ATTRA Question of the Week

K.C.
New Mexico

Answer: First of all, a new book seems to have just what you are looking for. The title is American Farmstead Cheese: The Complete Guide to Making and Selling Artisan Cheeses. It was written by Dr. Paul Kindstedt (University of Vermont) with the Vermont Cheese Council; he is a food scientist and is a great contact. The book is published and sold through Chelsea Green Publishing.

The book has a chapter addressing pasteurization and raw milk. The Resources below also list another article by Dr. Kindstedt on the subject of raw milk cheeses.

Dr. Rosenberg (University of California-Davis) wrote a very interesting article about the challenges and opportunities of raw milk cheeses. He closes with a great list of suggestions for how you can safely manufacture raw milk cheeses of lower risk. Also, his contact information (including phone number and e-mail) are included at the end of the article, and he invites those with questions about cheesemaking and in particular raw milk cheese to contact him.

The Vermont Cheese Council has a web site (www.vtcheese.com/vtcheese/) that includes very helpful information, including an article about "Official Controls and Auto Controls." This article addresses quality control and measures that will safeguard the cheesemaking process. It also gives information about which bacteria are of most concern, and what levels of bacteria are acceptable.

The University of Guelph has a Cheese Technology Department. Two of their useful and interesting articles are included in the resources below. The first article, "Manufacture, Ripening, Process Control and Yield Efficiency," seems to be a very practical and thorough treatment of cheesemaking, including trouble-shooting and problem-solving. It is followed by "Selected Recipes" and includes specific guidelines for making and aging various cheeses. There are specific recipes, including aging temperatures and humidity.

Resources:

Kindstedt, Paul. 2004. Views on raw milk cheese: why raw milk cheeses are worth saving. Cheese Reporter. August. p. 4, 10. Part 2: September. p. 4.

Rosenberg, M. no date. Raw milk cheeses: challenges and opportunities. Department of Food Science and Technology. University of California, Davis. www.sheanadavis.com/pdf/raw_milk_conference_2003.pdf. 11 p.

anon. no date. Official controls and auto controls. Vermont Cheese Council. www.vtcheese.com/vtcheese/rawmilk_files/rawmilk6.html. 15 p.

anon. no date. Section E: Manufacture, ripening, process control and yield efficiency. University of Guelph Cheese Technology. www.foodsci.uoguelph.ca/cheese/sectione.htm. 32 p.

anon. no date. Section F: Selected recipes. University of Guelph Cheese Technology. www.foodsci.uoguelph.ca/cheese/sectionf.htm#semihard. 33 p.

Gage, James D., and Debra L. Crave. 2005. Affinage discovery session. Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection & Babcock Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison. 23 p.

Crave, George and Debbie. 2004. Specialty cheesemaking and aging in Switzerland. The Babcock Institute. Dairy Artisan Series. 16 p.

Topham, A. Anne. 2004. Cheese aging in France. The Babcock Institute. Dairy Artisan Series. 16 p.

Anon. no date. Aging cheese at Bleu Mont Dairy. The Babcock Institute. http://babcock.cals.wisc.edu/artisan/bleumont.pdf . 4 p.

The Mont-Laurier Benedictine Nuns. 1983. Goat Cheese: Small-Scale Production. New England Cheesemaking Supply Company. Ashfield, Massachusetts. p. 62–65, 67, 68.

Anon. 2003. The art of flavor development in cheese. California Milk Advisory Board. See www.RealCaliforniaCheese.com. 29 p.

Anon. 2004. Inspection of cheese making operations. USDA. www.ams.usda.gov/dairy/page_c.pdf.

Reference:
Dairy Science and Technology www.foodsci.uoguelph.ca/dairyedu/home.html
This site is worth exploring; lots of details and technical information about cheesemaking.