Sweet Dreams, Cheesus
I’m gearing up for another #40before40 milestone. I was supposed to be hanging out with Jimmy Carter this weekend, but due to my April back injury, I decided to postpone. Instead, as I have the weekend kid-free, I’m going to make cheese!
I’m planning on making three types of cheese, because I am an ambitious fool.
Saturday afternoon, I’m going to make a Cabra al Vino (or two). This is my favorite type of cheese and I’m excited to make two of them and age them differently! FOR SCIENCE!
Sunday morning, I’m going to start my Parmesan (this is the #40before40 goal cheese). And as soon as I drain the whey from that, I’m going to make a German whey cheese that uses wine.
Lest it seem like I’m getting carried awhey (ha! Cheese puns!), I’ll have you know that when I was inventorying my cheese supplies and looking at recipes last night, I had six cheeses on my list. I totally cut back because I have a day and a half to do this AND because goat milk can get expensive, yo!
The hardest part of making an aged cheese is the waiting. (The weighting is not as hard. Weighting MAKES it hard. I don’t even know where I’m going with this.)
The German whey cheese will be ready immediately. The Cabra al Vino will be ready in three and six months respectively. The Parmesan won’t be ready until my birthday.
Party with the wine-soaked goat!
It’s been years since I made cheese – five – and I’m excited to get back to it. I’m thinking of designating one Sunday a month for cheese making and I’d be happy to have anyone over who wants to cheesemaker. I have all the weird ingredients and equipment you’ll need to make anything from a mozzarella to a brie, to a Gouda, to a Romano.
(Related: I’m going to need a cheese sitter in August. Duties include turning my cheese over, checking for improper mold growth, and I guess feeding Mr. Fish and watering my plants. Cheeses are the first priority, though.)
I’ll post pics of my cheeseventures next week when I do my #40before40 update!
