The Greening of Gavin

Getting My Cheese On

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Gavin Webber - Curd Nerd

Gavin Webber – Curd Nerd

It’s been a bit quiet around here on the blog.  Gav must be busy?

Too right I have!  Between attending trade shows with Kim to find more potential kits for our store, a marathon chook house clean out with Ben, to moving outdoor furniture around three times to suit Kim’s taste (then putting it back again because it looked better the first time), I haven’t had much me time.

Additionally, I did embark on a massive IT project to revamp my cheese blog, Little Green Cheese.  Besides the cosmetics, there is one big reason I’ve been giving it a new look and feel plus beefing up the back-end of the site.

That reason is…..Drumroll please….  I will be contributing to Mother Earth News as an authority on home cheese making!  I am writing my first contribution over the weekend.

I’ve been told the following fun facts about the site;

Your posts would be shared with a very large online audience — our website receives more than 7 million visits per month, and we share the best posts in our newsletters (about 400,000 subscribers) and on our Facebook page (1.8 million fans).

That is an incredible audience and I am very excited about that and reaching out to like minded folk about the simple joy of making cheese at home and teaching them the art of the curd nerd.  I dare say a few of those visitors will spill over to this blog as well for all its greenness.

The deal with Mother Earth News is a fortnightly commitment (minimum) where I contribute original articles to the Real Food section of the online edition.  I don’t think I will have any problems with that, because some of you may know, I was a contributor to the Simple, Green, Frugal Coop for a couple of years as well before it closed down (then restarted, and stopped again).  As before, there is no payment for articles, it’s for the love of it which is something I have no issue with at all.  After all, that’s why I write most days for you!

So that is my big news of the day.  Wish me luck on the cheese front!

TGoG 114 – Sustainable Living with Gürkan Yeniçeri

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This week we catch up with Gürkan Yeniçeri, a fellow sustainable living practitioner who lives in Canberra, ACT.  For those of you who listen to the Little Green Cheese podcast, you would have heard his cheese making story during episode LGC 04.

Gürkan Yeniçeri

Gürkan Yeniçeri

Gürkan and I talk about so many different sustainable living subjects during the show that I am going to timestamp them incase you want to skip ahead to a particular section;

  • Introduction [spp-timestamp time=”0:01″]
  • Bee Keeping [spp-timestamp time=”2:49″]
  • Mead and Cider [spp-timestamp time=”4:07″]
  • Making Chutney [spp-timestamp time=”8:40″]
  • Why Gürkan lives sustainably [spp-timestamp time=”9:31″]
  • Classes at Canberra Environment Centre [spp-timestamp time=”11:09″]
  • No-knead Bread Making [spp-timestamp time=”13:45″]
  • Backyard Aquaponics [spp-timestamp time=”17:09″]
  • Cheesemaking at home [spp-timestamp time=”30:43″]
  • Outro [spp-timestamp time=”32:40″]

He has done so much with the space he has at hand.

Please thank Gürkan for joining me on the show and sharing all his amazing achievements.

You can find him at;

Don’t forget that this show is financially supported by you, the listener, via our Patreon page.  If you believe the show adds value to the sustainable living community and you would like to support the show, please pledge your support at http://www.patreon.com/greeningofgavin.  Any pledge small or large is most welcome, as it keeps the show going and growing week by week.

Become my patreon!

And finally, do you think this podcast episode will help someone you know?  If so, help them out by sharing it using the social media buttons below.  And if you are super excited about what you have heard during this episode, pop on over to iTunes using the button under the player and leave a rating and review.

It helps the podcast get noticed in the charts and makes it more visible for others who may be interested in living a more sustainable lifestyle in the ‘burbs.  Thanks!

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Cheese Making Trifecta

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This weekend, I took the time to be present in the moment.  The best way I know how to do that is to make cheese.  Making cheese requires focus, attention to detail, and most of all, to be present.

So on Friday and Saturday my goal was to make three different types of cheese.  A cheese making Trifecta!  Here they are in all their cheesy glory.

Leicester

Firstly, I made Red Leicester.  Leicester is an English hard cheese which Kim as been asking for me to create for quite a while.  I was glad to oblige.

Leicester

Leicester

This cheese should darken in colour as it ages, turning orange as it reaches full maturity in about 9 months time.  It was a delight to make a new cheese from scratch as it has been such a long time since I made the last hard cheese in my own kitchen.

I used the best possible milk that I could.  Demeter Bio-Dynamic.  It tastes fantastic and has a 4.5% fat content, just like real milk should.

Bio-dynamic Milk

Bio-dynamic Milk

I searched high and low for this milk, as it is the king of milks for cheese making (besides raw that is).  It cost me about $6.70 per 2 litres so this cheese was made for about $30 a kilogram.  That is a pretty cheap wheel of bio-dynamic Leicester!

Queso Fresco

On Saturday, I made Queso Fresco.

This cheese, stems from Spain and Latin American roots. Translated it means Fresh Cheese. This cheese shouldn’t be confused with Queso Blanco, which is essentially Ricotta Salata. Queso Fresco uses rennet, whereas Queso Blanco only uses lemon juice to coagulate the milk.

Queso Fresco

Queso Fresco

It is a quick farmhouse cheese that can be made a variety of ways. It involves a little bit of mesophilic culture, a little liquid rennet, and some salt. Not too much to making it really, but well worth the effort.

Links
For the recipe: http://www.littlegreencheese.com/2015/04/queso-fresco.html
For the kit; http://www.littlegreenworkshops.com.au/product/soft-cheese-kit/

I filmed this cheese, which you can watch the Queso Fresco at this link or use the player below;

Whey Ricotta

So on with the next cheese.  From the whey left over from the Queso Fresco, I made Whey Ricotta.  This is the easiest soft cheese that you can make.  Just heat the whey to 92°C (200°F) and add ¼ cup of white vinegar.

Whey

Whey

It instantly separates, and makes a smooth soft cheese.  Add ½ teaspoon of salt if you want a savoury flavour, or leave it if you are going to use it in a dessert.

Whey Ricotta

Whey Ricotta

Strain it through butter muslin and it stores for about a week in an airtight container in the fridge.

For the recipe and video of whey ricotta; http://www.littlegreenworkshops.com.au/2015/02/make-whey-ricotta/

So, a three cheese weekend.  Other than these cheeses, I have been helping Kim with shop product refreshes (filling oil bottles for soap making kits), and just relaxing.

The garden can wait until next weekend!