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My First Live Cheese Workshop

August 7, 2011 @ 21:56 By Gavin Webber 7 Comments

Teaching cheese making via a blog post or a video tutorial is one thing, but standing in front of a class of 8 keen individuals is a totally different ball game.

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of teaching a 30 minutes Mozzarella cheese making course at the Spotswood Community House.  The class were fantastic people, and I really enjoyed teaching them how to make this quick and easy cheese.  Really this was my second cheese making workshop, as I gave one to our sustainable living group’s members, but this is the first one where I did not know anyone.  I was a little aprehencious, but in a nice sort of way.  I asked Kim and Ben to come along to lend moral support.

Here is a group picture of the course, and their instructor in his nice stripy apron.

I set everything up ready to go so that we would have no delays.  I had 2 hours to get through 8 batches of cheese.  We were using Biodynamic milk, so I was excited to see what difference this wonderful milk would make.

First of all, a little about hygene, and the principles of cheese making. 

Then the first group of four got stuck into making their cheese. The stove was on the small side, but we coped okay.  I think they are adding diluted citric acid at this stage.

At this stage, everyone had added their rennet, and turned off the heat for about 5 minutes to let the milk set.

Showing everyone what a clean break was, and how to do it themselves.

Stiring the curds, and bringing the temperature up to 40C.

Draining the curds from the whey. 

The biodynamic milk formed a wonderful curd, and was very easy to handle for the students.

Here we are going through the microwave process.  I think this is the second zap at 35 seconds.
 

Iced water ready to cool down the hot mozzarella.

Cooling down some boccocini.  After all, they are just small mozzarella balls!

Finally, the finished product after the salt was added.  The cheese was great, and I managed to get everyone through in just over 2 hours.  The class sampled their cheese, and loved it!  I think we now have 8 new cheesemakers in town!

A big thanks goes out to Madeleine for approaching me and inviting me to teach the class.  I would love to teach another of this size. 

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Filed Under: Cheese

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About Gavin Webber

Gavin Webber's daily goal is to live a more sustainable lifestyle, in an effort to reduce his family's environmental footprint so we can all make a difference for our children & future generations to come.

Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

Comments

  1. Anke says

    August 7, 2011 at 22:58

    Too bad you live so far away, I’d love to be able to take that class.

    Reply
  2. Tanya says

    August 7, 2011 at 23:34

    Here is a thought for the future….if you ever want to holiday in Launceston Tas, I could probably rustle up a class for you.

    Reply
  3. Anne says

    August 8, 2011 at 11:22

    Well done Gavin,
    I am starting to milk my goat tomorrow, then will start with some simple cheese making!

    Reply
  4. nellymary says

    August 8, 2011 at 11:01

    Way to go Gavin….I bet you were pretty pleased with yourself….I love fresh mozzarella…and it’s nice to know that you made 8 new cheesemakers in your area…I’m sure it will be an ongoing thing for all of them wanting to move on to other cheeses soon.
    Again….Well Done.

    Reply
  5. Misty Meadows says

    August 8, 2011 at 14:35

    congrats Gavin!!! looks like everyone enjoyed themselves.

    Reply
  6. Ray says

    September 1, 2011 at 21:40

    Hi Gavin. Just saw your videos on youtube about making mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Really is great. Now I want to make my own. Will you please provide the exact ingredients and measurements for both cheeses so I can follow along with the videos.

    Thank you

    Reply
  7. Gavin says

    September 1, 2011 at 23:03

    Thanks everyone. It was great fun.

    @ Ray. You can find the method for the 30 minutes mozzarella at this link; http://www.littlegreencheese.com/2011/08/30-minute-mozzarella.html

    and the method for Parmesan at this link; http://www.littlegreencheese.com/2011/07/parmesan.html

    In fact you can find quite a few of the recipes at Little Green Cheese, which is my dedicated cheese blog!

    Gav

    Reply

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An Ordinary Australian Man Who Has A Green Epiphany Whilst Watching A Documentary, Gets a Hybrid Car, Plants A Large Organic Vegetable Garden, Goes Totally Solar, Lowers Consumption, Feeds Composts Bins and Worms, Harvests Rainwater, Raises Chickens, Makes Cheese and Soap, and Eats Locally. All In The Effort To Reduce Our Family's Carbon Footprint So We Can Start Making A Difference For Our Children & Future Generations To Come.

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