Rebecca Noble in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Rebecca’s Story

I have lived and worked in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for most of my adult life. It is a beautiful city with 3 rivers and lots and lots of hills!!

I got interested in making cheese a long, long time ago. I picked up a book on cheese-making at the local co-op and read the recipe for Monterey Jack cheese (my favorite at the time). After looking, I slammed the book shut and said, “Well, I won’t be doing that any time soon!!” (It looked sooooo complicated.)

My first experience tasting real, artisanal farmstead cheese was not so long ago. In 2016, a friend and I went to Northern Patagonia in Chile; specifically an archipelago named Chiloe.

It is a place of rich cultural and agricultural heritage. Seafood abounds and we truly took advantage of it! Fresh oysters, heirloom potatoes, fresh butter and lots of artisanal cheese were our sustenance. We had a little cabana right on a bird sanctuary.

It was enchanting!! The cheese was rich, and one could truly taste the raw milk it was made from. So many farms have signs advertising their “Queso Artisanal.” I so wanted to stay longer…but there is a lot to see in Patagonia!

I feel my background as a contemporary craft artist has a lot to do with my attraction to making cheese. For 45 years, I made and sold handwoven women’s clothing all over the country.

I am now retired…kind of forced into it. The prospect of exhibiting in more shows doesn’t look good. Everything came to a standstill in March, and I really needed to do something with my time…

Sitting around this past May, I saw a post from New England Cheesemaking Supply Company with an announcement from Kate Johnson about her 7-Day Cheese Challenge. I figured “Why not???… what have I got to lose?” We proceeded to make cheese from all over the world! I really have not done much else since then except ride my bike and make cheese.

Kate Johnson, from The Art of Cheese at Briargate Farm in Longmont, Colorado has been absolutely inspirational. Her teaching style is easy-going and I never feel uncomfortable asking questions of any sort related to cheese-making. Her on-line classes are so easy to attend, and the weekly Cheese Chats help us all learn from each other. These two things really keep me motivated.

I am staying away from everything I have always loved to do, to keep safe, and this is something I can do that keeps my attention. Having grown up on a farm in Western Pennsylvania, I am used to hard work, and making cheese is also physically demanding.

I am learning by making one cheese at a time. I am inspired by the beautiful pictures of cheese and the beautiful names. Seriously!!

Since the end of May, I have made 49 different kinds of cheese; some two and three times; as well as just about every kind of dairy product that exists! I have a fantastic source of farm-fresh, raw milk. I drive 45 minutes and usually get 7-9 gallons at a time.

I can cycle on a beautiful trail right near the farm…this gets me into the forest and helps me gather my thoughts for an upcoming “make.”

I usually make 3-4 different cheeses from each trip, without much rhyme or reason. I know I need to follow a more targeted plan, but I am so excited to make more and more varieties.

My friends and family receive most of my cheeses, and I eat quite a bit myself. I have been introduced to so many varieties that I had no idea existed, much less so many variations on those varieties.

At the present, I am concentrating on “bloomy rind” cheeses. Valencay, Camembert, Coulommiers are some. I also love blue cheese. So delicious.

I don’t think there is a cheese I do not like, except those infused with dried fruit. I have not been so successful at making those.

One thing I have discovered is how much I love cooking with cheese. Mostly everything I make now has cheese in it.

In the past, I might grate some cheddar into an omelet, or use some ricotta as a pasta sauce. This cheese making experience has taught me so much about a new way to cook! From appetizers to main courses to desserts; there is nothing one cannot put cheese in.

Another thing I really love about cheesemaking is how much I am learning: not just about how to make cheese but the history of many of them, the cultural influences, why a certain cheese is important for a specific group. For instance, the fact that the United States does not allow raw cheeses to be imported from Europe and the only way one can enjoy them is to make them oneself.

Another cheese gets developed because miners need a cheese for lunch that is long-lasting.

Because it is made with raw milk…Reblochon was the illegal cheese of the farms of the Haute-Savoie region of France. With the French Revolution, tenant farmers were allowed once again to produce it for themselves. It is one of those cheeses which can’t be imported because it is made with raw milk. I can’t wait to make it myself!

It is hard to control the urges to get more and more equipment and supplies. I try to remind myself that I am just a home cheese-maker, after all…but I am programmed to build inventory!

I am also now re-making some cheeses I made back in June to see if my technique is improving or at least changing. It seems that if I am not making cheese, I am studying about it…at my own pace. It seems that subjects that I always avoided in my life…science, biology, math…are all coming into play here…but I love it!! My degree is in Art…specifically weaving, but cooking has always been fun for me.

I have always been an avid gardener, and try to do as much as I can “from scratch.”

I sold my big old house last year, so I don’t have a vegetable garden any more, but am very close to a Sunday Farmer’s Market that I can walk to. Not the same as growing things myself, but good enough. I also love to garden with ornamentals. I had a little urban farm and loved…”I need a pepper for this recipe, so I’ll just go outside and pick one.” Quite special for living in the city.

I am also a long-distance cyclist and have cycled in many places in the world. My ex-husband and I took our bikes to many shows and that gave us the opportunity to get some exercise on the road as well as right here in Pittsburgh.

I also still love to sew, even though I did it as a vocation. I actually made a couple of hundred masks this spring…as a volunteer…from cotton African fabrics. They are beautiful and interesting!

Seems that this is the only chance I will get to work in fibers for the near future. I may also weave carpets. Always wanted to do that.

My loom and weaving have been my soul. I have always loved putting colors and textures together, and believe it or not, my background as a textile dyer helps in figuring out formulas, scaling a recipe up or down, and so forth when making cheese.

That all being said…I will continue my journey as a home cheese-maker and hope for lots of improvement!!