John Augsburger in Wamego, Kansas

We apologize for being redundant, but, we have to present you with yet another fascinating cheese maker. It’s really ridiculous! The truth is – we don’t even try to find the most interesting people in the world – it’s just that they are all cheese makers! We simply ask people what kind of cheese they are making, and that leads to the most amazing stories:

What kind of cheese are you making?

I primarily make Haloumi since it is hard to find and expensive. I am vegetarian and my wife fries Haloumi for me when serving meat to others. We became big fans of Haloumi from living and working internationally.

You traveled?

My wife and I were involved with international humanitarian work with various organizations, she in public health (HIV, vulnerable children, nutrition, cholera, and Ebola) and I in disaster response management (post conflict, earthquakes, tsunami, drought, and refugees).

Over 17 years we worked in 25 different countries, for as short a response as a month to as long as 3 years.

We changed our path two years ago and are settled in Kansas to care for an aging parent. My wife still does some international program evaluation, short term once a year, and I now build furniture. I did volunteer this past summer with Mennonite Disaster Service to lead reconstruction teams in Puerto Rico.

How did you get into that kind of work?

My professional background is Clinical Social Work with an additional history of construction management. I was at a point in life where I wanted a change and to fulfill a dream of working overseas. So, I took a teaching/counseling position at a private school in Kodaikanal, India. When finished with that contract, I found other international positions that fit my background. Humanitarian programming was an excellent fit, so I went next to Kosovo.

What kind of furniture are you making now?

I build a variety of furniture pieces and other items. I stick to hard woods like cherry, walnut and oak. Furniture items include a chest of drawers, sofa end table, half round wall table, contemporary version of a plantation chair with ottoman, cedar chest, wine racks, and cherry kitchen stool. Other items include tool chests for my shop, toys and cell phone amplifiers for family. I have posted a ‘John’s Woodworks’ photo album on Facebook (click here). (Note: If you’re interested in ordering, you can send a message through Facebook or email John with woodwork requests (mraugs@hotmail.com). You should consider the shipping from Kansas, or Virginia eventually, as an add-on.)

How did you come to love haloumi?

When frequenting Lebanese restaurants anywhere, we always ordered fried Haloumi along with other dishes.

While living in Ethiopia we shopped at a market owned by a Greek family, and would regularly buy a block of several pounds, in brine, made by the owners.

And, it was a staple for us in both Turkey and Greece. Most restaurants serve it fried, with sliced raw vegetables (cucumbers, tomato wedges, onion slices, etc.).

One exceptional serving in Greece was grilled Haloumi stacked in layers with grilled vegetables (aubergine, peppers, and zucchini), and with a balsamic cream fig sauce pored over the stack. Very nice!

I have only made Haloumi, though I pressed some Colby curds that I got from a friend. The fresh Colby was so good that we ate all before aging it.

How do you make it?

I usually make 3-4 pounds at a time, stacking 3-4 one pound molds in the press. I would like to try other cheeses, especially those not commonly found in supermarkets, but don’t have a “cave” for aging yet. I may set one up after we move to Virginia in the Spring. My aging parents live there and are needing us around. We’ll move my wife’s 91 year old father with us so we can continue with his care as well. We think our parents will age with more dignity at home than in a retirement center. I’ll continue building furniture.

Here’s a photo of the cheese press I made. The bucket holds 8 quarts of water. I press 3 stacked molds of Haloumi at a time.

I wish I could say it’s my design, but I modeled it after several photos I found online. This type seems easier to calibrate and use than others I’ve seen. I put a foil pie pan on the platform under the cheese mold(s), with a hole on the bottom, front edge, and catch the way in another pie pan on the floor. The press can be adjusted for height of stacks of molds. And by moving the weight bucket toward the end of the lever it can build up to all the pressure I will ever need. Pretty simple.

How did you learn to make haloumi?

I taught myself to make it by following the good recipe and instructions in Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll, which you supply.

I use a double boiler that holds 3 gallons of milk, adjusting the recipe to that amount. The most difficult step to control is warming the cut curd at 2 degrees every 5 minutes. Nevertheless, I have always been happy with how the cheese turns out, so this must not be exactly critical. I store it refrigerated in the saltwater brine recommended, which gives the cheese it’s salty flavor. As it ages in the fridge, it can get more salty, so I change the brine to cold water the night before serving and it mellows the salinity.

I use pasteurized whole milk bought in a grocery store. I checked into buying from a dairy, but they are distant from us and expensive in Kansas, with primarily beef cattle and bison raised here. (And no, no one milks the bison that I know of.) We plan to move back to Virginia in 5-6 months and will then have access to dairies, and goat milk.

What kind of cheese do you hope to make when you move to Virginia?

I’ve always wanted to make a Swiss or Gouda cheese. And, since we eat a lot of it, Brie or Camembert would be quite interesting. And perhaps Feta with goat milk.