Books & Blues

I admit it, I love books.  Particularly when I have a new interest I crave books on the topic.  Between my mom and I we've managed to collect quite a few books on cheese making.  The most recent addition to my collection is the book "Practical Cheesemaking" published in England in 1919, which arrived a couple days ago. 

On the inside of the cover (front and back) it has some great old ads for farm & dairy machinery like milking machines, butter churns, and even dairy salt & rennet.

Part of the reason I wanted this book (besides the fact that it's an old cheese book) is the section on blue cheese, Stilton specifically.  I am currently absorbing everything I can about blue cheese in order to develop a goat milk blue.  Much of the written work out there is on cow milk or blended milk blues so I'm trying to learn everything I can about blues to make decisions about things like what time of year to make the cheese, what recipe, what style, etc.  Milk changes characteristics from spring to summer to fall.  So, learning more about the changes in our own milk chemistry and combining that knowledge with what I learn about making blue cheese will, I hope, help me make some good decisions.

Stay tuned for more... after all, even farm-girls get the blues!