Little Green Cheese

Cheese making at home with Gavin Webber the Cheeseman

LGC 037 – 7 Mistakes Everyone Makes With Cheese

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During the show I talk about 7 mistakes everyone makes with cheese, and article in Business Insider Australia which I expanded upon.  I believe that my version is much better.

You can find the orginal article here; http://www.businessinsider.com.au/storing-and-serving-cheese-2015-2

I also promote the Canadian Amateur Cheesemaking Competition coordinated by Ian Treuer from www.muchtodoaboutcheese.com. Here are the details;

Competition in works for amateur cheesemakers

The cheese lovers who organize The Great Canadian Cheese Festival every June are planning to host the first-ever Canadian Amateur Cheesemaking Competition—possibly expanding the contest to include homecheesemakers in the U.S.The mission is to recognize and honour the best in amateur cheesemaking and to provide encouragement and feedback to home cheesemakers.

Would you be interested in entering your cheese for judging? You won’t personally have to be present to participate as you can safely ship cheese in a cooled box. Please indicate your interest by emailing Ian Treuer at competition@cheesefestival.ca. Ian, who blogs about his adventures as a home cheesemaker, is acting as Competition Co-ordinator. Check out Much To Do About Cheese at www.muchtodoaboutcheese.com.

Awards will be presented for best in each cheese division. Judging reports will be issued for each cheese entered.

The first amateur competition will take place this June 6-7 in conjunction with the fifth anniversary Great Canadian Cheese Festival in Picton, Ontario, two hours east of Toronto, three hours north of Syracuse, New York. Festival website: www.cheesefestival.ca.

I also answer voicemail questions about Rennet strength, Mixing Ricotta with curd from another batch, Cream cheese ingredients, Brining Feta without the sloppiness, and Basement humidity.

One of Ian’s many cheese creations.
Don’t forget that you can leave a question via voicemail using this link; https://www.speakpipe.com/Gavin_Webber

Don’t be shy, I love answering your questions, and without them there isn’t a show to record.

Until next time curd nerds, Keep Calm & Make Cheese!

Baked Ricotta

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During our last cheesemaking course, I made the usual batch of fresh ricotta.

I have this very special and somewhat secret recipe (who am I kidding?), that makes simply the creamiest and smoothest whole milk ricotta on the planet. Honestly. Ask anyone who has attended my class!

baked ricotta

If you are intrigued, then you can find the recipe here.

Anyway, what is one to do with 500 grams (1 lbs) of fresh ricotta. We had already made a Chocolate Ricotta Tart previously, so Kim wanted to try something savory.

Enter the Baked Ricotta. One of the students in the class was raving about this dish, so we decided to have a go at making it.

This is one of the most amazing cheese dishes I have ever tasted. We had a little on a cheese platter with crackers the day Kim baked it. The flavour was sensational!

I have also been taking a quarter of one every couple of days to work for lunch. I was the envy of the entire lunch room.

So for those who desperately need it, here is the recipe that Kim devised. I have indicated the ingredients that we grew or made ourselves;

Baked Ricotta

baked ricottaIngredients

  • Olive oil, to grease
  • 500g fresh ricotta (home-made)
  • 2 eggs, lightly whisked (home laid)
  • ½ cup finely chopped fresh garlic chives (home-grown)
  • 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (home-grown)
  • Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C (356°F).
  2. Brush two 250ml (1 cup) capacity ramekins with oil to lightly grease.
  3. Combine ricotta, egg, chives and chili in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Spoon ricotta mixture among ramekins and smooth the surface.
  5. Place on a baking tray. Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until golden and set. Set aside for 30 minutes to cool.
  6. Turn onto a cheese board. Serve with toast or fresh french stick slices.

I cannot get over how simple this was to make. The chili adds a lovely bite to the dish, and once you start it is very hard to stop eating this treat.
baked ricotta

I certainly know what we’re going to be making after my next cheese making class.  Baked Ricotta!

Has anyone else made a variation on this dish? What did it taste like? Did you make your own ricotta?

New Mozzarella Course Dates for Term 3

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Unfortunately, due recovery from a knee operation, I have had to cancel this weekend’s Mozzarella and Ricotta course at Melton South.  I am unable to walk for the next few days, so cannot teach my favourite skill and hobby, which makes me sad.

However, I cannot apologise enough to the people who booked on the course.  I am so sorry for the late notice.  Hopefully you have rebooked on an upcoming course and I get to meet you all then.

Mozzarella Cheese Making Courses are great fun!

Thankfully we have two more courses locked in for August 2014 at two locations in the western suburbs of Melbourne.  One at Melton South Community House, and another at the Hillside Community Centre.

You can find the venue and dates at this link; www.littlegreenworkshops.com.au/p/cheese-making.html.  Places are currently available.

Also when I am back on my feet in a couple of weeks, I will hitting the kitchen get into this seasons cheese making.

I have missed cheese making so much, and am going to be experimenting making some bloomy rind cheeses.
Ian from Much To Do About Cheese has shared his Little Squirrel recipe with me, so that will be the first one I am going to tackle.

Then I think I am going to try Cambozola, which is a cross between a Camembert and a Gorgonzola. Gürkan has the method posted over on his site Home Cheese Maker.

Both of these cheeses look delicious, but will take some time to perfect.  I will start off using the best milk I can get my hands on, which I know will help considerably.

Anyway, stay tuned for the next Monday’s podcast as well.  Lots of questions are coming in via email, but I am a bit light on with voice mails.  If anyone has any home cheese making questions, please see if you can leave a voice mail via the speakpipe widget.  I would love to answer your questions if I can.

Looking forward to getting back on my feet again.

Chat soon!

Gav

 

Little Green Workshops