Our camera isn't working so I can't show you a picture of my new cheese cave. Actually it's not a cave. It's an old bank safe that's in a very small room in our basement. I put 4 containers of water in the bottom drawer and it brought the humidity up from 55 % to 85%, which is just where I want it to be. The temperature is around 58, just a little higher than I want it but better than it was on the other shelves I was using. The cheese will be in the 4 drawers above the one with water.
I put some pine tongue and groove boards in the drawers today to set the cheese on and it sucked the humidity right out of the air. I'm waiting for the wood to absorb some of the moisture before I put the cheese in. I hope this works.
I made some gouda cheese a few days ago and added some Liquid Smoke to it. I hope it has a nice flavor. This is the first time I've tried it. It smells real nice. Maybe one day I'll get really brave and try smoking it with real hickory smoke. I've been reading the Cheeseforum.org website and realizing how little I know about cheese making. It just motivates me to learn more. I bought another cheese making book this week, hoping it will answer some of the questions I have. I hope in another year I'll be making cheese with more consistant results.
PS. I haven't heard a whole lot more (just rumors) about the guy who was shot. We know him and he's a real nice guy. He helped us move a piano and also inspired us to build the snow plow this winter.
You forgot to mention the window that crashed onto your right hand today. We were afraid you'd broken a couple fingers, but tonight you were out there milking and smiling. (Before I forget, maybe it would be good to soak the pine boards in water.)
ReplyDelete