I didn’t see an intro thread, so I’m posting here.

I’m located in Maryland, USA.  I have been looking at the possibility of making cheese for a long time.  Just last week I received an e-mail letting me know that my local homebrew store was now carrying cheesemaking supplies.  I decided to get a kit and give it a shot.

Last weekend I made a batch of cottage cheese.  It tasted good, but it was a bit on the rubbery side.  But I like making stuff, so will likely continue.

I think that this weekend I’ll give cheese curds a shot.  I haven’t made a cheese press yet, so it can’t be a harder cheese.  I also like the instant gratification and I don’t have a way to age it at ~50F.

Glad to have you aboard, Fritz.  Hang in there with the soft cheeses for a while - it will be a good base to build upon when you graduate to the hard cheeses.  My only advice at this point would be to take careful notes of everything you do, and follow the recipes very closely.  You’ll want to try modifying them after a while, and that’s great.  Experimentation is a wonderful way to learn.  Keep us posted on your progress, and don’t hesitate to ask questions.

I’m not very good at taking notes.  But I’ve started blogging about my homestead.  I will be keeping my cheese making notes on there as well.

Any suggestions as to which specific cheeses I should move on to?  Any good recipe sites?  So far, all the recipes I came across are on cheesemaking.com.

Welcome !!
make cheeses u like and expand from their. Also not how long they take to age, once u get the hang of it then go for cheese that take a while to age.

I think that I’ll be making cheese curds tomorrow.  I’m thinking that they don’t need a press, they can be eaten right away and they don’t really take all that long.

use them with pasta LOL

I know people who love to eat cheese curds for snacks. I have never tried it, but I should. I haven’t had time to make cheese for months because of working 6 days a week. Now that I am not, I have started making a quilt so I get to sew on Saturday and Sunday.

Welcome Fritz, I think that it’s indeed a good thing to make notes. Nice blog there by the way. A cheese press does not have to be very professional when you start making cheese. My first press was a simple chair, a stick and a bucket with water…

Thanks, guys.  I made the cheese curds yesterday.

Herman, I’m not getting anything big or expensive for a press.  I will probably just make one with PVC and some kind of weight.  I have an ad on Freecycle looking for some barbell weights.  If I don’t hear anything in a week, I’ll start hitting up the thrift shops.  I don’t really see any other way to reach 50 pounds without using something dense like metal weights.

Yes, very nice blob. if u dont like the sauerkraut then try keifer, that could help your system.

Thanks for checking out my blog.

I have some water kefir grains on order.  Just waiting for delivery.  Someone is supposed to send me some milk kefir grains, but they haven’t come yet.

regarding weights for your press, here are some suggestions:  A gallon jug full of water, concrete blocks, a bucket of sand.

http://kefir.org/

http://www.kefir.net/

Or (regarding the weights,) consider using pulleys: When you double the rope the weight is hanging on by using pulleys, you double the pressure of the lever.