Jim Stone first came to our attention when he made a comment at one of our blog articles. He mentioned that he was making cheese twice a week, so he was glad to get the tip about using dental floss to wax cheese (click here)
Jim is a do-it-yourselfer of the highest magnitude and when he isn’t making cheese, he has a seki farm and bonsai nursery (Seki Bonsai), an apiary (bee yard) and he and his wife raise dairy goats. It’s amazing that he took the time to do this interview!
How did you get started making cheese?
My wife and I set out to buy a goat for the milk back in about 2006. Of course, you can’t have just one, so we came home with two does and it kind of grew from there.
I gave my wife a gift basket of goat’s milk products and she decided “Hey I can do this!” which she did – starting out as gifts to friends and relatives and now she has her own business – (Bearded Lady Soap Factory).
How many goats do you have?
Between my wife and I, we have 22-32 goats at any one time. I have 2 … I bought two does just to be able to lay claim to some of the milk for cheese making. 🙂
My wife keeps a closed herd of between 20 to 30 head with usually 1 or 2 bucks and the remainder being does of various ages and kids. There are 5-7 in milk at all times. We love our registered Nubians and we breed Nubian/Alpine crosses to make solid production milkers.
Reina, Queen of the Guard taking a water break
I originally bought this land for a nursery (Seki Bonsai). But the goats kind of took over and my wife started her soap and lotion business. We are currently in the process of becoming a licensed raw milk dairy. We are also working on being able to sell our cheese to the public.
I bought my two goats (Tabitha and Samantha) from a fellow goat farmer when their sale fell through to someone else. So, I get to take milk for cheese making whenever I want! 🙂
While Tabitha and Samantha are purebred Nubians, our total herd ranges from purebred registered Nubian to any percentage of Alpine cross you can think of. The crosses are Alpine (bearded and brown) and Saanen (the bearded white ones). The Alpine gives the “beard” in the “Bearded Lady” logo.
It all goes in the same milk fridge.
What kind of cheese are you making?
We started out making fresh cheese – Queso Blanco, (plain and Italian herb) which was, and still is, a major hit and Quark (plain, Italian herb, pineapple and pecans). It doesn’t take much milk to make these.
I have been a long time home brewer of beer, kombucha and I am a bread maker. I’m also a bit ADD, so I am constantly trying new recipes, tweaking old ones …
Right now, all of my cheese is made with raw goat milk. There is a raw cow dairy right down the road that encouraged us to open ours, so at some point I may branch out in the future.
After several “tip overs” trying to precariously balance weights on top of molds, my friend Nathaniel made us a press. This shows 170 pounds on a Cheshire cheese.
My first ever “aged cheese” was a Blue/Gorgonzola Dolce from your website. Didn’t have a cave so I aged it in our vegetable drawer. It was a bit of a nightmare – very strong flavored. I learned a lot from that one – especially about taking notes. I then converted my “keg fridge” to a cheese cave.
From there, I’ve moved on to make some decent Farmhouse Cheddars, Goudas (my spring tradition now includes making a version flavored with wild onion and nettle collected from our homestead), Tommes and Cheshires and the requisite Ricotta off all the whey for cheesecakes and Italian dishes. I just tried the newer Robiola recipe on your web site to make a marinated cheese and that was a huge hit.
Ingredients for my “wild herb” Gouda- either foraged or grown on site- wild onion, nettle, garlic, parsley and basil.
My springtime edition Gouda with wild onion, nettle and garlic
I really got fired up when I saw pictures of Belper Knolle about two years ago – I HAD TO MAKE IT and found a tentative recipe Jim had published on one of the cheese forums. Far as I could tell, no one else was really making it then. Immediate hit.
My latest favorite is Juustoleipa – a co-worker brought me some and instantly I had to figure it out. I found a Finnish recipe I had to run through Google translate – and later found a few others in English this time. I can’t make it fast enough … I do a variety of flavors – jalapeno, chorizo, bacon/onion, Italian, garlic and a sundried tomato/basil.
Homemade bread with Juustoleipa on top.
Those are my go-to’s and I am always scouring web pages for other styles. My next style I’d like to try are Parmesans once I learn a little more about controlling the long term aging conditions/process.
What advice do you have for beginner cheese makers?
Hmmmm. I guess not to take things too seriously (except for your sanitation practices) and have fun. You end up with cheese, it may not be true to what you were making, but it will still be darn good. I substitute things out all the time, try new ideas and have never had a total fail. Just keep good notes!
Seki Bonsai
Jim Stone
409-927-4595
The Bearded Lady Soap Factory
Laura Stone
16302 Fir Road, Santa Fe, TX 77517-2131
409-766-0630
laura@beardedladysoap.com
