresh milk or store-bought?
Oh, its fresh.
I hesitate to ask, but did you milk it from an animal that tends to walk upright or something?
No Boulder did. And Im pretty sure it walks on all fours. I dont know though I think he breeds, who knows what he has goin on up there.
Maybe I should read the thread better next time. :
Fresh goats milk is what I use when we have it. I’ll used store bought milk if I have to.
Tubercle has been making cheese for about a year now. Starting to specialize in cheddar and Gouda. Done went through several variations of presses and have not really been satisfied with the results. Cheeses is good but the right kind of press will make it better. I got a plan in mind for a Dutch press design that I’m gathering up parts for now with a block and tackle weight system.
Been using store bought milk so far with excellent results. I have a source for raw cow and goat lined up but waiting to get the process nailed first.
Moving on to blues and Swiss styles soon. Got to get another temp controlled fridge first. The one I got now is full. 8)
Tried the waxing thing. To heck with that mess, bought a vacuum sealer, much better.
Read all about it… http://Cheeseforum.org
I agree with a vacuum sealer. You can always open and get the mold off.
Swiss is a different animal, my guess is you have to press warm and in liquid. I’m not totaly sure about this but both of my rounds swelled pretty good.
Sticker shock on the blue mold! but if you want to try I may sell you one inoculation so you can try.
Turbercle should tell Tubercle just use the raw milk and don’t be a chicken. 
Cheese forum is good, Check out the [http://www.dairyconnection.com/](http://Dairy connection) for all you cheese making cultures.
Easy for a farmer to say - raw milk, on top of travel costs ranges from 6 to 9 a gallon.
Cuz the gub’mint says it’ll kill ya dead! The farmers selling the stuff are almost like drug dealers. Who sent you, where did you come from, how did you find out about us? They’re paranoid. (and rightfully so)
Could you buy a small hunk of blue cheese at the store and use that to innoculate?
This is one of my favorites. Aged as long as possible. 8)
