Haley at Burning Man which she attends every year. This was the first time she brought her homemade cheese to share – gouda and triple cream brie.
Haley started making cheese less than a year ago but she’s made at least 20 different kinds, ranging from chèvre to more complicated cheeses like parmesan and gruyere.
Gruyere
She told us she has had a lot of fails but also a lot of success and cheese making has become one of her favorite hobbies.
Haley’s Story:
I started making cheese less than a year ago! I’ve been very obsessed with learning by doing. It all started November 2018, when I watched Gavin Webber’s YouTube channel – specifically the double cream brie video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06m_ib-tYy8
I then watched a handful of his other videos and the way he walks you through the steps, it just felt so doable to me! So I decided to start small with ricotta.
One of the best parts of cheese making is the ricotta you can make from the leftover whey. Bonus cheese!
It was so easy I quickly escalated to chèvre, then the brie recipe and so on.
Chevre
Double cream brie
I’ve been mostly using recipes from the your website (https://cheesemaking.com/), but I also read The Joy of Cheesemaking. That book has loads of good info and I got to learn a lot about different commercial cheese makers, too.
Making two cheeses at once makes me feel so productive! My aunt was coming to town so I was preparing with some marinated feta and some chèvre I had made the week before. The brie on the left was about a month before being ready.
Ultimately I’m learning from doing and making mistakes. It is not fun to have to toss a cheese, but it’s worth the learning experience!
Parmesan style (ended up waxing it because it was getting too dried out), classic cheddar, gruyere, some vacuum sealed drunken cow and farmhouse cheddar slices, two goudas, manchego, saffron cheese, two triple cream bries. The brie has transitioned to being wrapped and placed into the main fridge and I added a havarti to the fridge just last night 🙂
My most successful cheese so far has been gouda, but we’ll see how the others end up turning out!
Surprised to see how well my gouda came out!
I use Straus milk if I can find it. If I can’t find Straus at the store, I’ll get whatever the best milk I can find there is. One goal I have is to join a herdshare in the future so I can get the best of the best, freshest milk 🙂
Fontina
Advice for beginners:
My advice for beginners is to just go for it! Start with something easy like ricotta. Then move on to whatever you want – I jumped into the deep end and learned a lot all at once. Sometimes I learned the hard way (lots of “trash” cheese as I call it) and sometimes I learned that making cheese is extremely rewarding.
The mountain of mozzarella I made for beach camping this year
Do lots of reading and/or watch Youtube videos to learn the nuances and methods of home cheese making. Don’t get discouraged when you fail a cheese. It’s easy to feel super bummed when you’ve spend hours and weeks on a cheese and it ends up in the trash. Chalk it up as a difficult learning experience. When you do get something right – have a party and share it with your friends! For me – that’s the most rewarding way to celebrate a success.
Cheese plate: 6 month cheddar, gruyere, gouda
Mini cheese plate with gouda
Here are a few of my favorite YouTube channels to learn from:
Gavin Webber – https://www.youtube.com/user/greeningofgavin
Kristin Hammock – https://www.youtube.com/user/KristinsMishmash/
Larry from Deep South Texas – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiSaV_HIWr0roPWuPSz25MA
My first ricotta recipe was made from Bon Appétit’s video with Binging with Babish – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHHAAbmr84U
I would consider myself somewhere between beginner and intermediate amateur home cheese maker.
Gluten-free Irish soda bread paired well with one of my first bries. The brie was a bit dry but very creamy and tasty.
There are many things I still don’t know fully or haven’t figured out. So I plan to find some cheese making classes in the bay area and learn how to make cheeses I’ve already made from an instructor’s perspective so I can hone my craft and really make sure I’m not missing anything.
Goat feta marinating in olive oil and lots of herbs
Goat cheddar taste test
There is so much to know! I wish I could take a cheese science class here in Sacramento, but it seems there isn’t a class like that.*
Caprese salad with mozzarella
* Haley actually did find a class at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, right before we were going to post this interview:
I have to tell you about the cheese making class I went to last night! It was sooo informative.
I learned details about the cheese making process that I will use every time I make cheese.
It was a class at my local co-op (where I buy all my milk) about how to make Stilton. Our instructor is the head cheese maker at Winters Cheese Company in CA.
I wasn’t sure what to expect since I haven’t taken any classes at the co op yet, but wow was it amazing!! Sacha Laurin is full of knowledge. She’s very well versed in fermentation in general and told us a lot about the science of what is happening during the cheese making process. It was super helpful to be able to visualize the process in a different way.
Still gleaming from last night 🙂
Follow Haley on Instagram as she explores her love of cheese making! https://instagram.com/ihave_cheese
Haley’s mom (Roberta) makes mini succulent gardens out of vintage pots and objects. This photo was taken at one of her pop up sales in Sacramento. To see her work: https://www.instagram.com/lunabearta/
