Cheese making, a great beginning

What an inspiring week it has been in Brisbane, for a few reasons. I originally came down for the week to attend a cheese making course yesterday by Green Living Australia, given to me and my daughter as birthday gifts by my thoughtful son and his partner. Wonderful idea and very exciting. Then we heard on Thursday that our amazing daughter is relocating to Cairns for work reasons, a promotion and permanency, which is fabulous. So I will be in Brisbane for a bit longer to help with the logistics of the move, as you do. However, back to the cheese making course, a delicious and stimulating deviation from the business of moving.

The cheese making course was absolutely fabulous, and inspiring, in that I am now very excited about making my own cheeses i.e. mozzarella, feta, and ricotta to start with and hopefully my expertise as a cheese maker will develop into making even more interesting cheese varieties. Angie, our cheese instructor, has such an interesting family story.  Her Mum originally learnt her cheese making skills from the Amish community in the U.S.A., whose underlying philosophy is to grow and make as much of their own food as possible in the healthiest possible way. Green Living Australia embraces sustainability wholeheartedly,  to suit modern lifestyles. We left the course with containers of the cheese bounty we made,  which tasted fabulous, a versatile Feta making Kit, a Deluxe Curd Knife which I love,  mini measuring spoons, feta cheese making baskets, and two instruction booklets.

The measuring spoons are fascinating, described as a Drop=1/64 tsp., a Smidgen=1/32 tsp.,a Pinch=1/16 tsp.,a Dash=1/8tsp., and a Tad=1/4tsp. Now if you also get excited by interesting pieces of kitchen equipment and appliances you will understand just how excited I am. Measurement of the minute quantities of Mesophilic Starter Culture or friendly bacteria used to create the curd  are assisted by the use of these tiny implements supplied by Green Living Australia.  More about cheese making in later posts, suffice to say that I think this will become a priority when I get home.  Thanks to Angie at Green Living Australia .com .au for a fantastic day.

Stay posted for more information and photos on how to make your own cheese.

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