Prompted by a voicemail from Wayne, I talk about how to add herbs and spices in cheese.  From chilli, sage, red and green peppercorns, to cumin and caraway seeds, you can add a lot of variety to your cheese above and beyond the traditional recipes.

Today we cover for following questions;

• Denis asks about thermostats and whether you can use them for cooling and heating.
• Brian asks how much salt to add to the Farmhouse Cheddar recipe.
• Richard thanks me for providing all the free cheesemaking information on this site.
• Christie asks how to combat a wet cheese fridge
• Poppy asks if a cheese fridge needs to be so stinky that the cheese smell sticks to your clothes!
• Celine asks what to do with her Stilton after the four days of turning is over.

ASK A QUESTION FOR THE PODCAST
Don’t forget that you can leave a voicemail message that I will answer and feature during the show.  Just remember that I cannot answer them straight away, so please don’t expect an instant reply.

Support the show! If you would like to support the podcast and YouTube channel so I can make new and interesting cheeses and cheese related content, then please support me via Patreon.

SPONSORED BY…This podcast is sponsored by Little Green Workshops where you can pick up your cheese making kits and supplies.  We stock a large range of cheese making gear and ship to Australia and most countries throughout the world.

Until next time Curd Nerds, Keep Calm and Make Cheese!

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Did you know that there are ways to ripen your cheese depending on the type of cheese you make?  During this episode, I cover the four main ripening process classifications and describe them in detail.

They are;

• Bloomy-rind & interior mould-ripened cheese
• Washed rind cheese
• Natural rind cheese
• Waxed rind cheese

Cheese news centres on the global oversupply of dairy products and the Cricketer Farm in the UK.

Q&A this week is about;

• Saganaki cheese
• Maturing Caerphilly
• Issues Ripening Camembert

ASK A QUESTION FOR THE PODCAST
Don’t forget that you can leave a voicemail message that I will answer and feature during the show.  Just remember that I cannot answer them straight away, so please don’t expect an instant reply.

Support the show! If you would like to support the podcast and YouTube channel so I can make new and interesting cheeses and cheese related content, then please support me via Patreon.

SPONSORED BY…This podcast is sponsored by Little Green Workshops where you can pick up your cheese making kits and supplies.  We stock a large range of cheese making gear and ship to Australia and most countries throughout the world.

Until next time Curd Nerds, Keep Calm and Make Cheese!

Support the show

Today I step through the six different cheese classifications.  I sourced this information from the very good cheesemaking resource titled The Cheesemaker’s Manual – Margaret Peters-Morris.  It’s more technical than I usually read for home cheesemaking but it has many hard-to-find recipes within its pages.

The cheese classifications that I step through are;

• Fresh unripened cheese
• Rennet coagulated fresh cheese
• Soft ripened cheese
• Semi-hard washed cheese
• Hard cheese, and
• Whey cheese.

You can watch how I make whey ricotta in this video tutorial.

The cheese news is about FireFly Farm converting to renewable energy to power their cheese making operations.  Dear to my heart as I am the proud owner of a 2.8 kilowatt solar PV systems, so you could say that my cheese making is also powered by renewable energy!

The Q&A is about curd temperature during making Caerphilly, Pot types, and issues making 30-minute Mozzarella.

ASK A QUESTION FOR THE PODCAST
Don’t forget that you can leave a voicemail message that I will answer and feature during the show.  Just remember that I cannot answer them straight away, so please don’t expect an instant reply.

Support the show! If you would like to support the podcast and YouTube channel so I can make new and interesting cheeses and cheese related content, then please support me via Patreon.

SPONSORED BY…This podcast is sponsored by Little Green Workshops where you can pick up your cheese making kits and supplies.  We stock a large range of cheese making gear and ship to Australia and most countries throughout the world.

Until next time Curd Nerds, Keep Calm and Make Cheese!

Support the show

Colin Giddy is a home cheesemaker from Morrinsville, New Zealand. He describes his inspiration for making cheese, how he has made many different types of cheese, and some of the challenges that he has encountered along the way.

Here is a little bit about him in his own words;

“A Little History of Us

Linda and I started making cheese after watching a program called Country Calendar on TV. A Lady called Biddy Fraser-Davies was showing us how she makes cheese everyday from just a couple of jersey cows.I thought WE CAN DO THAT. We have the milk. In fact we tip out more milk each day on the farm than we can use. I work on my 1 of my sons share-milked farms. We have 2 farms side by side where we milked about 400 cows. I was milking in one cowshed and he in another.So I looked for someone to teach me how and found a lady called Jean Mansfield who held cheese making classes from time to time in a small town called Katikati. So off I went and did a 1 day introduction to cheese. That was about 6 years ago. I started to collect the last milk of the day after the vat tap was turned off. Sometimes there was a bit of water in it and I quickly realised that watery milk does not make good cheese. I became very careful how I collected the milk after that. We started with Farmhouse Cheddar Cream cheese Mozzarella and things like that.We had our failures and our successes and we grew in confidence as we learned new things of what to do and what NOT to do. We are still learning. We now make all sorts of cheeses. And while some say that cheeses like Camembert are for more expert makers we find it to be one of the easiest cheeses to make.  And only 3 hrs from start to finish in the molds.

We made a stirred curd cheddar and when finished soaked it in Red wine for a few days then dried it and when it matured it was just delightful. (must do another)We purchased Rikki Carroll’s Home Cheese Making and have used it as a Guide. Our conditions are a little different as are the cultures that we use and the conversion from Fahrenheit to Celsius. But it is a brilliant book for the beginner. There is so much information available today on the internet (like this blog) that there is no reason that you can’t do or make anything that you want to. It is entirely up to your own will to want to.”

 As you can tell Colin is a knowledgeable bloke who gave away a lot of tips and tricks during the show.

ASK A QUESTION FOR THE PODCAST
Don’t forget that you can leave a voicemail message that I will answer and feature during the show.  Just remember that I cannot answer them straight away, so please don’t expect an instant reply.

Support the show! If you would like to support the podcast and YouTube channel so I can make new and interesting cheeses and cheese related content, then please support me via Patreon.

SPONSORED BY…This podcast is sponsored by Little Green Workshops where you can pick up your cheese making kits and supplies.  We stock a large range of cheese making gear and ship to Australia and most countries throughout the world.

Until next time Curd Nerds, Keep Calm and Make Cheese!

Support the show

This week I have an interview with home cheese enthusiast, Darren Aldridge from Box Hill in Melbourne. He has been making cheese since 2013 and has a few different types under his belt.

ASK A QUESTION FOR THE PODCAST
Don’t forget that you can leave a voicemail message that I will answer and feature during the show.  Just remember that I cannot answer them straight away, so please don’t expect an instant reply.

Support the show! If you would like to support the podcast and YouTube channel so I can make new and interesting cheeses and cheese related content, then please support me via Patreon.

SPONSORED BY…This podcast is sponsored by Little Green Workshops where you can pick up your cheese making kits and supplies.  We stock a large range of cheese making gear and ship to Australia and most countries throughout the world.

Until next time Curd Nerds, Keep Calm and Make Cheese!

Support the show

The food standards are changing here in Australia, and commercial cheese makers will be able to make a wider range of raw milk cheese.  I play an interview with Tom Ross from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture who explains the changes to the regulations.

You can read the original article here; http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-03/raw-milk-cheese-regulation-changes/6066280

I also talk about two new cheese making products that I have developed namely a DVD and an External Cheese Fridge Thermostat.  These two products have consumed most of my spare time in the last two weeks.  I never thought that making a DVD, with menu structure, would be so time-consuming!

For those of you in Australia, here are the links to those two products;

• Keep Calm & Make Cheese DVD – Volume 1
• External Cheese Fridge Thermostat

During the latter half of the episode, I answer listener questions about camembert, cheese making in Thailand, Traditional Mozzarella, and an innovative way to heat your milk. 

ASK A QUESTION FOR THE PODCAST
Don’t forget that you can leave a voicemail message that I will answer and feature during the show.  Just remember that I cannot answer them straight away, so please don’t expect an instant reply.

Support the show! If you would like to support the podcast and YouTube channel so I can make new and interesting cheeses and cheese related content, then please support me via Patreon.

SPONSORED BY…This podcast is sponsored by Little Green Workshops where you can pick up your cheese making kits and supplies.  We stock a large range of cheese making gear and ship to Australia and most countries throughout the world.

Until next time Curd Nerds, Keep Calm and Make Cheese!

Support the show

During the show I talk about 7 mistakes everyone makes with cheese, and article in Business Insider Australia which I expanded upon.  I believe that my version is much better.

You can find the orginal article here; http://www.businessinsider.com.au/storing-and-serving-cheese-2015-2

I also promote the Canadian Amateur Cheesemaking Competition coordinated by Ian Treuer from www.muchtodoaboutcheese.com. Here are the details;

COMPETITION IN WORKS FOR AMATEUR CHEESEMAKERS

The cheese lovers who organize The Great Canadian Cheese Festival every June are planning to host the first-ever Canadian Amateur Cheesemaking Competition—possibly expanding the contest to include homecheesemakers in the U.S.The mission is to recognize and honour the best in amateur cheesemaking and to provide encouragement and feedback to home cheesemakers.

Would you be interested in entering your cheese for judging? You won’t personally have to be present to participate as you can safely ship cheese in a cooled box. Please indicate your interest by emailing Ian Treuer at [email protected]. Ian, who blogs about his adventures as a home cheesemaker, is acting as Competition Co-ordinator. Check out Much To Do About Cheese at www.muchtodoaboutcheese.com.

Awards will be presented for best in each cheese division. Judging reports will be issued for each cheese entered.

The first amateur competition will take place this June 6-7 in conjunction with the fifth anniversary Great Canadian Cheese Festival in Picton, Ontario, two hours east of Toronto, three hours north of Syracuse, New York. Festival website: www.cheesefestival.ca.

I also answer voicemail questions about Rennet strength, Mixing Ricotta with curd from another batch, Cream cheese ingredients, Brining Feta without the sloppiness, and Basement humidity.

ASK A QUESTION FOR THE PODCAST
Don’t forget that you can leave a voicemail message that I will answer and feature during the show.  Just remember that I cannot answer them straight away, so please don’t expect an instant reply.

Support the show! If you would like to support the podcast and YouTube channel so I can make new and interesting cheeses and cheese related content, then please support me via Patreon.

SPONSORED BY…This podcast is sponsored by Little Green Workshops where you can pick up your cheese making kits and supplies.  We stock a large range of cheese making gear and ship to Australia and most countries throughout the world.

Until next time Curd Nerds, Keep Calm and Make Cheese!

Support the show

Welcome back to Season 2 of the Little Green Cheese Podcast.

I hope you had a great holiday break and are ready for another season of podcast episodes about cheese making at home. During this episode, I talk about what I was doing over the summer break, which included making zero cheese due to the heat here Down Under, but I did manage to build an eCommerce store that now sells cheese making kits, supplies, and equipment for Australian customers.  You can find it at www.littlegreenworkshops.com.au/shop/

Also during the show, I answer four voice mails and thirteen email questions! 

ASK A QUESTION FOR THE PODCAST
Don’t forget that you can leave a voicemail message that I will answer and feature during the show.  Just remember that I cannot answer them straight away, so please don’t expect an instant reply.

Support the show! If you would like to support the podcast and YouTube channel so I can make new and interesting cheeses and cheese related content, then please support me via Patreon.

SPONSORED BY…This podcast is sponsored by Little Green Workshops where you can pick up your cheese making kits and supplies.  We stock a large range of cheese making gear and ship to Australia and most countries throughout the world.

Until next time Curd Nerds, Keep Calm and Make Cheese!

Support the show

A choc-o-block episode for you this time around.

I talk about how my cheese fridge is holding up after about a year of use, and how I have found the stability of the temperature and the relative humidity.

I also introduce my new line of Cheese Making Kits, equipment, and ingredients that I have on www.littlegreenworkshops.com.au.  This is the main reason that I have not been podcasting very much over the last month.  My apologies, but it takes a lot of man-hours to develop and create an e-commerce website.

The news spot is about Shepherds Purse Cheese in the UK winning an award.  You can find all their cheeses at https://www.shepherdspurse.co.uk/

Questions this week cover ripening boxes, why do you need to add Lipase to Italian cheese, and brown/orange mould on Caerphilly.

ASK A QUESTION FOR THE PODCAST
Don’t forget that you can leave a voicemail message that I will answer and feature during the show.  Just remember that I cannot answer them straight away, so please don’t expect an instant reply.

Support the show! If you would like to support the podcast and YouTube channel so I can make new and interesting cheeses and cheese related content, then please support me via Patreon.

SPONSORED BY…This podcast is sponsored by Little Green Workshops where you can pick up your cheese making kits and supplies.  We stock a large range of cheese making gear and ship to Australia and most countries throughout the world.

Until next time Curd Nerds, Keep Calm and Make Cheese!

Support the show

Did you know that there are three types of coagulation in the cheesemaking process?  Well let me enlighten you in the episode that covers the basics of coagulation and tips for getting your curd to set just right.

This weeks news is a cheese-making resource that I recently stumbled upon.  ChannelCheese.tv is a television show that airs on TVS44 in Sydney.  Hosted by Alison Brien, the show travels around the world to look at different artisan cheesemakers and how they make traditional and not so traditional cheese on a small scale.  Worth having a look at.

I played a part in an episode that featured Justin Teller from Bangalow Cheese Co, Byron Bay NSW, which has since changed names to the Byron Bay Cheese Co.  He made a very interesting and gold medal-winning washed rind cheese.

We also have a voicemail from Søren in Denmark whose question was featured in Episode 32.  He has been experimenting with iodised salt in his cheese making.  He has produced some interesting results.  Below are some of the cheeses that he has made with this type of salt.

Other questions were about the differences between animal and vegetable rennet, Ricotta Salata, Anti-caking agent in salt, and adding moulds from commercial cheese into your own.

ASK A QUESTION FOR THE PODCAST
Don’t forget that you can leave a voicemail message that I will answer and feature during the show.  Just remember that I cannot answer them straight away, so please don’t expect an instant reply.

Support the show! If you would like to support the podcast and YouTube channel so I can make new and interesting cheeses and cheese related content, then please support me via Patreon.

SPONSORED BY…This podcast is sponsored by Little Green Workshops where you can pick up your cheese making kits and supplies.  We stock a large range of cheese making gear and ship to Australia and most countries throughout the world.

Until next time Curd Nerds, Keep Calm and Make Cheese!

Support the show