Greg Lapp biting into his Cantal
Greg Lapp and his wife, Deb are livin’ the dream in California. They have a million hobbies, a bunch of animals and a very cool house. Greg sent us a picture of his press, and it is, bar none, the scariest one we’ve ever seen (you’ll see the pic further along)!
Note the river on the right and the mountain in back of this fabulous house.
What do you do for a living?
I teach choirs and music theory at University High School in Fresno. I also conduct a community chorus, The Fresno Choral Artists. Deb teaches English at Reedley College.
We live on the Kings River in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains just below Sequoia and King’s Canyon National Parks. We have 9 acres here. We have grapes, fruit trees, garden boxes, chickens, dogs, cats, and a llama. It’s pretty great.
Deb did the cork wall and Greg built all the wine shelves and racks.
These corks were sourced from friends and wineries. (Greg wants to be sure you know that he and his wife did not drink all those bottles of wine!)
How did you get started making cheese?
I have always liked creating. I’m a music teacher and write my own music.
I started into the food/drink making by brewing beer. I planted grapes and now I make my own wine also. I make sourdough bread, olives, pickles, kombucha, etc., and I forage for mushrooms. I’ve started making red-wine vinegar also. It started with some of my wine that went bad, so I just kept letting it go bad. It’s pretty good.
Flavored Kombucha
Kombucha scoby- 6″ diameter
Sourdough bread
Mushrooms he foraged
Knowing my interests, a friend bought me a mozzarella kit for my birthday (about four years ago). I found your website, cheesemaking.com, and the rest is history.
Where are you getting your milk?
I have a neighbor with cows. I get raw milk from him sometimes, but I also make cheese from Costco milk. Both work well. I’ve been trying to find a source for goat or sheep milk. No luck yet.
What kind of cheese are you making?
I like making something new almost every time. I’ve really liked cheddar, Brie, Manchego (although I do it with cow milk, so it’s Hispanico).
Munster (left) and Limburger (right)
Reblochon
Currently, I have Cantal aging and Reblochon just starting to age.
Reblochon and Cantal
Cave with Cantal
Tell us about your press…
My press works great.
Our property is very VERY rocky, so I use what we have. I’ve weighed each rock and marked it with a Sharpie.
I made the frame out of scrap wood I had around and just put rocks on top to whatever weight I want. I do have to be a little careful about making sure they don’t fall over, especially when doing 150lbs like in the picture.
What are your goals?
I like making all the things I make for myself and my friends. It’s fun to take it to parties. I have no interest in going into business with any of it. I don’t want to deal with licensing and all that. I also don’t want to take the fun out of any of it. I make stuff when I want, what I want.
Next, I might want to get a still. Mmmmm! a little whiskey?
