This is where the cheese is.  Here you will find class notes for making cheese.  There are also research notes and tips for cheese storage and use.  Cheese is a remarkable food.  Consider this: there are several thousand varieties of cheese available today, each with a distinct flavor, and all of them are made from the same basic ingredient, milk.

Class Notes

Cheese Making 101, Cooking with Bacteria.  I'm not exactly sure when I started teaching this, but it was after the meat preserving class.  My interest was sparked by a class I took at Pennsic titled Peas, Pottage, and Green Cheese.  It was an almost natural extension of meat preserving, except that the target food is milk.  This class covers the basic steps, and ingredients for producing a variety of cheeses.  The class teaches modern techniques.  Period techniques are not too different for any given cheese; if they were you would get a different cheese.  The primary difference is in the addition of specific bacteria in the modern techniques; our Medieval cheese making counterparts relied on nature to supply those.

On Storage

Cheese should not be stored in the coldest part of your refrigerator.  The best storage temperature for most cheeses is 38° to 40°F.  Lower temperatures will affect the texture, higher temperatures will encourage mold growth.  If you should notice mold growing on cheese, do not throw it away unless the mold is pink, black, or grey.  Blue, green, and white mold won't harm the cheese, however if left in place it may affect the flavor.  This may or may not be undesirable depending on your personal tastes.  If you don't want it there, wipe it off with a piece of clean, un-dyed cotton or linen cloth that has been moistened with salt water.  Make every attempt to store your cheese whole.  Cut, shredded, and grated cheeses will dry out and lose flavor quickly.