Khristy Grindle in Marion, Indiana

I am from a small town called Marion, Indiana (fun fact: James Dean was born here). Marion is located about an hour north of Indianapolis. I have been teaching high school mathematics for 9 years. Currently, I teach Geometry and I love it! My students know of my love for cheese making and occasionally try to take the lesson off topic and ask about the cheese I made the previous weekend. 🙂

In my spare time, I also give piano lessons and play piano for my church. My husband and I have a dog, a cat, 6 hens and a rooster.

I grew up in the middle of Indiana, but had family who lived in Waunakee, Wisconsin. So, a great deal of my childhood was spent in Wisconsin and some of my greatest memories were visiting the Mouse House cheese shop with my grandma. Before we would leave for our return home, my great grandma would wrap up a big slab of cheddar and summer sausage to send with us so we didn’t have to stop for meals!

For at least three years, I had been wanting to learn how to make cheese – partly due to my fond childhood memories. The other part is due to my parents becoming winemakers and having plans of opening a winery upon their retirement.

My dream is to work alongside them in their winery and create beautiful, delicious cheeses to pair with their lovely wines.

My parents have sent their wines off to many contests and have been very successful with that.

The peach chardonnay is, in my opinion, their best wine and we served it at my husband’s and my wedding this summer and I designed special labels for the occasion!

But, due to finances, wedding planning, job transitions, lack of time, etc. I had many reasons that kept me from learning how to make cheese.

Fortunately, I shared my dream with a colleague this past summer and she encouraged me multiple times to dive in. So, finally last October (2018), I took the plunge and made my first cheese: Queso Blanco with Jalapeños. It was good, but when I look back and see how much I’ve learned since then. I just can’t believe it!

I have had so many great opportunities to try making cheese, thanks to New England Cheesemaking Supply Company! I’ve made Brie, Triple Creme, Ash Ripened Cheese, Ricotta, Farmhouse Cheddar, Cultured Cheese, Grana Padano, Bleu d’Auvergne, Gorgonzola, Lactic Cheese, Chèvre, Queso Blanco, Camembert, Mozzarella, Aged Gouda, Young Gouda, Beer Infused Cheese, Feta, Cabra Al Vino, Baby Swiss, Butter, Havarti Dill, Goats Milk Gouda, Cream Cheese, Colby and a few of my own adventures: 1) Chipotle cheese, 2) Smoked Bacon, and 3) Triple Crème+Blue Cheese hybrid.

I strive to make one type of cheese each weekend (if my schedule allows). Though I’ve had some great successes, I’ve had many fails and have much more to learn!

The biggest consideration of cheese making that I am still figuring out is how moisture plays such a key role through the whole process. In this part of the Midwest, we get very, very humid summers, so this summer will be a whole new ballgame for me!

I started off with one wine fridge and then found another wine fridge for a great price after Christmas at Aldi’s. After that, my Grandpa gave me an unused mini fridge, which I then converted to a cheese cave using a thermostat controller I found on Amazon.

So, now I have three fridges used solely for cheese.

Also, I usually have two plastic containers in our kitchen fridge with my “near ready” mold-ripened cheese.

My husband is an engineer and farmer, so he helped me a lot at the beginning of my cheese making hobby with trying to figure out how to press certain cheeses up to 50 pounds. This was very tedious and frustrating, and after many trials, we finally gave in and he built me a very simple and efficient cheese press. I just place the weights on top of the board and we’re good to go!

I used to get my cow’s milk from Meijer and I made sure I supplemented it with calcium chloride. Raw milk has been very difficult to find in my area. However, thanks to New England Cheesemaking Supply Company’s “Good Milk List,” I have found a darling little dairy farm that I now get my cows milk from! They have around 15 or 16 Ayrshire cows and are only around 15 miles from me! I am so thrilled with it and made some Colby with their milk this past weekend!

As for the goat’s milk, I have a friend who has a goat farm and she generously shares milk when she has a surplus!

Waxing cheese was definitely a learning experience for me. I didn’t fully think the process through at the beginning, I just knew I wanted to use an old pan that I would designate as the “wax dipping pan.” I did not think about how my hand might be too small to grip most cheese wheels, which would mean I would need to use both hands to dip the cheese. The problem with this is, the pan I chose was not large enough for me to hold the cheese with two hands and dip it in (see photo)!

So, my sweet husband helped me a few times until he burned himself with wax, so now I brush wax on cheeses 2 lbs or larger and dip cheeses that are under 2 lbs. I also plan to get a larger pan for future cheese waxing.

The next photo is of the beer-infused cheese. With this cheese, I got to experiment with re-waxing after cutting a portion of it (note the Pacman shape). This worked out wonderfully because I had planned to give some of the beer cheese to a friend but didn’t need the cheese for a few more weeks. So, I rubbed the cut portion of the cheese with apple cider vinegar and then after drying, dipped it again in wax. It worked great!

One thing I have started with my friends is cheese trading. In exchange for a cheese of choice, we trade for another yummy treat. For two pounds of chipotle cheese, a friend made a big batch of her famous orange cookies.

In another exchange, I traded two pounds of my smoked bacon cheese for a big pan of enchiladas. It has been so fun!

I cannot thank you enough for your resources, recipes, and willingness to help. There have been multiple times that Jim has answered my questions as I have continued through the learning process. I have discovered cheese making is a huge passion of mine, right up there with teaching math, bicycling and raising chickens.

I forgot how good it felt to be passionate about a hobby. Thank you for all that you do!