BakeandCut

Cheese making at Stroudover cottage.

 

It all started many years ago when I was a kid and dad used to take the weaners (pigs) and sheep to markets to sell in the Temuka stock sales. Dad always put his best work pants and woollen jacket and cap for the stock sales. He had to dress up then as one does.

It was always a fabulous day out. We would always have lunch in the cafeteria at the sales, roasts meals and sandwiches were the order of the day and hot steaming cups of sweet black tea. I loved having a cup of tea with the grown ups. I used love walking through the yards and looking at all the sheep and dad would always tell me stories of when he used to be a musterer. And then tell me about the different breeds of sheep, and, of course, we did the same with the pigs. And there would always be some animals that would escape the confines of the yards. And watching everyone run to help and put them back in was funny.

Then over on the other side of the yards was the big stock trucks and the dogs, I could watch them for hours loading and unloading and dogs running along the back of the sheep. The smells, the sounds, the sights, still with me to this day.

If we had a good day and fetched good prices for our stock, we would stop at the local cheese factory and buy this mega block of tasty cheddar cheese. It must have weighed about ten-twelve kilograms. It was a treat to get cheese like that. When we got it home, dad would cut it up into smaller blocks, and we had a cheese feast. My mums speciality was Welsh rarebit. We would have that often for breakfast or lunch. Then baked cauliflower and cheese. And my personal favourite, which I still eat very regularly is cheese and raw onions sandwich. I used to make them for my school lunch. Yum yum.

As I grew into an adult, I have always had a desire to make my own cheese. About ten years ago I purchased a book on making cheese. I read the book, but never plucked up the courage to make it. Some things I just needed to see. So I always put it off.

But I recently had the chance to attended a one day cheese making course at Stroudover cottage. It was a very hands on experience, and it all seemed so simple. It has now given me the confidence to go out and make cheese on my own. So if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you will see the results of when I do.
At the cheese course you are supplied with recipes and what you need to get you going and where you can purchase the ingredients. I need to purchase some cultures and bits and bobs, and then I will be off and running.

If you have ever wanted to make cheese, I highly recommend going on a course to get you started.

The day started out nice and relaxed at 9 am with a cup of tea when we arrived, a brief rundown of some fundamentals and what type of cheeses we were going to be making. And learning that we would be taking home five different types of cheese was the highlight.

From then on it was into cheese making, we made fetta, halloumi, ricotta, mascarpone, and quarg.

I don’t think I can buy these cheeses ever again from a shop. The shop bought ones taste so dead and un-fresh. There is no comparison. The home-made cheese is just so alive, and you know what goes into it. We were all finished by four thirty pm and going home with our goodies.

Stroudover cottage is the genius of Chef Patrick Reubinson, not only can you learn to make cheese; you can do a small goods workshop. Or just a cooking class, or maybe one of their famous truffle dinners; and if that does not appeal, you could just simply just stay in the dog friendly self-contained cottage and enjoy the views of the surrounding hills.

There are too many options to name here. For more information, please check out Stroudover Cottage website and Facebook page.