I started making cheese a few weeks ago, although I have been reading about it for about a year.  I have made five so far with varying degrees of success as far as looks and texture…taste will have to wait a few months.

I made two cheese presses.  One for smaller batches and one for larger cheeses and waiting to see how they turn out.

Perhaps it’s a mid-life crisis, but since my other hobbies include whitewater kayaking, mountain biking and offroading, perhaps I needed something a little tamer.

I’m reading through the forum and learning a lot.

Thanks for hosting the site.

Welcome aboard !!

G’day, and welcome, (now where did you get your name from?)

I agree - that’s an interesting handle.  Good to have you aboard.  Keep us posted on your successes, and the inevitable failures as well.

Welcome aboard, cheese making is certainly an enjoyable hobby, with benefits.  You get to eat the cheese - yummo.

The name comes from my Golden Retriever, Dagger, my kids named him after the kayak brand Dagger…hence, DaggerDoggie.  It has become my screen name on several message boards, mostly on Xterra offroad sites.

I have had two major cheese failures so far.  Two different times my milk would never set up which wasted several gallons of milk.  I believe it was from using ultra-pasteurized milk, which I certainly now avoid.

I live in farm country, actually grew up on a farm and I am looking for a local farmer to sell me raw milk for my cheese adventures.  I have found a source for raw goats milk, which I will try this weekend, but I am also looking for some nice Jersey milk.

Thanks for the welcome.

DaggerDoggie - 04 June 2008 07:30 PM

The name comes from my Golden Retriever, Dagger, my kids named him after the kayak brand Dagger…hence, DaggerDoggie.  It has become my screen name on several message boards, mostly on Xterra offroad sites.

I have had two major cheese failures so far.  Two different times my milk would never set up which wasted several gallons of milk.  I believe it was from using ultra-pasteurized milk, which I certainly now avoid.

I live in farm country, actually grew up on a farm and I am looking for a local farmer to sell me raw milk for my cheese adventures.  I have found a source for raw goats milk, which I will try this weekend, but I am also looking for some nice Jersey milk.

Thanks for the welcome.

raw milk is a heaven,good luck

practice practice practice

I’m practicing.  Wishing I could tell the true success or failures of my work so far, although I did make ricotta from the whey last night and put it in a calzone that tasted great.

I made my first cheese two weeks ago and I have made six so far.

The Cheese presses I’ve made:

My cheeses:

The one on the right is an English Cheddar, my best looking success so far, on the left is a Gruyere

With limited success are a waxed cheddar, my first cheese,  Parma (kind of dry), and a Tomme au Marc sitting in a crock.

How will they taste, I have no idea.  They are aging in my basement which is not ideal, 58 degrees, 85% humidity, but it’s what I have for now.

Looks to me like you’ve jumped in with both feet.  You’ve definitely got the motivation.  Hope your efforts are rewarded with great cheeses.  By the way - good work on the presses.

The wooden press is exactly what I made - looks identical- I used PVC pipe for “legs” though.
If your basement is 85% hum and 58 degrees…that’s pretty darn good.

I started with a PVC mold for my press, but I was fortunate enough to find a scrap piece of 6” stainless steel pipe, and I love it.

Wow, your pictures look fantastic.  Waiting to try them out is the hardest part.

Great job their nice work on the tools u created.

Thanks for the compliments.  Building the presses was the easy thing for me.  The cheese on the other hand, well, time will tell.

It’s great to have a place to discuss success and failures.  There is not a lot of information on making cheese on the internet, so thanks for hosting and building this forum.

DaggerDoggie - 06 June 2008 10:36 PM

Thanks for the compliments.  Building the presses was the easy thing for me.  The cheese on the other hand, well, time will tell.

It’s great to have a place to discuss success and failures.  There is not a lot of information on making cheese on the internet, so thanks for hosting and building this forum.

That is so true. LOTS of info on home brewing and winemaking, but little on cheese making.