Dale Calder on Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada

Almost everyone who has ever made cheese has heard of Dale Calder. He has 33 cheesemaking videos on his YouTube channel (see the links below). He posted his last one (Making Scamorza Cheese) at the end of January right before the pandemic struck.

His videos (1,016 in all) are peaceful and soothing. It is clear that he is a gentle, kind man with a lot of interests – gardening, raising chickens, cooking/baking, making cheese, and camping in his off grid cabin. In truth, watching his videos feels like the antidote to a world in chaos. Check them out and see if you don’t feel better.

We were honored when Dale made a comment recently at Drew Bayley’s interview. He agreed with Drew about how useful the Sous Vide is for cheesemaking.

That inspired us to interview him:

Dale Calder’s World

You have made a LOT of videos.

Jack of all trades but master of none. The YouTube channel has been slowly growing since 2008 up to 26,000 subscribers now which is still a very small channel. I have seen several with over ten million.

Why did you start making them?

I don’t know. It was really just something I thought I would try. My first video camera was a flip camera – tiny little thing fits in you pocket. I don’t even remember what most of those videos were about.

Is there any biographical info available about you online or anywhere?

I don’t think there is a bio anywhere. I have given out little bits of info here and there but try to never make the channel about me. It is just a collection of things that I like to do – travel, cooking/baking, gardening, cheese making, poultry, etc. and I seem to have subscribers that like one or two of these pursuits, enjoy them and ignore the rest.

I try to never come across as an expert in anything that I present. YouTube is full of videos from people trying to prove that they know it all when often it is quite obvious that they don’t.

What did you do before you retired?

I worked for the Canada Border Services Agency for 33 years – 16 years as an Inspector and 17 years as a Superintendent.

Where is your cabin?

My small cabin is on my property. Built in 2012, it is off grid with a small amount of solar power. I enjoy camping in it in the winter time. The videos that I make then are always my most popular. I think some of my subscribers want me to move out there for the winter. LOL

You have chickens?

I have had hens, since around 2010 or 2011. I have had almost every kind of small livestock over the years. Had goats for many years but developed an allergy to the mold and spores in hay. Got so bad if I picked up a load of hay, I was a few days unloading it.

You also garden?

I’ve had my hoop house/greenhouse for 12 years and don’t know how I ever lived without it. It sure makes gardening in this short season a lot easier.

How did you get started making cheese?

Years ago, when I had goats, I had a small company and sold items useful to goat keepers and cheese making supplies – Canadian Home Dairy Supply Company. I sold the company in the late 80’s and, if it still exists, it isn’t on the internet. I did make some soft goat cheeses and tried a hard cheese but wasn’t very successful with it – too busy with my work.

I didn’t really get into cheesemaking until after I retired in 2005. When I first had goats, I was still working shift work and used to joke that my goats worked shift work too. If I was working 4 to 12, the goats got milked at noon and midnight.

You made your first cheese video in 2015.

I make YouTube videos and do a cheese video whenever I try to make a new cheese. I have a cheddar in the cave fridge right now that will be six months old in August – anxious to try it.

I love making cheese. I’m very much an amateur.

I make my cheese from store bought milk. Haven’t made any since the pandemic started. With shortages of different food items from time to time, I just wouldn’t feel right buying 4 gallons of milk at one time.

Did you get your press from us (cheesemaking.com)?

Yes, it’s an excellent press and I love using it. Before getting this press, I used a Dutch Press which worked well but I was only able to make smaller cheeses with it due to the limitation on the size of the mould that it would take. After I got your press, I gave the Dutch press to one of my YouTube followers who was just getting into cheese making. With your press I can make cheese using four gallons of milk. The cheddar that I have aging now weighs three and a quarter pounds, whereas, with the small Dutch press I was getting cheeses that weighed around a pound.

What’s your favorite cheese to make?

I guess the cheese that I have made most often is Gouda and I really like it. All of my cheeses are shaped like Gouda now since I started using a Dutch Kadova Mould. It’s so much easier than dealing with cheesecloth. Also, it’s available in a brick shape so maybe I will invest in one of those next.

What are your goals?

No goats in my future but friends keep sheep and are looking for a dairy breed. I’ve offered to buy a couple extra for them so I could have sheep’s milk. Some of my favourite cheeses are made with sheep’s milk. One made in the Basque country in France, sold as P’tit Basque by the Astara company, is my favourite but I have never seen a recipe for it.

Do you have any advice for beginner cheesemakers?

Follow a recipe as best you can but, like I often say in my videos, making cheese isn’t rocket science. I have used many of the recipes on the New England Cheesemaking site. They are free and always work for me.

As an example of what I’m talking about, I was making a cheddar cheese and was in the cheddaring stage and I heated the water to the target temperature and forgot to turn the stove off. I came back 10 minutes later and everything was way too hot. I was tempted to throw the whole thing out but decided to press it anyway. It turned out to be crumbly but had a great cheddar flavour.

Little mistakes along the way will give you a slightly different cheese but, often, still quite enjoyable. Always remember that the cheese originally was not made following the strict rules and recipes that we follow today. The eyes in various Swiss cheeses originated from the cheese being stored in hay in the barn in the high meadows where it was made and aged before it was brought down to the valleys in the autumn.

Dale’s Cheese Videos

Paneer

Making Paneer Cheese, November 20, 2015

Greek Yogurt

Making Greek Yogurt and Yogurt Cheese, December 8, 2015

Mozzarella

Making Mozzarella Cheese, December 15, 2015

Ricotta

Making Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese, December 22, 2015

Tripe Creme

Making Triple Creme, January 22, 2016

Camembert

Making Camembert Cheese, February 19, 2016

Feta

Making Feta Cheese, March 4, 2016

Colby

Making Colby Cheese, March 25, 2016

Gouda

Making Gouda Cheese, April 29, 2016
Making Chilli Pepper Gouda Cheese, September 15, 2017
Taste Testing the Chilli Pepper Gouda, November 28, 2017
Making Herbed Gouda Cheese using a Dutch Kadova Gouda Mould, June 29, 2018

Mysost

Making Mysost Norwegian Whey Cheese, June 10, 2016

Butter

Making European Style Butter, November 4, 2016
Herbal Butter, July 10, 2020

Derby Sage

Making Derby Sage Cheese, July 22, 2016
Sage Derby Cheese 8 Months Old, February 10, 2017

Halloumi

Making Halloumi Cheese (Grilling Cheese), January 13, 2017

Jarlsberg

Making Norwegian Jarlsberg Style Cheese, March 24, 2017
Jarlsburg & Gouda Update and Questions, June 5, 2017

Emmental (Swiss)

Traditional Swiss Emmental Style Cheese, July 28, 2017
Taste Testing the Traditional Swiss Cheese, November 14, 2017
Aging the Swiss Cheese, March 2, 2018
Tasting the Swiss Cheese & Rocket Stove Grilled Cheese, June 1, 2018

Cheddar

Making Cheddar Cheese, September 29, 2017
Making Cheddar Cheese with the Sous Vide, January 24, 2020

Wensleydale

Making Wensleydale Style Cheese, October 13, 2017
Test Tasting Wensleydale Cheese, December 5, 2017

Monterey Jack

Making Monterey Jack – Pepper Jack Cheese, May 18, 2018

Manchego

Making Manchego Cheese, July 20, 2018
Manchego Cheese Update, August 28, 2018

Caerphilly

Making Caerphilly Cheese, January 10, 2020

Scamorza

Making Scamorza Cheese, January 30, 2020

Dale Calder

YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/user/dalecalder2003

Videos about cheese – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4B6zFYgLe4CQllzhwa40ovwbnC3jWIID