Cheese prep after the course

After completing the two day full on, non stop, cheesemaking course...
I have a certificate which you can view on the left of my blog.......
to show I am a Master Cheesemaker....a very tired one at that....
It has taken me until about lunchtime today to really start feeling normal again...Taking extra pain relief had caught up with me and made me awfully groggy yesterday, sleeping most of the day.

Only ever making one cheese and a ricotta from the whey...In any one day....over the entire weekend course I made Cheddar, Camembert, Stabilised Camembert, Whole Milk Ricotta, Traditional Whey Ricotta, Chabichou, Quark, Greek Feta, and Mozzarella.

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CHEDDAR CHEESE 

Before waxing a cheese, I like to chill it in the fridge for a few hours. If you don't chill the cheese, depending on the temperature of your kitchen, you may have to hold the cheese in front of a fan between each dip, to help cool the wax.  Either or both methods may be used. 

Dip the cheese in the melted wax as below.

Be careful to note any air holes in the wax, and make sure they are filled in the next dipping.

Label your cheese clearly on a small piece of paper....Include the date the cheese was made or waxed..whichever one you choose, use this for all cheeses. Also add the time allowed for maturity to be reached. This cheddar is recommended to mature for 6 months. 

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CHABICHOU CHEESE 

I marinated all of this cheese in 20% Olive Oil and 80% Rice Bran Oil....with dried mixed herbs, and a crushed garlic clove. I never sterilized the herbs as I am not intending to keep this cheese long.

I could have kept half of this cheese and use immediately on crackers as a spreadable cheese. As I had plenty of ricotta, I decided to marinate all of the Chabichou.

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GREEK STYLE FETA -MARINATED CHEESE 

You can see here that I used bay, peppercorns, garlic and mixed herbs to marinate. The ratio of oils were 20% Olive Oil to 80% Rice Bran oil, but you may use any lightly flavoured oils you have on hand. 

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MARINATED MOZZARELLA CHEESE

After making the mini pizza's the other night, I had one ball of Mozzarella left....so I decided to marinate that as well. 

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WHEY & MILK RICOTTA WITH FRESH HERBS

Seeing I had so much ricotta, and given it is really popular here and doesn't last long in my house...I decided to mix cheeses together and mix chopped chives from the garden.

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STABILISED & TRADITIONAL CAMEMBERT

We also made a stabilised Camembert and a Traditional Camembert, The stabilised variety is also the one you will find in your local supermarket. These have been placed in my cheese cave and are maturing nicely. 

I will turn them every second day until a nice layer of white mold is covering, then wrap in grease-proof paper and then wrap in foil.