This may be one of my most important posts ever.
In the coming hard times, I think a lot of us wil be stepping out of our comfort zones. We will be doing things we never thought we would have to do, learning skills and passing them along to others. When I started making hard cheese, I read all the books, watched a few videos and even took a short class on the subject. Then I got the actual milk and had to begin. I could pass on the steps I took but honestly, you can look up that information as easily as I can. Here’s what the books will not often mention. People have been making cheese for thousands of years. They made it without store bought cultures and without any equipment except what they could cobble together from what was on hand. As I was working on my cheddar I found myself agitating over every step, getting upset when the temperature strayed outside of the perscribed parameters or when the humidity was higher than expected. There was a pungeant smell I hadn’t heard about. it was so hot and humid that the cheese was not drying a quickly as I hopped. After getting a bit frazzled, I took a deep breath and calmed myself. I got creative. I turned my dehydrator on to its lowest setting, maybe 80 degrees, and let the cheese dry in there. I’ll wax it tomorrow. I posted a question about rodent control and was told to set the wheel on top of a 1/2 gallon mason jar. The mice can’t reach it. There was a slight mold forming but it wiped right off with some vinegar. The cheese looks funny. I didn’t have a disk that was the right size so the top is lumpy. I didn’t pack it in tight enough and there are a few divits in it. It won’t win a prize in any contest worth its salt. I very nearly didn’t post the pictures because I was a little embarrased but then I got real. We won’t be perfect. We may not even be very good, at least right away. But we’ll be good enough.
I hope you enjoy the slide show. It displays my lumpy cheese, the gorgeous dandelion jelly, my cheese press and a picture of us putting in a fence to keep the woodchucks out of the lower garden. It doesn’t show the satifaction of a job well done. It can’t show the pride I feel when I learn, at almost 59, to hang a fence or create a jar of fabulous jelly, one that people pay actual money for. My cheddar may look odd, but I can’t wait to serve it to my friends and family. Don’t let yourself get so intimidated by the process that you never take the plunge. There is much to learn. Messing up is part of the deal.
May 30, 2011 at 5:39 pm
You may start a trend. Pretty soon everyone will be making their cheese with cosmetic imperfections so it looks more “authentic”.
Just like those lumpy heirloom tomatoes that sell for $8 each at the yuppie market. I’ve seen people pass over the rounder ones because the lumpy ones look more “heirloom”, despite the fact they’re the same variety.
May 30, 2011 at 6:36 pm
The cheese looks good to me, and so does the jelly. Where did you get your press? I like it better than any I’ve seen. So glad you can post pictures!
May 30, 2011 at 6:40 pm
I live quite close to the New England Cheese Supply co and I got it there.
May 30, 2011 at 6:51 pm
Messing up is indeed part of the process – an absolutely necessary one that makes success that much sweeter. It’s good to remind ourselves of this once in a while.
May 31, 2011 at 8:01 am
Amen, sister!
May 31, 2011 at 8:17 am
“pretty and perfect” doesn’t mean as much as feeding the family! The pictures look great!
May 31, 2011 at 8:19 am
“Don’t let yourself get so intimidated by the process that you never take the plunge. There is much to learn. Messing up is part of the deal.”
Kathy,
Thanks for adding this part. This will be my first year canning. I’ve been scared in the past years to try canning so I only would freeze or dehydrate. I know it sounds silly but with no one to “show me” I’m only able to learn through books which isn’t really my best way of learning. But I’m not going to be affraid this year ! Don’t ever doubt that your words are inspiring and motivating to many people. We are blessed to have you if only in our inbox.
May 31, 2011 at 12:05 pm
A slide show, how nice!
And that pic of the dandelion jelly looks delicious. and the cheese, too.
If you’re going to do anything in life, you’ll mess up some where along the way. You’ll have to rip out the zipper you replaced ; if you knit, crochet, etc. you’ll have to unravel it to fix the dropped stiches, if you cook you’ll burn something sometime.
But it makes you feel younger to learn something new.
Food stamp usage is up again this month, I saw this in the news this morning.
Thanks for your blog, Kathy.
peace, Shamba
May 31, 2011 at 12:05 pm
You go, girl!!!! You are an inspiration to me.
I bet you’ll feel the dame way about cheesemaking 6 months from now.
I felt the same way when I decided to learn to make bread from scratch. The whole process was completely foreign to me. I experimented, asked questions, and can now 1 year later make a pretty respectable loaf of bread. I’m grinding my own wheat and am no longer dependent on the breadmaker machine. Funny thing is now making bread seems easy as pie
May 31, 2011 at 1:28 pm
Amy, I have a brand-new, four-year old pressure canner. I only used it for the first time last week. (And I used Weck jars, which while just as easy (if not easier) was also a new thing.)
Yesterday, I used it for the second time – while demonstrating it for someone else who has never pressure-canned.
Read the instructions 87 times if you have to, definitely keep them open on the counter while you can so you can keep referring to them – but honestly, I didn’t find it *nearly* as scary as everyone made it out to be.
And my friend? She asked if she could keep my canner an extra day so she could try it again by herself!
May 31, 2011 at 2:38 pm
Love the pictures! The light on the jelly jar was quite attractive, as was the design on top of the cheese.
May 31, 2011 at 2:57 pm
I think your cheese looks gorgeous.
May 31, 2011 at 3:40 pm
Both the light and design are courtesy of my DIL. She’s quite the artist, photographer, musician and graphic designer.
May 31, 2011 at 7:43 pm
Kathy, Thanks for sharing-it looks great to me and I bet it will taste wonderful. The first step is always the hardest one of all isn’t it?
May 31, 2011 at 8:12 pm
We all know that the beauty is within. It’s not what it looks like but how it tastes – so please let us know. And I feel more encouraged by someone who is more real and allows for imperfections than I do with a Martha Stewart type with staff and everything comes out perfect. Imperfections are a good thing. LOL
Got this political cartoon and thought I’d share with this group. I’m starting to wonder if Peak Oil may just hit the mainstream soon:
http://www.slate.com/id/2112318/fr/nl/
Thanks Kathy! LOVE the pictures. My own garden is having a critter issue or two, but still going strong. Strawberries almost done, blue berries are getting close. Planted horseradish and praying with the heat down here it survives.
May 31, 2011 at 9:07 pm
It can’t show the pride I feel when I learn, at almost 59, to hang a fence or create a jar of fabulous jelly, one that people pay actual money for. My cheddar may look odd, but I can’t wait to serve it to my friends and family.
May 31, 2011 at 9:15 pm
Hi Kathy,
You wrote: “It can’t show the pride I feel when I learn, at almost 59, to hang a fence or create a jar of fabulous jelly, one that people pay actual money for. My cheddar may look odd, but I can’t wait to serve it to my friends and family.”
This shows a contrast in values that I think will turn on its head soon. Right now the values behind “one that people will pay actual money for” will be supplanted by ” can’t wait to serve it to my friends and family.” Soon the things that are really important in life may take their proper place again. Serving family and friends will be seen as clearly more valuable than payment in money. Relationships will return to the top of the value scale and money will not be exchanged in the privileged way it is now. One of Dimitri’s recent posts show this coming shift well.
The cheese looks great!
June 1, 2011 at 5:21 am
You make a good point David. I struggled with the wording on that but, as I hope to sell enough to pay for my some of my prepping expenses, I decided to add it. Which of Dmitry’s posts are you referring to?
June 1, 2011 at 9:25 pm
My wife and I started raised gardening a year ago as well as composting. We have learned a lot just by doing. We live in Florida and the intense sunshine is really hard on plants as is the heat.Our garden seems to do better in the spring and fall. Also we are learning what to plant as well as when.So far we would probably starve if we had to live off our garden.
June 2, 2011 at 12:21 am
Thank you for you continued inspiring posts, cheese making is on my want to learn list if I can ever find local fresh milk. We had company over the holiday weekend so lots of cooking going on. I had not relized how far I have come until with each dish that was passed around my sweet husband said Deb canned that, we grew that in our garden, the bread is from wheat we ground ourselves, lets go get the fixins for a salad out back. It is truly amazing how much there is to learn but a little step each day ugly or not taste wonderful!! I have learned so much from your blog and feel more confident to do even more as I follow your footsteps. THANKS
June 2, 2011 at 10:21 pm
hi kathy,
here is the link to Dimitri’s presentation. You just get to read his slides but that really says quite a bit. Things really get turned upside down.
http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2011/05/twilight-of-antipodes-and-cultural-flip.html
Enjoy!