When the opportunity to buy part of a partial share of a milk cow came along, so I snatched it up. The farmer, though not certified organic, grow all his own feed and uses the absolute minimum of petrochemicals, non gmo, and is local, so I figured it would be good enough. I had quit drinking milk at adulthood, so the only thing left to do with the 1 gallon of raw milk a week (now 2 gallons) was to make cheese with it. But ... I had never made cheese before.

One of our field trips in Applied Microbiology was to a local cheese factory in the boondocks of upper Michigan. That was (cough, cough) 33 years ago, but it was very memorable. The taste of fresh curd cheese got me hooked and I shared my treasure with my son a couple of times a year when he was young. Sadly, the old cheese factory was purchased by a larger dairy and the fresh curds now come from across the UP of Michigan and the taste was nothing like they were.

The Internet is a wonderful tool. There are no local sources for cultures, rennet and the such, or anyone I know of with experience. So a few Google searches and I found culture and rennet sources on-line, a free video on cheese making and plenty of free recipes.

Well my first two or three batches were fresh curds made to a cheddar recipe. They never made it to a press. I was quite pleased with the results. They were much better than the curds one can purchase now, and almost as good as I remembered.

Eventually I got the urge to go further with my cheese making and start making hard cheese. I looked on-line at presses, but at >$150US I figured I could build one out of some white oak that I had laying around. I did have to purchase about $5US worth of hardware, such as wing nuts and threaded rod, but I now have a cheese press and the bank isn't broke. For forms I use 4 inch and 6 inch spring form pans with the bottom removed.

My first batch of cheddar made it only through 3 weeks of aging before I had to try it. Not bad. The curds had knitted together very well and it was quite tangy. The second batch didn't make it 2 and a half weeks. This batch I cooked the curds a little longer and they didn't knit together as well and it was much milder. At this point I upped my share in the cow so I could get 2 gallons a week. The third and forth batches are still intact, though my hands are getting sore from sitting on them.

As with a lot of hobbies (cough)post carbon training, one cannot do enough to get that comfortable, I am there feeling, so I have resorted to buying non rBGH milk from the local dairy and making cheese from it. I have a nice ~2 pound piece of Gouda cheese that must age for 20 days or so before I can try it out. Oh the memories of spring skiing the Rockies and picnic lunching on Gouda cheese, wheat crackers and Cabernet.

This week I split the two gallons up and am making a pound of feta and a pound of cheddar. I purchased, on-line, the lipase enzyme needed to make feta cheese taste like feta cheese. And smell like feta too! Hopefully both batches will make it to the Holidays.

Peak oil and post carbon need not be all doom and gloom. I am having a ball with this!