Yes.

There is actual cheese at Alemar Cheese. My make today went really well. Even though it was a thirteen hour day, I felt energized throughout, especially once the cheese made it into the molds. I plan to post a full description of the cheesemaking process, but not tonight. After I finished cleaning up, I spent a few moments just staring at the end result of something I've been working towards for almost a year. Cheese is not the most attractive looking stuff right out of the vat, but you coulda fooled me. It was beautiful.

There is still no guarantee that the cheese will be great, but so far I'm confident. For a long time now, people will ask what I'm up to, and I'll launch into a lengthy bit about how I'm starting this cheese business and so on. Tomorrow, if anyone asks what I do, I'll simply look them dead in the eye and say "I'm a cheesemaker". Have a great night...

Missed it by that much...

This will be short and sweet. I was almost through the cheesemaking process when I committed a rookie error. The cheese could have been saved, but it had no chance to be great, so I pulled the plug. It's almost 10 p.m. and I'm just finished with clean up. I'm tired and a bit dejected, though not as much as I would have expected. I know what I did wrong and it will be corrected, so life goes on. Next make: Monday the 27th.

Showtime

Today is the first day of production. I'll post some thoughts afterward. Wish me luck...

Cheese Trier?

Because I make soft cheese, I don't need to have a cheese trier on hand. What is a cheese trier?

A cheese trier is a tool for, well, trying cheese. It kind of resembles an old school corkscrew, but instead of an auger on the end, a long, tapering cylindrical knife takes its place. This allows you to burrow deep into a large wheel of cheese leaving a small hole. Kind of like drilling a core sample, it provides you with a cross section of the wheel, gauging its maturation and any imperfections. It's a very valuable tool for most cheesemakers, and, like most tools, a clever device well suited to its task.

My problem lies with the name. In winemaking, samples are extracted from the aging barrels with a "thief", a large glass cousin of the turkey baster. Thief--now that has a ring to it. It implies mischief, sexiness and intrigue. "Trier"? Perhaps the word rolls off the tongue beautifully in French. But, beyond the goofy sound of the word, it just seems like the antithesis of elegance; utilitarian and drab.

I'm going to work on this. You're welcome to join.

Mensch Central

This business would not exist without a small circle of friends who are taking a chance on me.

I'm blessed to have a number of exceptional friends, and short of my immediate family, they mean the world to me. Money and friends can be an explosive combination, but we are all at the age, I think, where whatever the outcome, our bonds will remain intact. Let it be said that I have every intent to make this work and provide a nice return, but every new venture starts out with optimism.

So, a brief, but exponentially sincere thanks, to my friends and partners Mike, Marty, Chris, Tim, Bruce & Dean.