Chris with a Wensleydale
In 2013, I had the opportunity to spend 5 days in Belize at Ian Anderson’s Cave Branch Adventure Co. and Jungle Lodge. Ian was hosting a cheesemaking workshop taught by Linda and Larry Faillace of Three Shepherd’s Cheese in Warren, Vermont.
It was surreal to be in the jungle of Belize taking a 3 day workshop taught by Vermont cheesemakers. I wrote a 4 part article about my experience (click here).
That was one of the first workshops Ian had hosted and he went on to host many after that. Chris Harris attended one of them. He learned the basics there and he’s grateful to Ian, Linda and Larry for it.
Now, Ian is a good friend (Chris says “great” friend because he’s British).
Chris’s Story
We own and run White Rock Farm, here in central Belize which is in central America.
I make cheese and my wife, Sue makes sausages, salamis, saucisson and charcuterie plus pickles and jams, etc..
Sue and I at the farmer’s market in Belmopan
Smoker made from scrap, used for cold smoking cheese, ham, bacon and sausages
Sue’s sausage
The reason why I make cheese is simple – there is very little artisan cheese here, and as an Englishman I can’t live without cheese!
Jarlsberg
By background, I am a chemist and making cheese had an obvious attraction. It was therefore something of a challenge and an ambition which I was able to satisfy eventually when we came to Belize 17 years ago.
Like a lot of people, we came here on holiday, fell in love with the country and its people and decided to retire here. We ran a fishing resort for a few years then decided we would like to have a farm, and moved inland in 2012.
We have 24 goats approximately, but we are kidding right now so the number will probably rise. So, a lot of milk right now.
We have 25 pigs but three of them are pregnant … Plus, 20 sheep (ditto) plus 3 donkeys (2 pregnant) plus chickens, geese, guinea fowl, ducks and 5 turtles in our pond. Oh, not forgetting 6 dogs. No giraffes or elephants yet…
One of our sows with a litter of 12
Chickens
Guinea hens, 2 females and 1 male
Cheese making came as a bit of a hobby at first but was always something I had wanted to explore. So much for retiring!
It started out as a hobby, but I quickly found there were others who wanted good cheese.
Today my cheese making has expanded into a business and a valuable part of our farming activities.
Routine inspection and affinage
I make about 40 different cheeses. Pretty well all are European, ranging from soft cheeses like Brie and Saint Marcellin through to Cheddars, Emmental, Gruyere, Stilton, Roquefort, and speciality cheeses like Feta and Halloumi.
Plus, old long forgotten cheeses like Swaledale (I found an old recipe). It’s fun!!
Yogurt
Chevre cream cheese
Mozzarella
Brie
Morbier
Caerphilly
Herb cheddar
Emmental
Pepper cheddar
Manchego
Havarti dill
Sage derby
Stilton
Wensleydale, cheddar, herb cheddar
We live right next to a Mennonite community with whom we have developed a great relationship, or at least as much of a relationship as is possible with a very orthodox Mennonite community. So, I buy my cow milk from them. Goat milk comes from our herd of goats.
I use about 30 gallons of milk per week, and I have a rolling schedule of around 40 different cheeses. Some I make more frequently than others. I have a small dedicated dairy on the ground floor of our farmhouse.
Weighing cheese to sell
We bought the press at a Mennonite auction. We had to completely rebuild it. I use it a lot.
We vacpac and sell mainly small pieces via a weekly e-mail list to our customers.
We also sell some at the farm gate and for the past 3 years via our local farmers market (which Sue and I started).
Training?: Nope! Just trial and error. Working on a limited budget but with first class ingredients – thanks to you at (cheesemaking.com).
Reading a recipe in a cheese making book
Challenges? Well, I suppose cheese mites and moulds but they are soon eradicated.
Temperature control was an issue but Inkbird sorted that out.
Working on a tight budget is a challenge for any business but we managed.
Advice for beginners? Do NOT start with mozzarella. Very discouraging. Best to start with a simple cheese like cheddar.
Don’t buy loads of molds. Wait and see what you need before committing yourself.
Probably other issues but one tends to forget the hurdles once you have jumped them.
Oh, one last thing: There is no such thing as a bad cheese.
White Rock Farm
Cheese, Charcuterie, and More
Fine foods at the farm gate, and at The Blue Moon Farmer’s Market in Belmopan every Friday morning – 7am – 1pm
+501 675 3165 or 5502
Call Monday through Thursday and Saturday, 8 am to 5 pm
E-mail: steppingstones.sue@gmail.com
Facebook: click here
Find us at Mile 1 3/4, Springfield Rd, which is at Mile 47 1/2 on the Hummingbird Highway, near Armenia. (About 15 minutes south of Belmopan)
This anteater is from a local anteater rescue (Ella at Caves Branch), the tiny babies are fed on our goat milk.
