Do It Yourself Cheesemaking
Next Meeting
May 12, 2010
Foster and Dobbs, Portland
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Welcome to DIY Cheesemaking
This is a copy of the welcome DIY letter sent out to the google group.It will give you some additional history about the group.Gayle From: David Bleckmann @joyofcheesemaking.comDate: Wed, 16 Dec 2009 Welcome to the DIY Cheesemakers Group! This is probably a belated welcome message, at least for some of you
who signed up in early November, and we apologize for the delay. The initial population of this group came from attendees to the last
DIY Cheesemakers event hosted at Foster and Dobbs in early November
2009. Gayle Starbuck led a demonstration of making fresh cheese using
direct set cultures at that meeting, and she took names and email
addresses of people who would be interested in discussing cheesemaking
through email. I was one of the people who signed up on that list, and
when Gayle contacted me I let her know that I was interested and
willing to take on the technical aspects of setting up the mailing
list. That pretty much brings us up to date.
Gayle and I see the DIY Cheesemakers as an informal group of home
cheesemakers, connected via the internet, exchanging ideas and maybe
meeting from time to time. This group will become whatever the members
want it to be. In fact, the success of the group probably depends on
the participation of the members. All members can post to the rest
group, and are encouraged to do so (if this leads to spam or gets out
of hand, we will address it).
Foster and Dobbs Authentic Foods, Portland has historically hosted meetings every few months for DIY Cheesemakers. They have offered to continue to do so. Keep an eye on
their calendar for upcoming DIY events, which we will also announce on
this list. Please thank them for their support by supporting their
business!
This group has been set up as a Google group because it was a quick
and easy thing for me to do, but this also has some drawbacks
including a cumbersome sign up procedure. Perhaps in the future I will
invest the time required to set up a dedicated web site. I have
reserved http://www.google.com for just such a purpose, and for now
this address simply redirects to the Google group. |
Note from David Bleckmann March DIY
Hello fellow cheesemakers!
Thanks to all who attended the last DIY meeting on March 18th, 2010
where Charlotte Smith of Champoeg Creamery gave a fantastic
demonstration of making Farmhouse Cheddar.
The next meeting will be on May XX, 2010 where Rod Volbeda of
Willamette Valley Cheese Company (http://www.wvcheeseco.com/) will be
coming to talk about the cheesemaking process and will be answering
our questions. This could be a very interesting meeting where we can
get our difficult questions answered from someone who really knows his
stuff.
Some people at the last meeting were asking about creating an aging
cave. Here is a link to the external thermostat I bought to build my
cave out of an old dorm styled fridge I bought on craigslist. It was
the cheapest source I could find at the time. If you want to shop
locally, F.H. Steinbart's carries them too.
http://www.homebrewit.com/aisle/p/5005It was also brought up that it would be nice to have some get
togethers outside the meetings where we have one person speaking. Some
people were interested in getting together in someone's kitchen and
doing a simple make of something like cottage cheese. I think this
would be great, and I would remind anyone who is interested that this
email list is open for anyone to post, not just me! For example, one
of you could post an invite to have up to six people join them in
their kitchen and tell people to contact you directly to organize the
details. Someone could organize a get together in a brewpub by picking
an appropriate time and place and announcing it, perhaps encouraging
each attendee to bring samples of homemade or artisan cheese.
also know the last four speakers, including myself, are teaching
cheesemaking classes in the Portland area.
I think it would be nice
have cheesemaking class information on this list, as long as it does
not turn an advertisement mechanism. I would encourage anyone involved
in giving classes send me a blurb with time, place, and subject and I
would be happy to compile and send out a compiled list once a month.
That is all from me. Hope to hear from others out there soon!
David Bleckmann
daveb@joyofcheesemaking.com http://joyofcheesemaking.com |
Upcoming Event
Mark your calendars for the day after St. Patrick's day for the next DIY Cheesemakers demonstration. Charlotte Smith of Champoeg Creamery will be demonstrating making farmhouse cheddar. Charlotte owns her own pure bred, grass-fed, Jersey cow and will be using raw milk from the cow for her demonstration.
Date: Thursday, March 18th, 2010
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Location: Foster and Dobbs Authentic Foods, 2518 NE 15th Avenue,
Portland, OR 97212.
See also: http://www.fosteranddobbs.com/events/ and http://diycheese.org/
No reservations are required, but seating is limited. Be sure to arrive on time or early to be sure you get a seat. There is no cost
for attending this event.
Feel free to come early and get a cheese plate and a glass of wine to enjoy before the meeting, or take home a wedge of artisan cheese from their cheese case. They also carry cheesemaking supplies. Thank them for hosting the DIY Cheesemakers meetings by supporting their
business.
David Bleckmann
daveb@joyofcheesemaking.com
http://joyofcheesemaking.com/ Have you been making cheese at home? Bring along a sample to share and tell how you made it. |
DIY Feta Cheese Page
Want to learn more about making your own Feta Cheese?From David Bleckmann:The next meeting of the DIY Cheesemakers group will take place on:Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at Foster and Dobbs Authentic Foods. The
meeting will start at 6:30 and will probably go until 8:00. No
reservations are required, but seating is somewhat limited. Be sure to
arrive on time or early to be sure you get a seat. There is no cost
for attending this event.
I will be doing a demonstration of making Feta at home, and fielding
any questions about home cheesemaking as best as I can. We will only
have 90 minutes, so I will be taking a few shortcuts to show the most
interesting parts of cheesemaking during the available time. Handouts
for the meeting are available online at http://diycheese.org/ (look
under the "Files" section).
Foster and Dobbs is located at 2518 NE 15th Avenue, Portland, OR
97212. Feel free to come early and get a cheese plate and a glass of
wine to enjoy before the meeting, or take home a wedge of artisan
cheese from their cheese case. They also carry cheesemaking supplies.
Thank them for hosting the DIY Cheesemakers meetings by supporting
their business.
Feel free to forward this announcement to your cheesemaking friends
and encourage them to join the mailing list at http://diycheese.org/
David Bleckmann
http://joyofcheesemaking.com/Have you been making cheese at home? Bring along a sample to share and tell how you made it. |
From the Foster and Dobbs Newsletter
Our DIY Cheesemakers Group meets again on Wednesday, January 20th at 6:30pm.
David Bleckmann will demonstrate making Feta and discuss home cheesemaking techniques and working with curd. These meetings are a great opportunity for people who are interested in making cheese to talk with like-minded folks and exchange ideas, resources and information. There's no charge and reservations are not required, but space is limited so come early for best seating. (You could enjoy a sandwich or a glass of wine while you wait for the meeting to begin!)
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