Traveling further along my cheese journey...

 

Heading to the milking parlor

Each time I make a cheese, I have been bringing a ripened chunk to my 

local dairy farm to share. 

 They seem to appreciate it, and consequently, 

I am now working part time at the farm assisting in their cheesemaking!

Two weeks ago, I unwrapped a cloth-bound Lancashire cheese.  It was very exciting to see the cheese transform from a mold-covered hunk to a lovely rind.  And it tasted great, too!

This morning, I did another "unveiling."

I've made Brick cheese twice before, and everyone who tried it loved it!  So, for the third try, I went BIG, using my biggest pot and 4 1/2 gallons of milk.  The ripening method for this particular cheese is to seal it in parchment paper and aluminum foil, store at 45 degrees for about two months, and give it a turn every day or so.

When it is unwrapped, there is a healthy coat of mold on the cheese, so you give it a scrub, first with a dry scrub brush:

Then another scrub under cool water--Did you know you could wash cheese?  

I didn't until recently!

It comes out looking pretty decent after this spa treatment!

And, more importantly, it tastes GREAT!

Time for another cheese party at my house!