Aah, Maine. Rugged coastline, empty spaces, wonderful lobster, and….fantastic cheese. A visit to Appleton near Camden, Maine, will take you by Caitlin Hunter and her successful Appleton Creamery. With many years experience and a string of awards under her belt, Caitlin is the perfect person to train newcomers in the art- and science- of cheesemaking. With some of the best goat and sheep milk to work with in the USA, the huge variety and quantity of cheese you get to take home will make the course MORE than worthwhile.
Appleton Creamery is home to over 60 goats and with sheep and cow farmer friends nearby, a steady supply of quality fresh milk is available. While the farm is perhaps most famous for its chèvre offering from its own wonderful goat herd, you will get the chance to work with fresh cows and sheep milk also.
First Caitlin will take you through the basics and stress the crucial role of two things- cleanliness and great fresh milk. After scrubbing up you will then go on a tour of the main ingredients- rennet and cultures, the role of lactose turning into lactic acid and, perhaps surprisingly for the novice, the extremely important role of getting the temperature of each cheesemaking stage just right. Get that wrong and disaster looms, but with Caitlin's experience you won't go wrong!
On the course you will get the chance to make mozzarella, followed by a fantastic chèvre which you can flavor with an assortment of herbs and other flavors- great for tailoring your own cheese to proudly take home. Ricotta, one of the few cheeses around to be made from whey, is a wonderful cheese and Caitlin will show you how- making it look so simple you will want to rush home and try it out yourself.
This isn't all on this two day course. Next up is a Jack cheese, which, you will discover, is to become your homework! You will get to take home your own beautiful wheel and you will be expected to turn it, coat it and care for it for another 3 months or so before it has aged sufficiently. You will also be able to try your hand at waxing, again made to look simple by the expert until you try and end up with an orange finger!
Other cheeses you will get the chance to make are a sheep/goat milk blend Feta. This process will also teach you the art of brining. What will strike the novice on this course ishow the subtle changes to the general process will bring about such different outcomes for each cheese you make.
Finally, you will get to make a regular yogurt and a Greek style, the latter differing from being strained. Here you will learn about yogurt cultures and how to incubate the yogurt jars. You will be able to add that to the huge cooler box you will need to bring to take all your wonderful new creations home.
This course is absolutely perfect for the novice- wonderful setting, inspiring and knowledgeable teacher in Caitlin Hunter and a great chance to make such a wide variety of cheeses and yogurts over just a short weekend. For more information check out the Workshops link at the Appleton Creamery website at www.appletoncreamery.com.
For those beginner cheesemakers wanting ingredients to start or expand their skills, a full array of rennets, cultures, molds and the rest of the equipment you will need can be found at http://www.cheeseandyogurtmaking.com. Check out the Cheese and Yogurt Making website for starter kits to get you started in your new hobby.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/cooking-tips-articles/the-maine-event-making-great-cheese-at-the-appleton-creamery-5626212.html
About the Author
The growth of craft beers, individual cheese making molds and self-sufficiency in general is part of a wider trend in North America.Over the last thirty years Goat Nutrition has grown from a family-run business in rural Kent, England, to becoming the number one liquid rennet and culture supplier on the web
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