Jody Farnham - The joy of cheesemaking : the ultimate guide to understanding, making, and eating fine cheese

Copyright 2011, 2015 by Jody Farnham

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover photo from iStock

Print ISBN: 978-1-63220-466-0

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63450-124-8

Printed in China

To my mom

For teaching me the meaning of joie de vivre

and

To my three daughters for reminding me to live it

every day

Jody Farnham

CONTENTS

Cabot Clothbound Cheddar

CREDIT: Olivia Farnham

Introduction

Y OU LOVE IT OR YOU HATE IT (and I havent met too many cheese haters). The students who have attended classes at the Institute over the years have shown us a diversity of professional backgrounds. They come from all walks of life seeking to learn the science and the art of cheesemaking. From career changers like brain surgeons and art historians, to chefs looking to add cheesemaking to their growing list of on-farm restaurant practices, they all want to learn to make cheese.

Im a child of the sixties, born and raised here in Vermont in the mythic place known as suburbia. On any given evening there would be forty-eight kids on my block showing up to play kick-the-can. I had five siblings, and I knew cheese as Kraft American slices sandwiched between two pieces of Wonder Bread and grilled.

Milk was delivered to our house a few days a week. Eggs, too. But for me the silver galvanized box with the word MILK stamped on the lid, out by the back stoop, was a place to hide the back door key, or to be commandeered for use as a boost to the first rung on the ladder to the tree house. Milk at that time never struck me as essential to all life, or related in any sense to cheese. Little did I know, it would become central to my lifes work and passion.

And with this same passion, I have filled The Joy of Cheesemaking with helpful information, ideas, tips, and the basic steps for making cheese, so that hobbyists, enthusiasts, and professional cheesemakers alike will be able to use the practical science here in these chapters to get started in cheesemaking.

You only need to know how to make a few basic cheeses in order to get started. Ive included seven here. A world of possibilities opens up as you master the make process and start to add your own finesse and skill to the cheesemaking. I want you to get a glimpse of the cheese industry as a whole, including the technical side of making cheese, the science and best practices, and the practical side of this professionwhat life is like outside the cheese house.

I have profiled a number of small cheesemaking farms around the country. Everyone has a story about how they got started in cheese. (Be sure to record yours someplace so you can share with us and the world later on.) The families and farms in these profiles have achieved something wonderful: a sustainable lifestyle on the land and with their animals. See whats cooking in the farm kitchens and try out some of the recipes. Cooking with cheese is a sustainably savory way to add even more value to your day, and may inspire you to create a tasty new recipe of your own.

Enjoy the stories about those who have gone ahead and carved out the lifestyle they dreamed of and you may be dreaming of, too! The book also introduces you to a number of cheesemakers who have been creating quality cheese and building integrity within the industry for years. I call them the rock stars of cheese, Rockin the Wedge by bringing great vitality and industry to the world of cheese; we would not be as far along in this ever evolving industry without their valuable contributions. You will also find a chapter in here on the wonders of tasting and pairing cheese and the how-tos of impressing your next dinner guests with a gorgeous cheese board and some fun practical information about the cheese you are serving. I like to call it informed entertainment , kind of a new take on the old cocktail-party scene.