Mary with her husband, John
Mary lives outside Houston and prior to reading Vincent D’Souza’s interview, she thought she was the only home cheese maker and bread maker around. She told us she would love to get to meet fellow cheese makers. We hope through this interview, she will have that opportunity.
Mary’s Story
I grew up in a small village in the mountains of Lebanon, a tiny country in the East Mediterranean. Aside from shadowing my grandmother in the family vegetable garden and fruit orchard, I was required to tend to our goats and sheep.
My job was to feed them and provide clean water to drink. I was also tasked with ensuring that they did not get into trouble or gain access to the vegetable garden. My grandmother taught me how to milk them and properly store the milk, in preparation for cheese making.
My favorite meal was Jebneh Baydah with black sesame seeds (White Cheese), lathered on freshly baked bread, accompanied with our home-grown cucumbers.
Feta cheese with black sesame seeds stuffed in brioche bread
When I first immigrated to the United States, I missed the taste and smell of my home country food. The cheeses that I ate while growing up in Lebanon were nowhere to be found, or if I was lucky, and found a similar cheese, lacked the rich flavors that I was accustomed to.
I thought of my grandmother, and the lost opportunity of learning the art of cheese making, and decided that I needed to carry on her legacy. I took a few classes in cheese making, and connected with our village elders to learn traditional Lebanese cheeses. I started experimenting and trying different cheese recipes.
Today, I make most of the cheeses I grew up eating, pairing them with home baked sourdough breads. I frequently share these cheeses with my friends and neighbors.
Camembert cheese baked in sourdough wheel bread
I also get enormous pleasure, knowing that not only my grandmother is smiling down at me with pride, but I have kept her legacy alive by making her favorite cheeses.
Parmesan and Mozzarella in a spinach mixture baked in sourdough bread
I make my cheese from raw goat milk that I get from a farmer in Hempstead.
Goat Jebneh Baydah with black sesame seeds
I also get raw Jersey cow’s milk from a farm called Krenek Stryk located in Schulenberg, about an hour’s drive from Katy.
Types of cheeses I make include: Mozzarella, Feta, Labneh, Halloumi, Ackawi, Nabulsi, Camembert, Gruyere, Provolone, Cheddar, Chèvre, Pepper Jack, and Gouda. However, my favorites are the cheeses I grew up with: Halloumi, Chèvre, Jebneh Baydah and Labneh.
Pepper Jack
My advice for beginners:
Devote time to enjoy the process of cheese making and to appreciate how milk can metamorphose to a tasty cheese. Cheese making is an art that demands our senses to be open to new adventures.
Start with soft cheeses, like Mozzarella, Feta, etc. to gain a feel for how milk coagulates, then proceed to hard cheeses that require various bacterial cultures.
Finally, regular practice makes perfect. With time, you will be able to tell how the acidity will determine the final taste.
Other hobbies:
I have a citrus and fruit garden.
Drying persimmons that I harvested from my tree, following a Japanese method called Hoshigaki
Also, a vegetable garden…
Seasonal produce
Kale
Cabbages
Giant heirloom cabbage
and a pollinator garden.
Building a Bee garden, planted with native plants to provide nectar for the bees
Teaching future gardeners how to build a compost pile on my property
This year is my first year at beekeeping, as well.
I call my beehive Farah, meaning Joy in Arabic, because when I caught my first bee swarm, I was elated. The name is written in Arabic on the hive.
