Any cheesemakers out there?

[david123]

I absolutely agree.

Don't hesitate to give me a shout if I can help in any way. By the way how old is your sourdough?

 

[Kalimna]

The sourdough is somewhere around a year - year and a half old. Its actually something of a hybrid, as I used the dregs from a bottle-conditioned ale in the original mix. It isnt the most active starter, but makes a damn fine loaf. Primarily fed with strong white flour, but every so often stonegorund wholemeal, spelt, rye etc. I probably dont feed it as religiously as I should, which might explain the lack of activity, and also the fact that the resulting loaf isnt too 'sour' at all. But it does have the random air holes and chewy texture of a sourdough loaf.

Cheers,
Adam

 

[david123]

Amazing stuff sourdough, it is pretty tough and can take a lot of neglect. It can of course be made by using the wild yeast in the air to ferment it, as you probably well know. We use it here. I am hoping to get some 80 year old stuff from a mate of mine in who is a chef in Chicago. He is going to try drying it to send me a sample. If it doesn't work out I will pick some up when I am next out there.

 

[Kalimna]

Yep - I also had a wild-air culture going, but I didnt bake enough to warrant two separate lines. I love the notion of using something passed down from generations, and to have a 'living' thing (though obviously not the original organisms) that is 80 years old and still going would be fabulous. Perhaps rather than drying it out, just making up a few nuggets with much more flour than normal should ensure it survives airmail? If you do get it OK, can I be rather cheeky and ask for a daughter culture?
Bread is something of a passion of mine, and of the considerable kitchen library I have amassed, I must have 8-9 books on bread alone...

One thing (and bringing it back a little to your OP) I noted in the cheesemaking book I have is that it specifically said not to bake bread at the same time, due to an increase in airborne yeast spores....
Cheers,
Adam

 

[marcros]

Yep - I also had a wild-air culture going, but I didnt bake enough to warrant two separate lines. I love the notion of using something passed down from generations, and to have a 'living' thing (though obviously not the original organisms) that is 80 years old and still going would be fabulous. Perhaps rather than drying it out, just making up a few nuggets with much more flour than normal should ensure it survives airmail? If you do get it OK, can I be rather cheeky and ask for a daughter culture?
Bread is something of a passion of mine, and of the considerable kitchen library I have amassed, I must have 8-9 books on bread alone...

One thing (and bringing it back a little to your OP) I noted in the cheesemaking book I have is that it specifically said not to bake bread at the same time, due to an increase in airborne yeast spores....
Cheers,
Adam

Ah, I seem to remember seeing that homebrew stuff should be kept well away for much the same reasoning.

i did try a wild sourdough starter once, but it didnt seem to work. I may give it another go, but chuck in some bottle conditioned beer dregs. I do like a nice sour dough loaf.

 

[david123]

Hi marcros

I think if you I and Kalina tested that theory we could have a beer bread and cheese party, now that would be something. In fact it is true to a certain extent, but in practice, the small amount of yeast in the air from the amount of bread that the average family makes, I think should cause you little concern. Having said that, its a bit like walking under a ladder, that pot of paint, or even the decorator him/her self might just fall on top of you one day. So Caveat emptor.

Kalina
The drying of the yeast is a thing that Dave (chef Dave in Chicago) is doing for the Chef club that we both belong to. you can buy it commercially, (dried starter that is), but he wants to play around with the idea and report back to the guy,s.
I would be delighted to send you a granddaughter of the daughter I get, when it happens.

My last sourdough starter was at least 10 years old, let it die when my mum was ill and we spent more time away from home than here.

just sent an email to spark him up, and see what is happening.

 

[david123]

quick update Kalmnio

Phoned him yesterday and he is going to put it in the post this weekend. it may be that I will have to start a batch off and send you a live starter depending on how much he sends.

Lets see how it goes. if you want to hold fire on yours Marcros I could do the same for you, just let me know.

 

[MIGNAL]

I've had a couple of sourdough starters. One that I 'captured' - actually in the workshop! Bit of a saw dust taste to it but apart from that it was very good. Worked first go and seemed very easy. Tried again a few years later and got nothing. Maybe it was the time of year, the way the wind was blowing etc. It's probably best to try and capture the natural yeast - presumably that is the right type for a 'flour dough' environment.
The other was the Oregon sourdough that i bought from the States. I actually thought that the workshop 'saw dust starter' was the better one, at least it had a bit more kick to it.
Sadly I let them both go after a couple of years feeding them.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

If anyone's interested in this type of thing, get hold of a "hermann" culture - it's a lactobacillus rather than a yeast iirc, and it makes wonderful cakes.

 

[Harbo]

I'd love to roast my own coffee - any pointers for a cheap set up David?

Rod

 

[Kalimna]

Dave - that would be fabulous indeed Cheers,
Adam

 

[david123]

I am happy that I can be of help Adam

Rod
I will give you my setup. Its not a cheap hobby to start with, but, the results (at least for us, are well worth the investment). Its a bit like woodwork you can spend a fortune on kit if you are not careful.
I did a lot of research when we started down this route, and made a couple of costly mistakes . Just one thing to remember, the grinder is as equally important as the Espresso machine for giving you good results.

Coffee grinder..................Rancilio Rocky

Espresso machine............Rancilio Silva

Roaster............................Gene Cafe

Green beans.....................Bella Barista

Just a note here, green beans will last you,if fresh for at least two years (we have used 3 year old beans and had no problem with taste) so it is safe to buy in bulk. This also saves on cost. We now get ours here http://www.bellabarista.co.uk/ It used to be cheaper to buy them from the states, but now with the popularity of roasting your own beans, it is more economical to buy imported ones.
The Gene cafe is a great little roaster and will roast 250 grams of coffee ( it will tell you that it has a capacity of 300 grams, that IMHO is to much) that lasts us about 6 days about 24 cups. Roasted coffee beans are best used within about a month.

We often blend our coffee for our own taste and use. At the moment we are using Papua New Guinea and Costa Rica.

I hope that helps.

Please feel free to ask any other questions

 

[Harbo]

Thanks David - I'm partly down that slope as I have the Silvia and a Mahlkonig Vario grinder and whilst in the States I bought a calibrated tamper ( to eliminate tamping variability?).

I just love coffee and have been trying out various suppliers with varying results ( some of it is not to my taste ) and have found so far, Grumpy Mule which supplies coffees I like. We have a local roaster who sells on some Market days, whose stuff is good but it means a trip into town and parking charges.

I'll investigate the roaster.

Rod

 

[david123]

Rod

I have heard of people roasting beans in all manner of things from popcorn roasters to heavy duty pans. (read it on a coffee forum). We are very happy with the roaster we have, and its done sterling work for us. One thing to mention is that you will need to buy some of that foil tubing to extract the fumes out of the window when roasting with it. Let me know if you buy one and I will measure it up. Got mine from B&Q.

I understand the buying of ready roasted beans and not being happy with the taste. Unfortunately it is pretty much the same with roasting your own, except that you can very the roasting times to alter the flavour of the coffee. There are about 8 different shades to coffee roasting depending on the bean, and each gives a slightly different taste to the end result.

If I can be of any further help Just give me a shout.

 

[Harbo]

I've definitely decided that I don't like beans that taste of lemons or apples - that's what one Co I tried supplied!

Years ago when I worked in Winchester, there was a shop on the High Street who roasted coffee with a little chimney poking through the wall - the smell was delicious. Sadly the shop is long gone.

I was once looking at beans in our local Tesco when a man standing next to me introduced himself and advised that the one I was holding was a "good one" - his signature was on the packet - he was Tesco's head coffee buyer - cannot remember his name but he came from the Netherlands. It was Brazilian and did taste good - they don't seem to sell it anymore?

Rod

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I thought the subject might have drifted back to cheese - I love it. There is only one thing more disgusting than the smell of coffee, and that's the taste.

 

[david123]

Yes we have drifted of the subject, and I can report back now that the year old Parmesan is lovely. The smell of cheese and coffee I love, but horses for courses, a bit like Marmite, you love it or hate it.

 

[david123]

Just a quick update on the Sourdough. (complicated)
Still awaiting Dave's sourdough, but meanwhile another chef in Port Angeles, USA I have known for many years posted me some of hers, after I mentioned it to her in one of the forums that we both use, she in turn got it from a mutual friend in the Yukon. I remember this particular sourdough, about 12 years ago there was a charity dinner put on by some of our chefs in the Us to sponsor culinary students through college. She was in charge of providing the sourdough bread for the meal and had to smuggle the starter dough through customs she was petrified of getting caught with it, or even them asking her to open her bags and sniffing at this strange smelling off white stuff and carting her off to jail.. Now people smuggle drugs and don't give a dam, times are so different today. Told you it was complicated. Arrived yesterday.

If you email me your name and address Adam I will send you a portion.