Batch #12

Well, at least it appears that the waiting is over. And forgive my lack of posts, but anything prior to this would have been equal measures optimism and anxiety. Not pleasant reading.

This past Sunday, I had a half-size wheel of cheese, produced on June 17th, that had sufficiently ripened for tasting. At a small gathering of friends, I unwrapped the cheese and let them have at. One bite for me, and I knew it: this was right. I guess that will be the answer from now on--if it doesn't feel spot on, it probably isn't. My friends, some of whom are avowed non-connoisseurs, were very pleased with the taste. So the cheese was accessible, yet for me also held characteristics of depth. Hurray.

Additionally, I sent a number of batch samples to Margaret Morris, my equipment supplier at Glengarry Cheesemaking, an acknowledged guru of cheese and author of "The Cheesemaker's Manual". She singled out "batch 12" as the winner by a mile. Sweet confirmation.

Now batch 12 is resting in refrigeration, waiting to be shipped to my investor partners, advisers, family and friends. And I'll be spending a busy day in the Twin Cities dropping samples to every cheese shop that will let me in their door.

Lots and lots of work to do, but a corner may have been turned.