Hi guys,
Wanted to share with you a cheese making supply site that I’ve used a few times and have had a really great experience with. Not only are their products top notch, their prices are the best I’ve found on the web.
The site is: http://www.dairyconnection.com/equipment.htm
As for their various equipment (molds, thermometers, racks, etc.) I haven’t seen that much of a difference in price as compared to New England Cheesemaking Supply but their cultures and additives they blow everyone else out of the water.
For instance I can buy a pint of Ca/cl for what I can buy a tiny bottle for on Leeners or New England. Their cheese wax is also a great deal as well as the cheese cloth, cheese color, lipase and other cultures/smears.
For some of you who are overseas it might not be feasible to use this company, but for those in the United States they really do have some great deals.
Hope this information helps someone out.
Dave

I only buy from them, they are perfect

They are my new favorite too. It has taken some experimentation to map the cultures they have into what I was using. But, they provide good information about what is in each culture and how they recommend using them. I’ve found that combinations of some cultures yields some “new” cheeses for me. Also, I like the cultures that are slow acid producers for long aging. And, the price competition with New England is welcomed since I always cringed whenever I paid their prices.

Looks like they have upgraded allot sinc eI was last their a few years ago. Looks good.

Well I’m happy that you guys all agree with me.
Each time I buy from this company I am more impressed with both the service and the quality. I always try to drum up business for such a good company, when I have the chance.
Also…..
Rick, thanks for hosting such an informative and fun site. It’s great that you have made a place where people who love this hobby can come and discuss and learn.
I have been lurking and reading on here for the last couple of years and I’m pretty sure I’ve read every post at least a few times. I finally decided last week it was time to sign up and try to start contributing some myself.
Tomorrow starts the weekend which means CHEESEMAKING!
The plan right now is: A 3 gallon swiss tomorrow night (my third…still looking for one that works). A 2 gallon Stilton Saturday (my first attempt) and a 2 gallon Provolone on Sunday (one of my favorite and best cheeses).
Everyone have a good Friday and a great weekend.
Dave

Good luck on your cheese making plans.

The secret to a good Swiss is probably the proprionic bacteria and the temperature after pressing. Most of my failures have still tasted good, add some caraway seeds boiled in water for a fun specialty cheese.

Stilton is a challenge, keeping it moist and creamy (with some cream added to the milk for extra fat), yet not having it “melt” on you.

Provolone should be a slam dunk.

Ambitious, but a fun agenda!

I’m doing cheddar and blue this weekend after doing gouda and camembert last weekend.

Finally the weather is wintery and conducive to cheese making. Plus, I was inspired by a day-long visit to a local artisanal cheese maker.

Good luck and welcome to the site !!!

I’m quite jealous of al the time you guys have for making cheese.  My recent 6 day work weeks have cut into my time dramatically.

I am a little nervous about making the stilton. I’m actually tossing around the idea of making a generic bleu recipe I found first and seeing how it goes. Unfortunately I don’t have a proper cheese fridge but I do have access to an extra fridge that I plan on turning up to it’s highest setting. I’m sure I won’t be able to get it to 55 degrees but I’m hoping for something close that will work.
Also, the humidity issue worries me. I’ve read that you can use a sterilized, wet cloth in a tupperware container to bring the humidity up. I forsee that being a major pain to try to control a humidity that is not too high yet not too low. I’m leaning more on using the pan of water under the cheese to see how that works out.
I think I’ve also changed my mind on the provolone now that Rich (Green Cheese maker) has posted the recipe for a simple muenster. Muenster has always been a cheese that agrees with my taste so I’m hoping this one turns out good. Also, it’s ready to eat in 5 days so that’s also a bonus.
Good luck to you all in your weekend endeavors and Rich, I sympathize with your lack of time. I had the same issue last year and only made a couple of mozzerellas over the entire winter.
Dave

I haven’t been able to make any cheese since spring since its too hot her, now that its becoming normally cold I can start again in a few weeks
Humidity is always a problem unless u have a dedicated room, we just do the best we can with trials and errors to get it as close as possible.

Likesspace - 21 November 2008 10:33 AM

I am a little nervous about making the stilton. I’m actually tossing around the idea of making a generic bleu recipe I found first and seeing how it goes. Unfortunately I don’t have a proper cheese fridge but I do have access to an extra fridge that I plan on turning up to it’s highest setting. I’m sure I won’t be able to get it to 55 degrees but I’m hoping for something close that will work.
Also, the humidity issue worries me. I’ve read that you can use a sterilized, wet cloth in a tupperware container to bring the humidity up. I forsee that being a major pain to try to control a humidity that is not too high yet not too low. I’m leaning more on using the pan of water under the cheese to see how that works out.
I think I’ve also changed my mind on the provolone now that Rich (Green Cheese maker) has posted the recipe for a simple muenster. Muenster has always been a cheese that agrees with my taste so I’m hoping this one turns out good. Also, it’s ready to eat in 5 days so that’s also a bonus.
Good luck to you all in your weekend endeavors and Rich, I sympathize with your lack of time. I had the same issue last year and only made a couple of mozzerellas over the entire winter.
Dave

Dave,  I don’t know what you have for monitoring temp/humidity; but I recommend you go to Wal Mart and get a $7 digital dohickie that reads both.  With a constant readout it should be easy to zero in on the level you’re looking for.